When you think PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), what do you think of? Animals? Vegetarians? People Eating Tasty Animals? Porn?
At any rate, prepare yourself for the erotic website PETA is planning on launching to encourage a vegan diet. The website will include an “XXX” rating, use the newly introduced “.xxx” website domain and feature pornographic images.
“As soon as we heard that the .xxx domain was becoming available, we thought that would be triple extra effective in helping us bring our important issues of animal rights and eating a vegan diet to a greater number of people,” said Lindsay Rajt, the group’s associate director of campaigns.
She said the site will contain “sexually suggestive content,” but not hardcore porn. Apparently, the pornographic images will lead to explicit images and information about the suffering that animals endure in the food world. PETA thinks that the images are going to shock people into re-thinking their decisions and take action toward becoming a more animal-friendly person.
Well, as shocking as I think it would be, I also find it to be totally taboo and ineffective. I have been a vegetarian for nine years and I remember trying to get into the whole PETA thing. I will never forget my mom saying, “Don’t. They are crazy.” Thanks for the heads up, Mom. I had no clue I was supposed to be taking you seriously.
I think PETA is taking the “sex sells” memo a little too far. It’s no secret that PETA loves to use sex to send out its message. We’re all familiar with the ads featuring “hott” celebrities naked, with the slogan “I’d rather go naked than wear fur.” I think that although effective, they don’t change a whole lot of peoples’ minds; they just tell people, “Hey, she doesn’t wear fur … in case you were curious.”
I also think that porn plus animal slaughter doesn’t equal more vegans and vegetarians.
“It’s ridiculous,” sophomore art major Mitch Kaeser said. “There’s nothing like a slaughtered pig that gets me in the mood … I’m not against PETA, but people are going to eat meat.”
As much as I take pride in being a vegetarian, I am also able to face reality. No matter how hard you try, not everyone in the world is going to stop eating meat altogether. In fact, I don’t think that everyone should stop eating meat. I do, however, think that people should educate themselves on the realities of the inhumane meat industry and come together to create a new plan of action.
I have seen the videos on PETA’s website, and they do remind me why I became a vegetarian and stayed one for so long. But I won’t bank on the fact that they will significantly get lots of people to become vegan. Especially when you add sex to the equation, it makes it seem borderline psycho.
Becoming a vegetarian is a personal choice. It is also risky (not to be confused with risqué) and a huge adjustment to diet and lifestyle. I get constant questions like, “Why don’t you eat meat? You know animals are here so we can eat them, right? Why would you eat cheese and milk, but not meat?”
There are answers to these questions that I have thought about, and I have come to conclusions by myself for my own reasons. No one can change that, and porn sure isn’t going to make a difference either.
Think about it this way: You might tell your friends you’re into porn and you might rent pornographic movies, but would you ever recommend, show or rent a pornographic movie in which the people are accompanied by bloody, injured, dying animals? I didn’t think so.
