Commented [1]: excellent work here, Reya!!

Most of
my comments are about word choice, organization, and
how to embed the quotes/passages a little more
effectively. Let's discuss if you have any questions!

What is the intersectionality between

veganism and feminism?

Reya Wright

You walk into a dark shed and the smell of feces is unbearable. You look around and

see pregnant women in pens, women who have just given birth and are trying to clean their

child on cement floors covered in excrement, and young women tied up to racks and having

someone shove one hand up their anus while their other hand inserts a long tube into their

vagina to artificially inseminate the women. You watch as one woman gives birth to what Commented [2]: you don't have to change this word,
but again, consider another word for emotional effect
appears to be a baby boy; someone comes and takes that baby away from his mother, and she on the reader. Wretch? abject creatures?

cries out for her child. She tries to follow her child but is blocked off by a fence. You follow that

newborn baby boy to a seperate shed where he is put in a single, small hut and chained up.
Commented [3]: out of curiosity - what is the average
lifespan of this baby boy-child-calf? You don't have to
You look around and notice an almost never ending line of these huts filled with newborn add specifics, but it might be a powerful tool. As I'm
reading this I wonder, "If you're just going to kill him,
babies, with no mothers in sight. Some of these babies appear to be very ill, and a few even why would you bother feeding him at all? why not just
put him down now?" (and as i type that, I realize I do
not know how calves are killed - I doubt there is a
appear to be dead. You ask, “what will happen to this child?” and the man tells you that in a few veterinarian on site who injects the cows with the a
sedative before he euthanizes them.)
weeks, after he has been fed a nutrient deficient milk replacement, if he is still alive, he will be Commented [4]: Veal calves are raised to be killed at
16 to 18 weeks old. They are kept in small crates to
killed. You ask him why he would do this and he tells you that he has to, so that he can take the limit their movement and fed nutrient deficient milk
replacer to keep their meat tender. They essentially
want the calves to become anemic because they taste
mother’s milk and sell it for profit.
better that way. Not all male calves are raised for veal
tho. If they aren't, they do put them down almost
The acts and images described here are true and occur every day. The only reason this immediately after birth, but not with euthanization. They
are usually shot, throat slit, or literally beaten on the
is legal and happens everyday, all around the world, is because the women are cows and not ground until they die. most commonly they are shot in
the
head.https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/farm-
animal-welfare-cows/

1
humans. This is the reality of how female cows are used for their reproductive systems in the Commented [5]: this is a mic-drop moment

dairy industry. Female animals are oppressed by their femaleness. Commented [6]: boom.

This is exactly what Carol J. Adams discusses in her text The Sexual Politics of Meat,

which is a feminist-vegetarian critical theory, nonfiction book exploring the connections between

vegetarianism and feminism. Carol J. Adams is an American writer, feminist, and animal rights

advocate. The book analyzes the ways in which our society views meat as a masculine food,

how meat eating is associated with male power, how oppression towards women and animals is

similar, examples of feminists who also were vegetarians, examples of advertisements in which

meat is sexualized, and the ways in which vegetarianism rebukes a meat-eating and a

patriarchal society. The book suggests an equation of matriarchal power with vegetarianism and

patriarchal power with meat eating. The theme of this book is that the meat-eating and

patriarchal society function off of the same structure.

What is the intersectionality between veganism and feminism? Veganism and feminism

both reject the patriarchal society and act as a refusal to the patriarchal process of

objectification, fragmentation, and consumption of animals and women. Feminists often relate to

animals reduced to meat because of the common process in which women and animals are

objectified, fragmented, and consumed. Veganism and feminism are both the refusal to

participate in the patriarchal cruelty towards women and animals. Commented [7]: very clear paragraph. check-plus. :)

In order to understand how veganism and feminism come together, one must first

understand the terms “Objectification, fragmentation, and consumption.” Objectification is the

action of degrading someone to the status of an object. Objectification allows the oppressor to

view another being as an object, making it easier to violate the oppressed. The objectification of

animals occurs in the way that animals are viewed as food rather than living beings. The cows

that the burgers came from are forgotten. Meat is not seen as an animal with their own desires

and purposes, but rather as an object to consume, “Meat eating fulfills Simone Weil’s definition Commented [8]: very clear explanation here

of force “-it is that x that turns anybody who is subjected to it into a thing,” (81). Similarly, women

2
are objectified in the way they are seen as objects for men to own, control, and use, and the

way women’s bodies are used to sell products. Many advertisements on T.V., in magazines,

and on billboards use women as sexy props to sell an object, making them an tool to sell an

item; an object. Sexual assault is an example of objectification, “So too in rape are women

treated as inert objects, with no attention paid to their feelings or needs. Consequently they feel

like pieces of meat. Correspondingly, we learn of “rape racks” that enable the insemination of

animals against their will. To feel like a piece of meat is to be treated like an inert object when

one is (or was) in fact a living, feeling being,”(65). Women and animals are both objectified,

making women often feel like pieces of meat, because they have been treated the same way; Commented [9]: since the phrase "piece of meat"
occurs several times in this paragraph, consider a word
as if they were objects. choice that communicates the same idea?

again, no pressure if you can't, because I'm not sure

The next step is fragmentation. Fragmentation is the process or state of breaking or how many phrases mean the same thing, but
something to think about.
being broken into small or separate pieces. This fragmentation is obvious in the way that

animals are butchered, being turned from a whole body, into pieces of flesh or meat. This Commented [10]: consider naming the body parts for
emphasis, and to show the way that similar language is
fragmentation is also seen towards women in the way that advertisements use women’s body used for women's bodies and animal's bodies

parts, or how other people talk about women’s bodies. Advertisements constantly use pieces of

women’s bodies to sell their product, such as using an image of breast cleavage, or women’s

legs alongside the product the company is trying to sell. We hear men talk about if they are a,

“boob or butt guy,” as if women are just body pieces to be used by men. While the occasional

man may literally kill and butcher a woman, this is not very common (especially compared to the

amount of animals butchered), and it is much more common for men to view women only by

their body parts or for companies to use fragments of women’s body parts to advertise their

product. Nonetheless, women and animals are both fragmented in similar ways, as being

viewed as valuable and consumable only by their separated body parts. Commented [11]: check plus! very organized and
clear. paragraph
The final step is consumption. Consumption is defined as the using up of a resource.

Consumption of animals is clear in the way that they are eaten. Once objectified and

fragmented, they are consume by eating their bodies. Consumption of women is seen in the

3
way that our society is constantly feeding the public images of women. Images of women are Commented [12]: avoid passive voice

viewed daily, and this viewing is how women are majorly consumed. They are being viewed as Commented [13]: can you combine these two
sentences?
objects rather than beings, and when this is put in front of us, we consume it by seeing and

taking in the information. While occasionally a woman is killed and literally eaten, it is the

consumption of images of women that is more common and prevalent, “While the occasional Commented [14]: revisit the beginning of this
sentence, consider how you can rephrase it like a topic
man may literally eat women, we consume visual images of women all the time. Consumption is sentence and embed the quote in, putting the page
number at the end using MLA format
the fulfillment of oppression, the annihilation of will, of separate identity,”(58). The woman is no

longer seen as a being with her own will, but pieces to be owned and consumed. One can see

with a feminist viewpoint how animals and women are in the same position, “With the lens of Commented [15]: consider a more engaging and
specific transition between these two quotes
feminist interpretation we can see that the animal’s position in the story of meat is that of the

woman’s in the traditional patriarchal narrative; she is the object to be possessed. The story

ends when the Prince finds his Princess. Our story ends when the male-defined consumer eats

the female-defined body,”(105). The woman and the animal are both objects to be fragmented

and consumed. Their purpose is fulfilled through the consumption.

The Sexual Politics of Meat explain many parallels between women’s and animal’s

experiences in patriarchal society. Carol J. Adams focuses on this idea of an “absent referent”

throughout the entire book. Both women and animals are this absent referent. The woman

behind the body and the animal behind the meat that disappears through the process of

objectification, fragmentation, and consumption. One can find a point of intersection between

the oppression of animals and women in the absent referent, “Sexual violence and meat eating, Commented [16]: think about how to introduce/embed
the quote...MLA citation...
which appear to be discrete forms of violence, find a point of intersection in the absent referent.

Cultural images of sexual violence, and actual sexual violence, often rely on our knowledge of

how animals are butchered and eaten...Thus, when women are victims of violence, the

treatment of animals is recalled,”(54). This quote highlights the similar ways in which women

and animals are treated, leading to the recollection of how animals are treated when women go

through sexual violence. They are both absent referents; objects rather than beings,

4
 “Rape, too, is implemental violence in which the penis is the implement of violation. You

are held down by a male body as the fork holds a piece of meat so that the knife may cut

into it. In addition, just as the slaughterhouse treats animals and its workers as inert,

unthinking, unfeeling objects, so too in rape are women treated as inert objects, with no

attention paid to their feelings or needs. Consequently they feel like pieces of meat.

Correspondingly, we learn of “rape racks” that enable the insemination of animals

against their will. To feel like a piece of meat is to be treated like an inert object when on

is (or was) in fact a living, feeling being,”(65). Commented [17]: let's discuss block-quote formatting
(for long quotes like this). Also, a smoother transition
This quote explains how women feel like pieces of meat because both the woman and animal between the two quotes would be good here. I can
discuss that with you if you want help.
have been objectified and their thoughts, feelings, desires, and wellbeing are not taken into In general, these are large pieces of text. A good
practice to keep in mind is to always include a
account but dismissed. sentence after the quote, explaining how it relates to
your topic sentence or thesis sentence. It's so much
text, and it's so academic, that its easy for the reader to
The connection between animals and women is found in their objectification, “Women get lost. It's your job, as the essay writer, to interpret
the evidence for the reader (in this kind of essay, not in
are allied with animals because they too are objects of use and possession,”(139). We also see all writing).
Commented [18]: consider a new word choice to avoid
a parallel between women and animals in the way that female animals are used for their repetition

reproductive organs. A woman’s right to have control over their own reproductive organs and

health has always been an important issue for the feminist community including access to safe

birth control and abortions. For feminists to eat the products of female animals reproductive

systems that have been modified and controlled by humans seems incredibly hypocritical. To Commented [19]: excellent point

fight for human women to have control over their own reproductive systems while condoning,

funding, and consuming the products of the artificial impregnation of female animals, the killing

of excess baby animals, the separation of mother and child, the taking of a mother cows breast

milk (intended for her child that was taken away), and the taking of female chickens eggs (which

are essentially a chicken's menstruation) is very insincere. Female animals are oppressed by

their reproductive organs, “Besides the bee’s production of honey, the only beings who produce Commented [20]: MLA citation, embed text, consider
the beginning of this sentence...
food from their own body while living are females of childbearing age who produce milk and

eggs. Female animals become oppressed by their femalenes, and become essentially surrogate

5
wet-nurses. These other animals are oppressed as Mother animals. When their productiveness

ends, they are butchered and become animalized protein. Vegans boycott feminized and

animalized protein,”(91). Female animals become oppressed because of their femaleness.

There are many problems that result from this patriarchal viewpoint of women and

animals and the process of objectifying, fragmenting, and consuming them. One of the effects

on a patriarchal, meat-eating culture is that opposing meat eating is seen as womanish, Commented [21]: Author explains this phenomenon,
"quote quote qoute," (88).
“When vegetarians attempt to disarm the dominant control of language, they are seen as

picky, particular, embittered, self-righteous, confrontative, and especially sentimental,

rather than political liberators like Washington and Lincoln. The objection to the killing of

animals is equated with sentimentality, childish emotions, or “Bambi-mortality.” By

extension, this objection is seen as “womanish”. Spinoza’s oft-quoted opinion was that

“The objection to killing animals was ‘based upon an empty superstition and womanish

tenderness, rather than upon sound reason.’ “ Consequently it is no wonder that

vegetarianism has been seen as a woman’s project and equated with women’s

status,”(88). Commented [22]: block quote

The author highlights the way in which vegetarianism or veganism is seen as a woman’s quality

to have. Meat is seen as a masculine food while vegetation is seen as a feminine food, “Dietary

habits proclaim class distinctions, but they proclaim patriarchal distinctions as well. Women,

second-class citizens, are more likely to eat what are considered to be second-class foods in a

patriarchal culture; vegetables, fruits, and grains rather than meat. The sexism in meat eating

recapitulates the class distinctions with an added twist; a mythology permeates all classes that
meat is a masculine food and meat eating a male activity,”(36). There is a connection between
women being second class citizens and eating second class foods such as vegetables, as well
as the myth that meat is a masculine food, “From this viewpoint, both women are plants are
Commented [23]: here, you rely on several lengthy
passages. Do you need all of them? If not, consider
taking one out or shortening it. If you want to keep
them in as they are, that's fine. Just remember that you
must have your own analysis after each passage (don't
let the quote do the talking for you; use it as support for
your own words and argument).

seen as less developed and less evolved than men and animals. Consequently, women may Also, consider: because the passages are so long, can
this part be broken into several paragraphs? Does the
topic shift at all? Sometimes it's easier to organize and
eat plants, since each is placid; but active men need animal meat,”(47). One can see that a read short paragraphs.

6
vegetable based diet is seen as passive and placid, and associated with being feminine, while a

meat based diet is seen as an active diet that men need.

The problem with associating vegetables with femininity and meat with masculinity is

that it pushes the patriarchal order onto dietary habits. By pushing the patriarchal order onto

dietary habits, it seperates men and women further in our society. The association of meat as

masculine also puts animals in danger of being harmed and killed. It further hurts humans and

non-human animals. The myth of meat being masculine also ironically leads to “unmasculine”

health outcomes such as ingesting feminine estrogen and other hormones from milk, eggs, and

meat. There have been links between meat eating and the development of erectile dysfunction,

as well as prostate cancer. Another problem that arises with the myth that meat eating is Commented [24]: did you find any data to back this
up?
masculine is that it also perpetuates the myth that men are violent and need violence in their Commented [25]: http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-
topics/meat-weak
meals. It further pushes the idea that violence is masculine and that consuming violence will https://prostate.net/articles/what-should-men-know-
about-meat-and-cancer
make you more of a man.

Veganism and feminism both act as a refusal to patriarchal oppression. Abstaining from Commented [26]: this next paragraph includes many
many lenghthy passages. Consider how to break it into
meat-eating has been seen throughout feminist texts in history as a way of refusing the male several shorter paragraphs. Also, consider whether you
need each passage, and consider whether you can
shorten any. Finally, make sure that you explain and
dominance order. Charlotte Despard was a suffragist who labored for women’s rights, workers’ interpret the quote before you move on to the next
point. There should be at least one sentence of your
rights, and animal rights. She formed the Women’s Peace Crusade to oppose war, the own words after each quote before you introduce
another quote.
Women’s Freedom League, and served on the council for the London Vegetarian Association. Commented [27]: can you name or list any here?

Feminists often focus of the struggle for freedom through the body, “If the body becomes a Commented [28]: consider rewording the beginning of
this sentence
special focus for women’s struggle for freedom then what is ingested is a logical initial locus for

announcing one’s independence. Refusing the male order in food, women practiced the theory

of feminism through their bodies and their choice of vegetarianism,”(175-176). Feminists often

declared their independence from the male order in food by refusing meat. Feminists abstaining

from meat-eating may have been a form of taking back their voices and escaping their own Commented [29]: no forward slashes in academic
work.
silence, “Since women are the main preparers of food in Western culture and meat is defined as Commented [30]: MLA citation & embed quote

men’s food, vegetarianism may carry meaning within a female language which seeks to escape

7
its own muted-ness,”(175). Abstaining from animal products may be a way for feminists to

reclaim their voices. Veganism does more than refuse a meat-eating society, it also refuses a Commented [31]: explain/interpret this quote before
you move on to the next point.
patriarchal society because meat is associated with male power, “Meat eating is an integral part

of male dominance; vegetarianism acts as a sign of dis-ease with patriarchal culture,”(179).

Since meat eating is a part of male dominance, vegetarianism and veganism act as a sign of

disagreeing with the patriarchal culture.

Carol J. Adams says that the connectedness between these two issues make it

important to combine their challenges, “The patriarchal structure of the absent referent that Commented [32]: MLA citation & embed the quote

renders women and animals absent as subjects, collapses referent points, and results in

overlapping oppression, requires a combined challenge by feminism and vegetarianism,”(181).

The relatedness and similarity of the two issues make it important to combine them together to

help achieve what both groups want. Adams also suggests the importance of recognizing the Commented [33]: explain & interpret the previous
quote before you move on to this next point
vegetarianism or veganism of past and current feminists,

“We cannot tell the truth about women’s lives if we do not take seriously those dietary

choices which were at odds with dominant culture. Vegetarianism spoke to women. They

would not have adopted it, maintained it, proselytized for it, if vegetarianism were not a

positive influence on their lives. This historical fact that needs to be accepted and then

responded to by scholars studying women’s lives and texts. Vegetarian women’s

activism and writings have been absorbed into the literary and historical feminist canon

without noticing that they are saying and doing something different when it comes to

meat eating,” (196-197). Commented [34]: block quote

Recognizing the past feminists who chose vegetarianism is an important part of history that is

often ignored and forgotten. Carol J. Adams claims that animal rights are a feminist issue that

the feminist community has failed to adopt because of the sensitivity of the topic, “Animals’ Commented [35]: embed quote; MLA citation

bodies carry meanings. These meanings can be perceived even when they have been

transformed into meat. Our bodies express meanings through food choices. The killing of

8
animals for food is a feminist issue that feminists have failed to claim because of the charged

atmosphere of food choices and the structure of the absent referent,”(177). To truly help the

feminist or vegan community and ideology, the separate issues must become a combined

challenge and we must recognise their connectedness, otherwise we are at risk of pushing the

other cause further down. Commented [36]: check plus. Excellent. This is really
good.
While veganism and feminism both act as a refusal to patriarchal society, when the two

issues are not combined, problems can and do occur. There are many examples of this in the

vegan and animal rights community. From Ruby Hamad’s “Feminism, Veganism, & Patriarchy”

speech, I learned that while the animal rights movement is predominantly women, and men are

the minority in the movement. Even so, men hold most of the leadership positions in the animal

rights movement. Animal rights organizations often use sexual and violent images of women to

try to sell their movement and message. Direct Action Everywhere is an animal rights group that

is majorly made up of women, but the head of the organization is a man. Most of the “famous

vegans” on youtube are men. Animal rights organizations such as 269 Life and PETA have

published images of almost naked or completely naked women. PETA once had an outreach

event that included a bed and women in underwear holding signs that said, “Vegans make

better lovers.” This is harmful towards women and harmful towards animals. If women are

equated to the same objectification the animals endure, even by the people fighting for them,

both causes are actively perpetrating the opposite message of what they want.

In conclusion, veganism and feminism both reject the patriarchal society and act as a Commented [37]: consider a smoother transitions (it's
not that big of a deal if you can't think of one, but
refusal to the patriarchal process of objectification, fragmentation, and consumption of both consider).

one thing you might think of doing is somehow linking

animals and women. Women and animals are objectified, fragmented, and consumed in similar back to your hook/opening in this conclusion.

ways, this process is the outcome of a patriarchal society. Women relate to animals turned into

meat because of the similar process of objectification, meat is seen as a masculine food while

vegetation is seen as a feminine food, and feminists in history have become vegetarians or

vegans as a way of combating the male dominated culture and controlling what goes into their

9
bodies. Animal rights have often been ignored by the feminist community because of the

sensitivity and complexity of the topic, but by ignoring the interconnectedness of the two issues,

the feminist community actually further hurts their own movement as well as the animal rights

movement. When women talk about feeling like pieces of meat, and don’t connect with the

animals that those pieces of meat come from, they are furthering the mindset that these animals

are objects and should be talked about as such. Ironically, by using this language towards

themselves and animals, they are putting themselves in the same category; as objects.

Feminists need to recognize the connectedness between the animal rights movement and the

feminist movement, and animal rights activists need to recognize the connectedness between

the movements as well. When they are not working together, they often unintentionally harm the

other cause. Take, for examples, animal rights organizations using sexual or violent images of

women to portray their message, they do not mean to harm women or perpetrate the patriarchy,

but that is exactly what ends up happening. If the two movements do not recognise their

similarities and connectedness, they will never achieve their goals of equality and freedom,

because the other movement will be accidentally harming and further pushing down the other

one. Ruby Hamad said in her “Feminism, Veganism, & Patriarchy” speech, “Feminists who eat

meat maybe fighting for their own liberation but as long as they participate in animal

exploitation, they’re actually propping up the very system that they’re fighting against.” The

animal rights movement and the feminist movement need to come together to win the fight for

equality and freedom for all. Commented [38]: excellent ending. wow!!!

10