Male Chauvinism Over Women and Animal

We already know the fact that women and animals are both oppressed by male dominant societies. But Adams reading give us a broader view that helps us contemplate the idea of objectifying and sexualizing animals and women by our patriarchal societies. This is achieved by many means such as, advertisement, pornography, butchering etc.

The very moment I saw this picture I decided to use this and that was only because before writing the blog or even having knowledge of this pictures’ existence in one of the options, I already thought of adding picture of KFC poster. After reading Adam, I thought that there are so many fast food restaurants that are owned by men and there’s no single fast food restaurant __ from what I know__  owned by a women. For me this is the best association of men and meat. As you can also see from the billboard the sandwich with chicken meat, if I am not wrong, is referred as manliest. I will never understand this connection of manliness with meat.  Why would you think so that eating meat would make you a “MAN” ? Or eating meat means you are sexy? And then comes this picture showing how an animal is being womanized.

Pornography is a wide platform due to which women and animals are objectified. “Animals in bondage, particularly farmed animals, are shown “free” __ posed as sexually available as though their only desire is for the viewers to want their bodies”, says Adam (pg.15). The meat in above picture has been tied up. I have never seen anything like that after an animal is butchered and served for meal, but this picture does not represent that meal that family sits and have together, for me this is the representation of a how women and animal are there to fulfill the desire of consumer (men). See the picture carefully, how the chicken is being tied up. You’ll notice that the hands, neck part and belly area are tied up and the lower part is available. It reinforces the idea of how animals and women’s body is available to ‘eat’.

In pornography, we have seen how women are tied up which we call “bondage” and act as a submissive, and that too of a men. From what I think tells us that the women is bound to submit their body to men. An animal before being butchered is first tied up, especially bigger animals like cows. Tying of animal shows the authority of men over the animal that is being butchered, it is being forced to death, which I would name it as a murder. As Adam also says, “there is another name for that which destroys__ eliminating someone else’s energy __ and that name is murder” (pg.17). I take this energy as animals life which is taken by someone for their own energy.

The picture bellow is one more example of objectifying women and sexualizing animal as a women. Eat me. Late nite menu. No! it is not the late night eating menu but you are representing eating a women in the night with different options. I see a beef patty in the sandwich which reminded me of intersection example that Adam highlighted, ” in the famous Chick-fil-a advertisements that show a cow writing, the cow always misspells words…. unlettered class is rarely the professional, middle or upper class ” (pg. 17). Although in this picture there is no cow writing but yeah the beef patty and spelling of nite relates to the idea of cow being of lower class and should be lettered. Then there is drawing of two circles. Hmmm! is this a pair of glass? I asked my self. But when I looked carefully I figured that no it’s not, these circles are drawn to show buns but it actually represents the breasts. Breasts what? A breast piece? it might be.

I was thinking along while going through Adams that who gave the name “breast” for chicken meat? And whoever did was just to womanize animal because women and animal is said to have same body parts which is there for the consumer (men) to consume.

Adam in her writing mentions about a reality show of America’s Top Talent in 2008 where contestants were ask to pose in meat locker wearing bras and underpants that were made from recently killed animals called it “raw meat”. Since years we are hearing that animals are being killed for fur and leather and as the demand of these things increases more animals are being killed. But why raw meat Adam asks, “It is as though through the use of raw meat there’s some sort of fantasy that one can experience life again as “raw, fresh, and tasty”… those lives that are static feel fresh” (pg. 14). When I read this statement of Adam’s it sort of formed a connection of raw meat with virgin women. In my mind that how in my society, I don’t think so there’s same concept in western society, but is this want of marrying or having a virgin women by men, because for them it gives more pleasure and is fun. I see a connection of the wanting of fresh raw meat that is demanded for making fur and other purposes with the demand of virgin women which is also fresh and untouched.

So now it is clear for all of us that who are the primary consumers, we’ll say men and all those who are dominant over others. And the consumable are those who are inferior to dominant like women and animals. There is a chart shown on Lisa Kemmerer writing which basically is a chart by Adam in which she categorizes dominant ones in same category and inferior one under same category. “Those in category ‘not A’ are consumables: women, people of color, and animals” writes Lisa Kemmerer (pg. 3). I’d like to end my blog by saying that we not just need to stop killing animals for their meat but we need to stop using animal products to reduce their slaughtering.