In her landmark work “The Sexual Politics of Meat” Carol Adams describes the link between the oppression of women and the oppression of non-human animals. She points to the connection between meat eating and masculinity, and the way in which both dead animals and women are seen as things to be consumed. I didn’t 100% agree with her analysis (I am sure to the shock of nobody) but I do definitely find this true when it comes to advertising and often in political discourse. I have choosen some pictures to look at through this lens, and give some of my own thoughts on.
The first is a Brexit cartoon that presents Theresa May (who was prime minister of the UK at the time) as a pig. The way she can be identified is that her hair and pearls are presented. But also her trademark scowl. May is an unlikeable women (which makes her slightly more likeable to me). She is often presented in pictures with a less than pleasant look on her face. The fact alone that these are her three most noteworthy characteristics could be indicative as sexism in and of itself. Pig May is the largest pig in the cartoon, the next largest is a pig labelled BREXIT which appears to be aggressively suckiling Pig Mays teat. Around them are smaller pigs labelled Housing, NHS, Social Mobility, etc. The idea here is that because of all the focus BREXIT is getting, there are little resources left for these other programs. I personally favor BREXIT myself and don’t quite agree with the argument here. But that’s not important, what is, is that for some reason a seemingly left leaning cartoonist choose to present one of the most powerful women on the planet (and the only the second women to serve as UK prime minister) as a pig. Now you could easily make the argument that BREXIT is taking up too many resources but why present her as pig? It is hardly the only animal that suckles, in fact human babies do. I believe she was presented as a pig in order to present her as unattractive and unlikeable as possible, which makes it easier to hate her and her policies. Now that I don’t necessarily believe that the cartoonist did this purposely, but rather unconsciously choose a pig (especially since while trying to find a source for this cartoon, I came across countless identical ones). All that being said, it is worth noting that both May and pigs are associated with capitalism.
The next picture is a little cartoon mascot created for Skinnycow (which makes lowfat dairy products like cheese and cream). We always think of cows as big fat animals that give us milk and other such products, they are generally seen as a particularly cute animal, and in addition to making what many would consider gross noises, they also smell bad. So for this little cartoon the cow is presented in an anthropomorphic style and is at the very least borderline sexualized. It has a full face of makeup, breasts (I admit I didn’t notice the breasts at first, and it was my girlfriend who pointed them out to me), and is in a pin up pose. It is possible this is just done for humorous purposes, however I would say that this mascot is supposed to represent the transformative abilities of the product line. Fat women are called cows, and this cow is thin and sexy (I assure you that pained me to type).
Next I am looking at a billboard ad for the Dodge Durango. Which of course shows a picture of a red Dodge Durango, but that is not what is notable here, what I am paying attention to is the text which says “A big fat juicy cheeseburger in a land of Tofu”. There is a lot to unbox here. For starters who is the target audience here? I would say it is men, and particularly men that view themselves as masculine. Men that feel threatened by a world around them, in which it feels like American traditions like burgers and big trucks, are being replaced by plant based foods, and energy efficient cars. The argument here is that Dodge is doing something different by doing something traditional. The appeal here is similar to Donald Trump who promises to return to what made great great, the Dodge Durango isn’t going to make America great again, but it might just offer a slice of what was great about, much like a big fat cheeseburger does.
The last picture we will be looking at comes from a CNN article about the popular KETO. It’s a weird pick I know but I’m surrounded by people on KETO and its often on my mind. For those that are not aware KETO is a diet similar to atkins back in the day but more intense, it’s very low carb and for some people (like my girlfriends mother) means her buying literal Lard and adding it to basically every meal she eats. For some its a bit of a meat based diet. But because it is a fad diet, the main demographic is women so we see, typically male meat shown in a fem coded way. Yes we see meat and cheese, but it’s not grilled, melted, juicy, or any of the ways we see it with men, it’s classy and clean, which is how we expect women to be.
Hi Nick,
I think you explained each of your three chosen pictures by Adams really well. I didn’t choose any of these to talk about but you definitely took Adams ideas and were able to explain it well. I think by explaining what you disagree about Adams point of view is good. We can not always look at situations based on what someone else thinks everyone has their own ideas and opinions and they should be shared. Your description of the first picture with the pigs was very detailed and I agree with a lot of the points that you made. The one that I did not really understand at first but I think your evaluation helped was the one with the Dodge Durango. This goes back to the ideas we were looking at last week about how plant based is more feminine and meat is more masculine. This truck is showing a masculine side to a world that is plant based so therefore feminine. Finally, the picture you chose on the keto diet I found to be very interesting. The picture I chose was very literal and similar to the pictures Adams shared. However, I think this was a good evaluation of her ideas because the Keto diet is very popular right now and I agree that even though there is meant and other animal products in it it is still a very feminine viewed diet.
Nick, I also analyzed the Skinnycow ad. It’s nice to get your analysis of it as well, because you noticed some different things than me. I did not notice the breasts either. Because it is so cartoony and over the top I can see how somebody could think that it was done for humorous purposes, but I feel like it’s more likely that it was done to be a hot animal in a way to appeal to consumers.
The last photo you included of a KETO diet offering was an interesting take. I don’t know if it is from an advertisement or not, but we definitely interpret it differently. The picture overall seems very bland and evokes no emotion to me. I don’t interpret it as trying to oversexualize meat or animals. I see your point in saying that the meat is more feminine because it’s not prepared a certain way, however I disagree. The meat is still just a big red slab. It is raw, and I think that does tend to read more masculine. Raw red meat is never associated with women, even if it is in a well-lit, nicely laid out photo. I think it could be up for interpretation but I don’t think there is anything out of the ordinary in the photo. I have also always associated this diet with men. The only people I know who are on it / have been on it are men. Maybe I am so desensitized from looking at pictures of “sexy” advertisements all week.
Hey Nick. First off, I have to praise you on a particular piece of this blog: ‘But because it is a fad diet, the main demographic is women so we see, typically male meat shown in a fem coded way. Yes we see meat and cheese, but it’s not grilled, melted, juicy, or any of the ways we see it with men, it’s classy and clean, which is how we expect women to be.’ Yes, yes yes! I love that expression ‘fem coded’ because, it is a reality that I don’t think I fully understood lately. I’ve always considered myself a feminist but, I think I was ignorant of so many things before this course. Nick, how do you feel about this? I share so much of this class with my fiancé, Chris, and, it’s like he’s just as shocked as I am when analyzing photos such as the ones you did. It really is an awakening experience to see past the sexualized society we have grown up in and continue to grow in.
Also, I really enjoyed your analysis on the Dodge Durango advertisement. I didn’t analyze that one for my blog but, it did get me thinking. I see a lot of products, in women’s clothing or home décor, that say: ‘be a unicorn in a field of horses’ or ‘be a mermaid in a sea of fish’ etc. etc. My first thought when looking at this advertisement was that it was a ‘manly version’ of that current trend. Thoughts?
Nick, I think you really hit the nail on the head with this post. The cartoon with ‘Pig May’ I didn’t really understand at first when I first saw it myself on Adam’s website (in a political context), but I totally see where you are coming from in your analysis. I touched upon this also in my own blogpost, about how women with a voice or an opinion, or just in a position of power/influence are almost ALWAYS demonized or shamed in some way for doing so. So it makes total sense that May would be presented as a pig with a scowling expression on its face. It just underscores the misogynist notion that a woman who has something to say, and a large platform to say it is ‘out of line’ or should be feared. ‘Feared’ because she threatens the patriarchy…
I also really liked your analysis of the Dodge Durango ad. This is a perfect example, I think, of toxic masculinity. I think the topic of toxic masculinity is a CRUCIAL and overlooked aspect of eco feminism. And this ad is a perfect example of that. The ad relates the Dodge Durango to a ‘big, fat, juicy cheeseburger in a land of tofu’ , meaning that all these other men who buy any kind of car other than the Dodge Durango are lame and not as masculine. It’s always the masculinity that is being threatened, and most of the time it’s the masculinity that will win in a male’s mind to keep that social status or to avoid being outcasted by his peers. Like you said, the tofu, as well as the energy efficient car are much better and environmentally friendly decisions BUT the ‘big fat juicy cheeseburger’ will always win because of it being a symbol of masculinity. We need to work to fight toxic masculinity as ecofeminists if we want to get other men on board.