Feminism – the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.
Speciesism – the advocacy of animals’ rights on the basis of the quality of the species.
Now what would the rights of animals have to do with the rights of women? Well actually, feminism and veganism go hand-in-hand and are two principals that are not connected, but the same.
I’ll lay out some facts first about the animal part:
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Animals of both sexes suffer under institutionalized exploitation.
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The entire dairy industry is built on the exploitation of the female reproductive system.
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Dairy industries consistently control billions of female cow’s ability to become pregnant, take care of their young and then take their milk. Dairy industries artificially inseminate the cows and keep them lactating beyond natural process.
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Societal behavior and culture upholds these practices as normal and acceptable.
Now feminism:
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Humans of both sexes suffer under institutionalized exploitation.
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Feminism favors women’s rights to their reproductive system by the tending to support access to things such as birth control and being pro-choice.
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Feminism fights for equality against those unjustly and institutionally held superior.
I’m going to tackle a few issues where these two movements overlap in a way we don’t normally think about.
Reproductive Rights:
The dairy industry is systematically run off the exploitation of female bodies and only female bodies. Being born female is an inherent disadvantage in the egg and dairy industry. Males have no place here and are sent to slaughter as veal calves or simply thrown away if they are male chicks. Female cows, like humans, do not lactate unless pregnant and there is only one way to get a female pregnant. Against her will, the female cow will be artificially inseminated, begin her pregnancy process, and when her calf is finally born, the baby will be taken away from its mother only moments after being born so that the mother’s milk can be taken to be sold in the human dairy market. She will be milked until there is no more, and then the process will be repeated until she cannot have any more babies, where then she will be sent to slaughter. Many of us cannot think of a more horrible thing to do than take a mother from her baby and vise versa; neither can she. Cows experience very intense motherhood, love, and protection for their babies. Feminism is acknowledging that motherhood is a cross species experience.
Inequality and culture:
The way we talk and behave in society has historically made it okay for boys to holler at girls because “boys will be boys.” Feminism fights against this ridiculous double standard. This systematic set of expected terms and behaviors are called scripts. Scripts naturalize horrible systems of oppression such as that of the glass ceiling and the ones that make violence and exploitation against females acceptable in dairy and egg industries; where only female bodies are of any use. These systems see the females bodies’ amazing ability to procreate as a tool and commodity for profit. They are reduced to the value of their bodies, something feminism fights against in the human world where scripts have previously caused us to value women by their appearance. We support this same animal exploitation with our current scripts.
Rape Culture:
“Rape rack” is the industry term, or nickname for, the device used to artificially inseminate female cows so that they become pregnant and can eventually produce milk for human consumption.
Rape Myths for Humans and Nonhumans:
– They like it (aren’t there pictures of happy cows everywhere?).
– They are naturally like this (today’s dairy cows produce up to 12 times more milk than they would naturally produce to feed a calf(1)).
– They don’t deserve any better
– They are just animals(“At one time they said we were ‘just animals’ too”. – vegan feminist black rights advocate Dr. Angela Davis)
– They asked for it(“Animals were put on this earth to serve and be food for humankind”).
– They should have protected themselves better(It’s their fault for being stupid/domesticated).
– It’s not really that bad(euphemisms(2)).
– They’re lying, it never happened.
So if you identify as a feminist, next time you are faced with consuming milk or eggs, I encourage you to ask yourself, to whom does this product belong to? From whose body did it come?
Eggs and dairy are the products of exploitation and violence towards females upheld by systematic oppression protected by our social scripts.
As a feminist, I am against disrespect, exploitation, violence and hate, not only as they are afflicted onto women, but as general practices. They are wrong and ugly, no matter who they are done onto.
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Lyons DT, Freeman AE and Kuck AL. 1991. Genetics of health traits in Holstein cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 74 (3): 1092-100
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Euphemism -a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. Examples: “Gender based violence” as opposed to “violence against women” or a happy smiley pig on a pork sausage package. This image helps ease guilt and mask the fact that the animal was involuntarily killed.
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