If We Can’t Reject Exploitation, Why Do We Expect The Patriarchy To Change?

On the heels of this weekend’s Women’s Marches and TimesUp rallies, I want to ask one question: How do we expect The Patriarchy to shift the paradigm with respect to exploitation and objectification of women when we cannot shift the paradigm in our own daily lives with respect to our own exploitation and objectification of non-human females?

The arguments we give for continuing to use, exploit and kill female animals are the very same that The Patriarchy perpetuates to use, exploit and perpetrate all manners of unspeakable violence towards human females. “Such as?” you ask: <<We need it!>> <<We have always done it this way>> <<Tradition!>> <<Religion!>> <<They’re stupid>> <<They’re inferior to us>> <<We have the power and they don’t>> <<I don’t care. I want what I want>> <<I make my living this way>> <<Snowflakes>> <<Man up!>> <<It’s extreme>> <<It’s unnatural>>

To all those arguments, I say No! I say, TimesUp! When we speak of including all our most vulnerable Sisters, we must include our non-human sisters.

They are vulnerable, like us.

They are sentient, like us.

And that is all that matters.

Whether they are less intelligent – whatever that means – than us, or perceive the world differently and look totally different than us, makes not one iota of a difference to their interest in living and having the one fundamental right of not being considered an object, a thing to be owned and cast off when their use has abated. Just like it makes no difference to whether Women deserve fundamental human rights – whether we are born female or identify as female or anywhere in between - with varied colours, abilities, disabilities, sexual preferences, sizes and religions. The dairy and egg industries exploit female animals for their reproductive systems. They are exploited because they are female and that must resonate with us human females. Furthermore, these industries, and it is immaterial whether large scale or mom and pop, are just as deadly and awful as the “meat” industry because all the animals end up in the very same slaughterhouses.

We must march for all our human Sisters. We must go vegan for our non-human Sisters so that our words of inclusion have full meaning. If we cannot reject the daily, gruesome exploitation and death of non-human animals and if we cannot imagine going vegan because we cannot give up a tasty dish, then how do we figure The Patriarchy is ever going to give up their tasty status quo? Why should they?

Let’s march for all Women. Let’s get organised and make ourselves heard and let’s reject the products of violence and exploitation on our plates. Go vegan and educate others to do the same.

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Cover photo from Grapheshot