Porn With A Purpose
PETA to Launch XXX Site to Promote Animal Rights
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is sparking controversy again with its recent announcement of an erotic website called peta.xxx that will feature porn in the name of animal rights.
The site’s goal is to increase awareness about animal suffering. Regardless of the negative reaction the campaign has received, if showing a little skin is what it takes for PETA to get its message out, then I support it whole-heartedly.
The animal rights organization applied to the ICM registry last Tuesday for use of the .xxx domain and is set to launch the site by early December.
There will be a collection of graphic pictures and videos of both porn stars and PETA activists with accompanying messages about adopting a vegan diet and showing more compassion and respect for animals.
As marketing companies know, sex sells. Alcohol, cosmetic and even clothing companies frequently use racy and sex-based advertisements because they attract the public’s attention and they encourage people to purchase the company’s product. It’s a tried and true strategy if ever there was one.
If using sex to sell products like makeup and booze is socially acceptable, though, it seems ludicrous that using the same tactic to promote animal rights is not.
If using sex to sell products like makeup and booze is socially acceptable, though, it seems ludicrous that using the same tactic to promote animal rights is not.
Even medical associations make use of nudity to get their message across. Throughout the summer, advertisements by the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada were popping up on Montreal’s buses with a picture of someone’s buttocks accompanied by a message that directed people to faitesvoirvosfesses.ca, the French version of getyourbuttseen.ca.
Was it necessary to add the picture of a rear-end? Not necessarily, but it made people look—which was the Association’s goal. It is important for people to think about screening for colon and rectal cancers, and the Association used whatever tactics it could to accomplish this.
The campaign was also so controversial that three Canadian cities refused to put up the advertisements, and an argument cand be made that people in those three cities lost out on some valuable motivation to do something beneficial to their own health.
The announcement of the PETA porn site has also struck a nerve with women’s rights groups concerning sexism and the exploitation of women’s bodies.
“Exploiting porn to get people’s juices going seems lame; exploiting pornographic images only of women to make their point is retrograde and misogynist,” explained Jill Dolan, a Princeton University professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies.
As a woman, I am neither offended by the launching of this new website, nor do I think it is sexist. These are consenting adults who are agreeing to participate and to show off skin in the name of animal rights. I think it would be more sexist, in fact, if society began telling women what they can or cannot do with their bodies.
Yes, PETA’s ads are controversial, but they are also creative and well-executed. In the past, PETA has used celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, Naomi Campbell, Eva Mendes and Khloe Kardashian in campaigns against wearing fur, often using the slogan “I’d rather go naked than wear fur.” These women are obviously consenting adults who have opted to strip for something they believe in, and in doing so help PETA clearly get its point across effectively.
While distributing pamphlets and books about animal rights on street corners does send a message, it is not nearly as effective as PETA’s ‘shocking’ campaigns that draw crowds of people and make newspaper headlines.
When people access the website expecting graphic pictures, viewers will also be presented with graphic pictures of animal suffering—tell me that won’t, at the very least, get people thinking about animal rights. PETA’s philosophy goes against mainstream society’s views about using animals for food, clothing and entertainment, and the organization wants these views to change. It uses various means to reach out to the public in hopes of changing the status quo. The organization wants people to be aware of the real story behind hamburgers and fur coats.
Saving animals and trying to prevent suffering and abuse are PETA’s ultimate goals and they will do whatever they can—including the use of sex and nudity—to encourage people to show more respect and compassion. Where’s the harm in that?
