People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has announced its plans to launch a pornography website in December of this year. Although the site will contain mostly erotica, it will be under a triple X domain name, meaning its content is X-rated. I’m no prude, and it’s not really my place to comment on videos that haven’t been released. If the campaign is successful, who am I to judge?
That said, I expect the site to be well-coordinated, but at the same time, incongruous and bordering on perversion.
Lindsay Rajt, associate director of campaigns at PETA, said that explicit content will be coupled with graphic images of animal abuse, with a purpose to raise questions and gain publicity with a broader audience.
I don’t mind when modeling for a cause is done thoughtfully, but it’s entirely different to mix sexual arousal with pictures and stories of abuse. That becomes a disturbing prospect, regardless of how tastefully it’s performed.
PETA has a history of releasing sexy advertisements, including The State of the Union Undress, the “I’d Rather Be Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign and its work with porn stars such as Sasha Grey and Jenna Jameson.
They’ve actually gone far enough to have their messages banned outright. In 2008, PETA’s YouTube account was temporarily blocked for uploading images of nude celebrities. Just before the 2009 Super Bowl, NBC rejected a steamy “veggie love” commercial that showed women stripping out of lingerie and fondling asparagus while fondling themselves. Toward the very end, a topless woman pushes a broccoli stalk down her stomach and off the frame.
While it’s certainly an entertaining clip, it plays more like a Victoria’s Secret commercial than a show of activism. The sex appeal is almost as outlandish as a typical beer commercial — “Less Filling! Great Taste!”
The video further asserts that vegetarians have better sex. Research on obesity may be on their side, but the jury is still out. Vegetarianism can contribute to zinc deficiency, lower testosterone and lower libidos, along with amenorrhea — loss of periods. Some have even argued that heavier women may enjoy slightly better sex.
And while PETA’s website has pictures of many models, its homepage displays a self-proclaimed provocative link of Angela Simmons, star of the MTV shows “Run’s House” and “Daddy’s Girls.” As a devout Christian, she posed as biblically-bare Eve along with the statement, “Eating Meat is a Sin: Go Vegetarian.”
This is counter-intuitive for a couple of reasons. The poster pushes a vegetarian diet, but the Garden of Eden was no vegetarian paradise. The story of Adam and Eve says very little about eating animals, yet denounces Adam’s taking of the forbidden fruit — which was brought to my attention because of the apple she holds in her hand. I would let that slide if she wasn’t replacing one sin for another: the sin of lust. Eating meat isn’t even a real Christian sin, but her nude tease could be.
PETA’s actions don’t fully match up to their message. They say it’s wrong to take advantage of animals, but it’s acceptable to use people as a means to an end. What bothers me terribly is that these radical strategies are, in reality, buying into the status quo that Rajt claims to be challenging. Sex sells, but it sells a product. PETA is a non-profit multi-national humanitarian mission. Fun is fun, but they are entering one of the lowest common denominators — sex appeal for its own sake.
Despite their cited research, I don’t understand what gives PETA the right to make such definitive claims. It’s like they’re suddenly the experts in the field, and sex is the only thing that matters — well that and maybe saving animals in the process.