Eating animals acts as a mirror and representation

of patriarchal values. Meat eating is the re-inscription of male power at every meal... if meat is a symbol of male dominance then the presence of meat
proclaims the disempowering of women.
- Carol J. Adams in The Sexual Politics of Meat

20

Volume #1
Nov 2014

FREE

Shouldnt
my
The
importance
for
vegan

word
be
of
creating
safe
women

enough?
spaces
within
communities

a response to a vegan dating group Vegosinglar in Sweden,

lead by Ludvid Lindstrom, who did not support a rape survivor withinin the group who asked her abuser to be banned/blocked.

3: Mission Statement by Laura L.

4: Definition of Veganism/Feminism by Elyse Jacobson
5: Fuck Your Macho Bullshit by Em Laurent
6-7: Feminist Anti-Speciesism by Tara Roeder
8: Dear Peta by Rabbit
9: Riots not Diets by Em Laurent
10-11: Long and Beefy
12: Liberate Ourselves by Jackie
13: Daddys Knife by C.T.
14: Rats by J.D.
15: Mothers on Death Row by Kanina
16: ??? veganism and feminism !!! by alexis
17: Farmer John by Mallory Amirault
18: Sexist Words, Speciesist Roots by N.M.
19: Shouldnt my word be enough? by Bec

A woman has to go to the police to be taken seriously, whereas a man can simply
refuse the allegation and be treated better than the accuser.
Comments like I believe you, but I want to see a police report
alienate women and put them at fault for the crime committed. It supports the
boys will be boys, so girls must take care attitude and normalizes unwanted
male attention. Women are not guilty for violence committed by men on our
body,
mind,
and
spirit.
In a space where animal liberation, compassion and ethics are essential,
the response to the survivors story have been appalling. It is the survivors
decision whether or not she wants to go to the police or even file a police report.
Nobody
has
the
right
or
privilege
to
ask
to
see
that.
As
a
community,
especially
a
vegan
dating
community,
the
group
has
the
responsibility
of
creating
a
safe space for women. The entire discussion within Vegosinglar has
degraded
the
survivor
and
promoted
rape
and
abuse.
When
a
member
writes
I
dont
condone
rape,
lets
get
along
with
our
lives
and
forget
the
problem,
this
member
clearly
does
not
understand
the
systematic
oppression
that
women
face.
There
is
abuse
and
aggression
towards
every
gender, yes, but men do not fear violence like women do.
Men
have
been
taught
and
reinforced
through
society
to
take
up
space,
dominate
and
assert
themselves.
Marginalization against women is invisible unless we speak up and support safe
spaces for women as a community. The police and the
government can only do so much, the majority of rape allegations are not
taken seriously. It is our responsibility as a vegan community to address the issue
and side with the survivor, who has had to summon up a
great amount of courage to voice the crime in the first place.
If our mission statement is to abolish oppression against sentient life, we
must extend it to all marginalized groups. It is not only our
privilege, but our responsibility to upset rape culture to ensure that
survivors
of
rape
will
not
be
accused
of
slander.

19

18

33

Definition of Veganism:
Veganism is a way of living which seeks
to exclude, as far as is possible and
practicable, all forms of exploitation of,
and cruelty to, animals for food,
clothing or any other purpose.
(from The Vegan Society)

Definition of Feminism:
Feminism is a collection of
movements and ideologies aimed at
defining, establishing, and defending equal
political, economic, cultural, and social rights
for women. This includes seeking to
establish equal opportunities for women in
education and employment, among other areas.
A feminist advocates for or actively supports
the rights and equality of women and
the dismantling of patriarchy.
(from Wikipedia, modified by EJ)

Drawing a parallel between the treatment of female

cattle in the dairy industry and female representation
in mainstream visual culture, Farmer John works to
prompt reflection to our connection and contribution
to mutually accountable patriarchy and
mass-consumerism;
are we both the farmer and the herd?

17

???? veganism and feminism !!!!!

Im trying really hard. Im trying really fucking hard to understand
my place in the world but its becoming more and more difficult as
I come into being and identify in new and meaningful ways. As a
settler on unceded territory and cis identified white girl, I am having
trouble articulating myself as a vegan feminist in this complex and
contentious world of labels. While I believe veganism and feminism
are inherently tied and feel passionately about the intersectionality
of animal rights, the environment and feminism, I struggle to reconcile where this all fits into other aspects of intersectionality such as
Indigenous rights, race and gender.
I think my fear of getting it wrong or appearing to invalidate
someone elses culture and beliefs often prevents me form engaging
in a constructive argument surrounding veganism. This fear has a
silencing affect that compounds my confusion and leaves giants
gaping wholes in my idea of intersectional feminism. I want so
desperately to learn how to talk about the rights of non-human
beings while maintaining a compassionate feminist perspective
that takes all ways of being into accounts. This silencing effect
from the fear of getting it wrong is a constraint in feminist
discourse and my own experience of the world and the patriarchy.
I often catch myself policing every word I say or simply saying
nothing to avoid conflict. However, conflict is often a space where
our most important steps towards inclusivity unfold.

Fuck your Macho Bullshit

we dont need you to liberate the animals for us
we dont need you to organize for us
we dont need you to protect us on the front lines
we dont need you to take up all the space
we dont need you
If you are a manarchist, sexist, ableist, classist, racist, heterosexist
male identified person you are derailing the movement, you are
creating spaces that are unsafe for women/girls and other
marginalized groups.

Im convinced that veganism and feminism are reliant on one

another and challenging and abolishing the patriarchal, colonial,
racist, corporate capitalist system is the only way to establish true
change and achieve basic rights for all sentient beings.

16

some (brief) notes towards a feminist anti-speciesism

Whose lives are real? [] What [..] is the relation between
violence and those lives considered as unreal?
Judith Butler, Precarious Lives
definition of SPECIESISM
1: prejudice or discrimination based on species;
especially : discrimination against animals
2: the assumption of human superiority
on which speciesism is based
(Merriam-Webster)
definition of SEXISM
1: prejudice or discrimination based on sex;
especially : discrimination against women
2: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster
stereotypes of social roles based on sex
(Merriam-Webster)
*
a suggestion
the word naturalas spoken by misogynists,
homophobes, and carnistsis a powerful indicator
of the rhetorical power faux-biology has in establishing
oppressive cultural practices as normative.
(e.g. rape is as natural as consuming the
tortured bodies of non-human animals.)
*
to state the obvious
veganism is neither a diet nor a lifestyle choice.
feminist veganism especially
represents a conscious embodied realization that systems of
oppression areinterconnected; that empathy is
an intellectual and ethical practice; that we dont
need excuses for not solving every
fucking problem in the world with
our veganism; and that we have a choice to either participate in
the enslavement, rape, torture, and murder
of our non-human sistersto consume their
flesh and the milk meant for their
own babiesand attempt to justify our choices
by pointing to the same myths that
keep patriarchy intactor not to.
*

15
15

Since I moved to Vancouver, I have developed a particular affinity for pests.

I have seen swarms of Silverfish, colluding in my shower drain and similarly quick, silver Mice who dart in the corners of apartments wary of my
watchful Cat. Racoons the size of bear-cubs have charmingly tapped on my
windows, causally searching for opportunity. Rock Doves set the backdrop
for every urban scene and Coyotes are the soundtrack. Softly yipping and
howling at night. But I want to speak specifically of Rats.
They appear to me everywhere. Presenting themselves casually and cavalierly. Putting the confidence of any cool-headed fugitive to shame. In
a dark Chinatown, their overwhelming orgies and feasts under trash units
are more shockingly exhibitionist than any human nightlife. During the day
they are more sweetly spotted. Fat and brown, sunning themselves in late
afternoon sunshine. Capitalizing on the enclosed community gardens by my
studio on Commercial Drive. Soft grey Rock Doves let them peacefully rest
while pecking at seeds and Bugs, in a strangely pastoral scene. I come here
from Alberta, a place that denies the existence of Rats within its boundaries.
This has become a bizarre provincial trump point, a robotically repeated
Candianism as widely held and cherished as the space-arm. It wasnt until
I moved here, and began to observe the Rat that I doubted the true-ness of
this generally held belief. Rats dig in, they are underground. Largely unseen
they create complex structures which riff off human architecture, literally
appropriating sewer systems in order to create an ideal situation. It is this
ability to evolve in conjunction with arguably the most destructive species
on earth to which I credit Rats (and other pests) with so much respect. The
fact that despite hatred, violence and antagonism, they are winning the war
that has been declared on them. Or at least holding their front-lines. It is this
recycling, adaptive and resourceful quality that makes the Rat a champion
to me.
Rat rustles in the leaves under my window awning as Im leaning out to
call home Cat. I no longer experience recoil when I see these soft potato shaped beings, Instead, I say softly, (as not to give away his position):
Good luck out there.

14

milk
Women who wish to breastfeed their babies but cannot - because
of inadequate support from family or health workers,
constraints in the workplace, or misinformation from the infant
food industry - are oppressed and exploited.
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
Both mother and calf are traumatized and bellow
loudly after their forced separation, and some
mothers even try to get in between farmer and calf.
A Call to Feminists by Butterflies Katz and Angel Flinn
while the idea of human mothers breastfeeding their children
falls in and out of fashion in the u.s. and
becomes the topic of oppressive legislation from all sides
(e.g. attempts to ban public breastfeeding coincide
with regulations requiring hospital personnel to
lecture new mothers on why breast is best), the
assumption that forcibly impregnating the
females of another species and consuming the
milk intended for their own children (who are often
slaughtered in infancy) is wholesome persists.
*
(brief reflection on love
this isnt about how i love the non-human animals who
live with mehow they were left to die by the side
of a highway or in a box on the street by other humans,
and how now in this interim before the
majority of humans realize that breeding domesticated
non-human animals is unethical and
unsustainable, many of us find each other.
a large number of the feminists i know share their homes with
cats and dogs and rabbits and rats.
but veganism isnt about love. its about
so much less than love. love is so much
more complex than not torturing; not killing; and not consuming.)
*
violence
Workers who are responsible for killing animals routinely
observe animals being cut and
dismembered while still conscious, as well as being skinned
and boiled alive. Hour after hour, day after day the workers interact with
countless animals in various states of fear and pain.
Slaughterhouse Workers (Food Empowerment Project)

13
13

Liberate ourselves from these cages,

Constructed by society to restrict us,
Bind us, and keep us unseen.
Our pain is invisible as money rolls in.
We are not seen as individuals,
But as objects, to get their fill.
To follow what we are told,
Either willingly or with force.
Images pollute our minds,
They control and manipulate.
We are shackled in their restraints.
Held back as others are hurled forth.
Knocked down, beaten and abused.
Our struggle so invisible,
And yet our suffering so real.
How much more will we take?
We must break free of these locks.
Step outside of our cages.

12

Vegan for ethics: Riots not Diets

The association of veganism with diet culture is detrimental to our movement. This is emblematic of the gendered ways people enter veganism.
Women/girls in our culture are socialized to police their bodies and consequently their food choices, which often leads women and girls to diet culture
that promotes veganism (read: plant based). Diet culture upholds femininity: the ritualized submission of women of a class. Veganism is about radical
non-violence towards non-human animals, to ourselves and Mother Earth.
Veganism is NOT diet culture. Diet culture destroys women and girls, it
forces us to hate our bodies and mutilate our bodies. The capitalist nature of
the beauty industrial complex and the agricultural industrial complex have
no place in our movement. Veganism is not about shaming women/policing
womens food choices. It is about empowering ourselves to make ethical
food choices, to realign ourselves with our values.
*as the author of this article I am aware that there are instances in which
women with less capital/access to ethical food sources are unable to make
these choices, this does not make you less of a feminist
FUCK PETA FUCK PETA FUCK PETA FUCK PETA FUCK PETA FUCK
PETA FUCK PETA

10

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