The XXX Factor (PETA Edition): Things That Make People Go…Hmmmmm!
Is someone taking the work of Edward Louis Bernays to a whole new level? I’d say yes –let’s leave it to PETA to do it! I must admit, the PETA P.R. machine is a well-oiled entity that continually manufactures new ways to promote the organization’s views. As dogmatic as those views are, I’m always amazed at the oddity of PETA’s messaging…
PETA’s latest blitzkrieg endeavor is their upcoming PETA “XXX” pornography website (pardon the pun!). Seriously, what do pornography and animal welfare have to do with propagating a “Vegan Lifestyle”, or other topics like spaying and neutering pets?
Then again, they have even used ‘Octomom’, née Nadya Suleman –someone who knows a little something about having a litter– to deliver the insight “Don’t Let Your Dog or Cat Become an Octomom. Always Spay or Neuter”. And, in addition to our favorite, Pamela Anderson, PETA has recently been featuring Sasha Grey, a pornography thespian in her own right, in their latest campaigns.Will she be the soon-to-be-erected website’s muse?
Food for thought: PETA is an organization that needs to sell its ‘kool-aid’ in order to remain relevant. But I’d really like to know, how many cents on every dollar donated actually go toward animal welfare? All these advertisements don’t come cheap. What percentage of PETA’s budget is allocated to pointless self-promotion instead of actually caring for animals?
Accepting donations as an animal welfare organization to create an “XXX” pornography website just raises some big questions. While significant sums are spent on their radical and often confrontational media campaigns, media outlets report that over 90% of the animals they bring in are euthanized.
And is it really necessary for the organization to objectify women for their cause as they have with their recent campaigns? Between a banned Super Bowl ad claiming that vegetarians have better sex and their “Save the Whales, Lose the Blubber” campaign, it seems like PETA is promoting animal rights at the cost of the women’s movement.
Promoting and supporting animal welfare at the expense of degrading women seems an odd philosophy. Once again, Things That Make People Go… Hmmmmm!
Read more on PETA’s porn site, and Facebook groups, “Real Women Against PETA” and “Vegans (and Vegetarians) Against PETA” here.