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Our choices regarding food have broader implications beyond just what's on our plates. Animal agriculture often intersects with social justice issues, affecting marginalized communities disproportionately.
Coined by Black legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, the term Intersectionality, highlights the interactions among race, gender, class, and other systemic oppressions. It builds upon the groundwork laid by Black feminists and ecofeminists who emphasized the interlocking and interconnected nature of these oppressions.
Since the linkages between sexism and speciesism date back millennia, to the days when woman, children, land, and animals all were considered to be the property of male heads of households (hence the term “animal husbandry”), this intersection has been the focus of the most scholarship and activism over the decades. Unsurprisingly, the preponderance of animal advocates are and always have been girls and women. Nonetheless, failure to adequately attend to sexism within animal advocacy has allowed men in the movement to gain out-sized influence, which sometimes has been exercised abusively. In order to liberate animals and ourselves, we all must come to see the many ways that toxic forms of masculinity hurt everybody.
In the dairy industry, female cows endure a relentless cycle of impregnation and separation from their calves. Just like human mothers, they experience the deep bond of maternal love. By supporting the dairy industry, we inadvertently contribute to the exploitation of these mothers, their bodies reduced to milk-producing machines. Recognizing the intersection of feminism and animal rights urges us to reject these exploitative practices.
Similarly, the egg industry heavily relies on the exploitation of female hens. These intelligent and social beings are confined in cramped cages, unable to express their natural behaviors. They are reduced to mere egg-laying machines, their reproductive systems pushed to the limit.
VINE's groundbreaking work with roosters used in cockfighting illustrates the transformative power of a feminist analysis in benefiting both animals and humans. These roosters, unjustly stereotyped as inherently aggressive, are subjected to torture and coercion to fulfill human fantasies about masculinity. This not only inflicts immense suffering on them but also perpetuates the damaging notion that males are inherently violent. This harmful idea has far-reaching consequences, affecting boys and girls, men and women, and contributing to social issues such as domestic violence.
By embracing a feminist lens, we can challenge and dismantle the harmful ideologies that perpetuate both sexism and speciesism. Recognizing the interconnectedness of these oppressions allows us to work towards a more compassionate and inclusive society. It is crucial to address the ways in which toxic masculinity harms individuals of all genders and actively promote a culture of empathy, respect, and non-violence.
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