Fuck You, Jessica Valenti!
September 24, 2008
Oh my God, Jessica Velenti is at it again with her PETA-hate.
Here’s her M.O.:
- Ignore the vast majority of animal rights and animal welfare compaigns and how they might relate to feminism.
- Find a tiny minority of PETA publicity stunts that involve women.
- Claim the stunts are sexist but don’t provide any evidence. Ignore the context. Ignore the theory. Pretend serious analysis doesn’t matter. Just show a picture or make a one sentence statement.
- Let others comment in all manner of hate towards people and animals. Don’t even bother censoring the sexist comments; it’s OK to hate on AR women in an overtly sexist manner.
- Ignore and censor the pro-animal commenters. Ban people like Elaine Vigneault.
- Continue eating animals and their secretions. Continue wearing animal skins. Continue buying dogs from breeders. Continue all anti-animal activities.
- Do this while claiming to be a feminist.
And here’s my almost Friday Feminist Fuck-You to Jessica Valenti. Fuck you!
Comments
19 Responses to “Fuck You, Jessica Valenti!”
3 Trackbacks to “Fuck You, Jessica Valenti!”
- Smite Me! [.net] » Blog Archive » Pork & Tits on September 24th, 2008 6:11 pm
[...] parting, I would like to extend a hearty fuck you to all those who dishonestly evoke the specter of one oppression to draw attention away from [...]
- Violence is violence is violence : Elaine Vigneault on September 24th, 2008 7:43 pm
[...] But at least she didn’t pull a Jessica. [...]
- easyVegan.info » Blog Archive » Pork & Tits on January 10th, 2009 4:46 pm
[...] parting, I would like to extend a hearty fuck you to all those who dishonestly evoke the specter of one oppression to draw attention away from [...]
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Seriously, it’s gotten to the point where I have to avoid feminist blogs for at least a few days every time PETA unveils a new campaign.
And can I just add that you made me spray water all over my dogs with that post title? Tidy, concise and loooong overdue.
aw shucks, you make me blush :)
For the record, PETA says:
source:
http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/09/breast_is_best.php#comment-349870
I wrote to them:
I’m impressed that such a simple letter received so much attention. If only people paid a little more attention to the content of the letter rather than the silly human breastmilk intro. Alas, when it comes to the American public, you’ll never go broke underestimating their intelligence. Way to go, PETA, for taking advantage of that sad fact.
We agree that using human breast milk to make ice cream is absurd. What is more absurd, however, is using a different species’ breast milk for nourishment.
You know, you’d have to have the extrapolatory skills of a Biblical literalist to miss the point that this was intended exactly as that - an exercise in absurdity. Yeesh, does anyone out there seriously think that PETA was proposing a human milk production system similar to that of the dairy industry? Or is *any* campaign featuring women de facto sexist now?
And Peedee did not appreciate the surprise ice shower, btw :)
Whoa, she banned you? I couldn’t even read that piece I knew it would make my blood boil.
Seriously, the amount of defensive anti-vegan/ anti-AR sentiment in the feminist blogosphere makes me bang my head on the desk over and over and over. Carol Adams, people!
Thanks for your post Elaine.
Lillet,
She doesn’t approve my comments for publication either, even though she likely doesn’t know me from Adam and I tend to be quite measured in nearly everything I write.
Which is basically fine… her site… she gets to choose what viewpoints get expressed (though she does beg for significant money from time to time which does make it slightly less true that it’s “her” site).
Overall, I basically don’t think much of Jessica Valenti. I think she’s quite shallow and more than a bit narrow-minded. I don’t think she’s a particularly good leader. I don’t think she’s particularly smart. The world is full of such people. I’m really no better, either. So meh.
Ed, she probably bans you because we share the same IP.
“I’m really no better, either. ”
You sell yourself short.
I think she’s a better leader than I am, partially simply because she’s more moderate. But I also think she got lucky. I think living in NYC has seriously helped her.
I doubt it’s an IP ban for a couple of reasons. And even if it were, IP addresses renew often enough that at least some of my comments should have made it to active moderation. I’m pretty sure they quite tightly and explicitly control the range of viewpoints that can be expressed on Feministing. Which, you know, is basically reasonable given the sort of site it is.
Having a following does not a good leader make. Sure, if you say, “Come participate in my blog… and don’t worry, it’s ok to indulge your racism and speciesism here,” you’ll find some takers. I don’t think that fact alone qualifies her as a particularly good leader.
“I’m pretty sure they quite tightly and explicitly control the range of viewpoints that can be expressed on Feministing. Which, you know, is basically reasonable given the sort of site it is.”
Agreed.
They receive a ton of sexist crap and they absolutely should censor that.
I guess maybe they block you because the male name? I wonder…
“Having a following does not a good leader make. ”
You’re right.
What I mean is that she is very capable of inspiring large amounts of people to do something. Sometimes that something is something good, like donating to keep Bitch alive.
Which is exactly why she frustrates me so much - her opinion means a TON to a lot of people. If she says, “I bought my dog from a breeder,” it’s not just a personal choice. She’s actually suggesting that people buy breeder dogs, whether she intends to or not. Her audience is so large and her image as a leader is so strong that she can virtually wave a magic wand and get large swaths of people to do anything.
Seriously, the amount of defensive anti-vegan/ anti-AR sentiment in the feminist blogosphere makes me bang my head on the desk over and over and over. Carol Adams, people!
The bloggers at Feministing - and Jessica in particular - have referenced Carol Adams’ work in the past, with much approval. And yet….
*headdesk*
I think that’s what I find most galling about the attitude over there: no qualms about misappropriating a veg*n feminist’s work, and then totally shitting all over it.
That, and the fact that they criticize PETA’s flesh-baring campaigns…while using sex to hawk their own wares. (Full Frontal Feminism, anyone?)
elaine, i’m sorry, but you are forgetting the many many feminist and animal rights voices that also criticize peta for their stupid, exploitative, poorly thought-out and particularly sexist stunts. i’m certain you’ve heard these voices before; many animal righters hate peta just as many feminists do. but in fact, it doesn’t even take that much of a dedication to feminism (or social justice in general) to notice that peta’s tactics are quite shitty. you talk about “context” and “theory.” are you seriously arguing that peta’s publicity stunts are about “context” and “theory?” even they admit they’re about sensationalism and bringing attention to peta by any means necessary. i’m sure you’ve seen the ads; we’ve all seen them. and some of us are horrified that this is what promoting compassion and respect for all beings should look like. sexism is what peta relies on, the default they go back to over and over again, when they’re trying to “appeal” to the public (presumably because sexism sells). peta is an organization with a lot of money and clout, that tries to be the face of animal activism (and unfortunately for us succeeds), which in fact is doing all kinds of damage to the a.r. movement. well, i’m a long time vegan and animal righter, but if i took my cues from peta and believed that what the a.r. movement is trying to “sell” was sexism and other oppressions — so basically respect for animals at the expense of others — i’d have to say count me out. fortunately, i don’t. but it still makes me sad to see people supporting them unconditionally, in spite of all this crap of theirs that fights against the good work that they do in the movement and the good work that others do in the movement.
this is not at all a comment in support of jessica valenti, about whom i don’t really care, but there is an important and valid feminist criticism here that you are flat out ignoring, much like what you’re arguing she is doing by ignoring the a.r. and animal welfare issues.
c.b.
First, a joke about human breastmilk isn’t sexist. It just isn’t.
Second, I criticize PETA: http://elainevigneault.com/anti-animal-bloggers.html
well, i’ve yet to see any proof that peta gives a damn about projecting sexism or not. i’ve seen enough from them and even communicated directly with them enough about this over the years to know that their “jokes” with misogynistic potential are sexism pure and simple (because they know that’s what sells, and this is all they care about). i mind this attitude even when it’s applied to publicity for consumer products - it’s even worse with peta who claims to be about “ethics.” at this point i wouldn’t give them the benefit of a doubt regarding sexism even if i felt they deserved it in some way with a particular campaign (which i don’t). i’d first have to see them as an organization actively caring about oppression against women and being a feminist ally at all.
when i mentioned unconditional support of peta, i was talking about what you showed in your comments over at womanist musings. there, you 1. attacked peta critics unfairly (and also mighty patronizingly) and 2. were guilty in your arguments of exactly what you were accusing them of being guilty of. it’s amazing to me you’re saying that peta’s ads should clearly be read in a certain way (essentially, as if oppression against women didn’t permeate society or peta wasn’t aware that it did) - and yet you complain both that these other people are spinning the story and that they are blaming peta for a misogynistic society.
i mean, do you really believe — as you say — that peta’s publicity stunts are designed in the hope that the public will have this type of reaction:
and do you really believe that most people will react this way (as you argue “you’re supposed to”)?!? well, the reality we have to deal with is that women’s bodies are controlled and violated and exploited and otherwise wrongly treated: do you see a lot of outrage from the public at large? does peta? is this a concern for them?
and it’s amazing to me that you’d go into a feminist/womanist space and chastise people clearly concerned about women’s oppression (so not the public at large) for just saying the obvious thing that in this society as we know it the public’s reaction to ads like peta’s will NOT be to all of a sudden turn unsexist AND unspeciesist and embrace compassion towards women and animals… that the message peta sends is essentially that women’s oppression doesn’t matter, so they’re even turning off those who might easily make the connection between cruelty towards animals and women, if they haven’t already. it’s the kind of thing you’d say as an animal righter if a feminist organization “ironically” and “jokingly” promoted meat-eating and any animal cruelty to highlight the abuse of women. you would oppose that organization, and it wouldn’t be ok for some feminist to automatically dub you anti-feminist because you did.
and yet you’re arguing anybody who criticizes peta is speciesist and that all their feminist concerns are just a front for peta-hatred:
sorry, but what is that? what kind of assumptions are you making about the people you are talking to there? the point is how peta is choosing to campaign vis a vis animals and women. you also accused people at womanist musings of dishonesty and of blaming peta for sexism. no, peta didn’t cause sexism. but unlike those with peta’s “postfeminist” attitude, some of us [i'm only excluding peta from this "us"] are deeply aware that compassion and respect towards women is sadly lacking in society - and that this is what we have to work with (and against). so for anyone to expect that in a culture where meat is advertised with an image of a woman’s naked body divided up into “cuts” because that kind of thing is considered titillating, all of a sudden the same image next to the message “have a heart, go vegetarian” to really move the public towards compassion to animals, is what’s dishonest. how is anyone who uses that image for their own ends not sexist? and how are those who criticize such a tactic the “real haters?”
i don’t think anyone is blaming peta for a sexist society. but we are blaming peta for plugging into a sexist society, and exploiting sexism, to supposedly promote the rights of animals through ethical, compassionate choices by people. some of us are saying that different tactics are needed if we’re interested in all oppressions, that a dedication to compassion and ethical treatment of all beings would have to look quite different. i personally want to keep looking for such tactics and people who are potential allies in such a struggle… and i’m glad when others are concerned about all that too.
I certainly don’t feel quite as strongly as c.b. (although that may be because I don’t have all the facts), but I have a few things I’d like to add.
I agree with you, Elaine, that the PETA breast milk campaign was quite obviously a joke. And I don’t think that, in and of itself, I would have had a problem with it (even in context, that context being the sum of all of PETA’s recent advertising that some have labeled sexist, I’m not sure I have a problem with it specifically). However, I do think that certain PETA campaigns are sexist, and it doesn’t require a rocket scientist to see it — even in context and in relation to the “theory” behind the ad.
For example, I found PETA’s animal birth control striptease incredibly offensive. Having a coy, school-girl-like pin-up girl undressing as you correctly answer questions does not in any way add to the message they’re trying to promote nor does it have anything to do with animal birth control. They’re simply using–as so many advertisers all over the world do–an objectified half-naked woman to entice us to finish the quiz. I think that sort of thoughtless female objectification is disheartening from an organization which seeks greater awareness of cruelty done to animals, etc. I think the reason that some feminists are so adamantly upset with PETA is because it is a “rights” organization (and feminism is arguably also about equal rights of a different kind), and they don’t seem to have any qualms disenfranchising one group (women) for the sake of another (animals). That’s how I see it.
cb,
you wrote: “i’ve yet to see any proof that peta gives a damn about projecting sexism or not.”
Yeah, and I’m sure you looked really hard and long for that “proof.” For the record, they do listen to complaints and they do pull ads sometimes. Example of how they pulled an ad when it was misinterpreted to be anti-gay:
http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/09/ok_clay_well_ta.php
You asked: “do you really believe that most people will react this way”
No, honestly, I don’t. But it’s not about the majority. The majority doesn’t give a shit, they are stupid, and they will keep doing anything that is socially acceptable to do. The message need only reach a vocal and passionate minority.
you said: “it’s the kind of thing you’d say as an animal righter if a feminist organization “ironically” and “jokingly” promoted meat-eating and any animal cruelty to highlight the abuse of women.”
That’s just not true. Talking about breastmilk and breastfeeding isn’t promoting the abuse of women. It just isn’t. You’ve got it wrong.
It’s not about a specific interpretation that makes it not sexist, it’s just plain not sexist in the first place.
I’ll grant that some PETA stunts do, in fact, promote sexism. But this one… ? You’ve got to be kidding.
PETA sent one letter to Ben and Jerry’s with a joke about breastmilk. Choosing to focus on that rather than on the real abuse of real women (and men and children) who suffer at the hands of the dairy industry, is in fact anti-animal and anti-woman.
fourthwave wrote: “I think the reason that some feminists are so adamantly upset with PETA is because it is a “rights” organization (and feminism is arguably also about equal rights of a different kind), and they don’t seem to have any qualms disenfranchising one group (women) for the sake of another (animals).”
I guarantee you the reason Jessica Valenti has a problem with PETA isn’t that she really cares about sexism within the AR community, it’s that she hates the animal rights community in it’s entirety.
this is of zero relevance, but, elaine, the thing is i actually have looked really hard and long. i used to head the peta college activist network on my campus (this was about 10 years ago), i supported them for a long time so i’ve certainly given them the benefit of the doubt before. i do think they do good things too and i’d love to be able to support them still. i’ve written to them — by myself and as part of larger groups — and i’ve talked directly to peta staff multiple times. but all of the answers i have ever seen from them on this go back to their position that “any publicity is good publicity,” and they just don’t care if they’re sexist (which they swear they’re not). they cannot discuss the issues and they will not discuss them.
in the few cases when they’ve pulled ads, it has never been by acknowledging that they were wrong, apologizing or taking some kind of principled stance, and it certainly hasn’t meant that they’ve learned anything from it. your example is a perfect illustration of how they treat issues (and how well-thought-out these stunts of theirs really are).
the sad thing is, you refuse to see that most of your argument, in taking peta’s side, is self-contradictory. so you’re admitting that “honestly” speaking peta’s ads will not move the sexist majority towards antispeciesism. ok (this btw is the opposite of what peta argues is their #1 reason for coming up with these stupid campaigns, and the #1 reason they say they’re completely justified in doing them). and then you’re saying that “The message need only reach a vocal and passionate minority.” so, wait, the ads are designed to be totally plugged into the values of our society and as frivolous as possible in order to… reach the passionate minority who are thoughtful and nonconformist people?! it just doesn’t make any sense.
as i already mentioned, the whole point of feminist criticisms of peta is that by the very nature of these sexist stunts, they just appeal (in a bad way) to the majority and the message reaching the “vocal and passionate minority” (those who are social justice-minded) is that peta is ready to throw women under the bus. and since peta is the most prominent a.r. organization out there, this is a bad thing. in other words, with these tactics peta is working against the interests of the a.r. movement. that’s it. it’s quite simple and clear (if we’re really honest).
i didn’t say it did. we’re not talking about “talking about breastmilk and breastfeeding” in general. we’re talking about when peta does it in their characteristic throwing-women-under-the-bus way.
anything is possible. but i look at the whole picture, i take into account my experience as an animal righter among other things and also what others are saying, and draw my conclusions. what exactly makes you so sure (and so absolutely right)?
as for that other part of your argument, regarding what peta critics focus on - see my first point, that you are ignoring the MANY voices from withing the animal rights movement that criticize peta. some of us focus on how people are exploited AND on how animals are exploited… ’cause that’s needed. and peta is one of those things that set us back.
“you are ignoring the MANY voices from withing the animal rights movement that criticize peta.”
Re-read the title of the post. This isn’t even about PETA. This is about Jessica Valenti and her shallow analysis and refusal to listen to AR feminists.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! For far too long i have felt uncomfortable reading feministing.com because of Jessica’s blatant PETA hate! As someone who have participated in PETA campaigns before (yes, naked!) I felt she was attempting to say I was not a feminist and volunteers were being forced to do this. I sent Jessica and the feministing ladies a letter asking them why they condone stripping by stating strippers exercise ‘free agency’, but wont give that ‘free agency’ to the women of PETAs campaigns. I have not heard any answer from her….