I saw this ad in a magazine the other day. I'd seen it previously this year and thought, "Great- another celebrity getting naked for PETA. Yawn." Looking at it again, it makes me think- why do I never see men in the buff in these PETA ads? So I did a little research and found much to indicate the sexist nature of this holier-than-thou agency's advertising campaigns.
If one does a search for images of PETA ads, they will find a lot of ads featuring naked women. These women also tend to fit into one particular mold- they are usually caucasian and skinny. One of the few ads I found that did feature heavier ladies compared them to whales. Nice, PETA. In their 2009 advertising campaign where they equated meat with murder, women were used as stand-ins for animals to demonstrate how animals are abused. Again, most of these women were naked, white, and very attractive. They were shot in very seductive poses, which suggests linking sex with violence, and therefore sexualizing the abused female body.
This is not about whether I agree with PETA's basic missionor not. I find some of the things that they do in support of animals to be quite admirable. I think that some of the fights that they pick are comical, especially when sprinkled with some of the obnoxious comments that their PR department makes at times. However, PETA's treatment of women is not funny. It is clear that while PETA gives no wiggle room on the treatment of animals, they do not treat women with as much respect. As I pointed out, this type of advertising by PETA is not just one incident. It is a common thread through much of their marketing. It seems as if they are a one-trick pony when it comes to methods of delivering their messaging. At the very least, they should recognize that they will possible alienate one section of society that will not suppport them. I just can't imagine how they can act so pious in their mission when they are constantly downgrading women.
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