PETA And Animal Cruelty

Animal cruelty is an issue everyone can get behind. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is an organization that is dedicated to broadcasting topics such as bullfighting and factory farms in a shocking way to move people to action. The image that stands for their fight against bullfighting depicts a naked woman with darts in her back, with the words ‘Bullfighting Is Cruel’. In the campaign against bullfighting, as illustrated, PETA demonstrates that it can be a cruel practice, especially when bulls are stabbed with barbed darts called banderillas, their vision impaired, and starved. Celebrities and known figures help PETA spread their cause, such as Elen Rivas with this campaign. PETA is known for being outspoken about animal

Of course these things are worth fighting for, that’s why whole organizations are founded on defending animal rights. Yet, there is a right and a wrong way to express concern for a serious issue. In PETA’s mission to advocate for animals, they utilize shock value to the extent that no one wants to take them seriously about it. In PETA’s advertisement against bullfighting, they make a strong move by choosing to place a naked woman, illustrating that she is helpless; but instead of seeing that aspect of the picture, the public are going to notice the fact that she’s, well, naked. Granted, society has been desensitized to things like nudity and sex appeal through the media, but when there is a serious issue at hand and someone slaps a picture of a naked woman on a poster and expects people to really think about bullfighting, they’re lying to themselves. The message that this advertisement is sending out reflects that of PETA’s other campaigns, which have garnered eye rolls from pretty much everyone. PETA is a repeat offender of picking a great cause to fight for, but never following through with the delivery of it. They purposefully use shock value to get attention, even bad attention, and maybe that’s their plan all along. Any publicity is good publicity,

On their website, they claim that in the three decades since PETA was founded, it has grown into the largest animal rights group in the country, with more than three million members and supporters worldwide (PETA). They defend their position also by saying that these controversial actions are made because they have to rely on free “advertising” through media coverage because the media doesn’t cover the hot-button issues that PETA wants to push. Looking at their track record and how effective this approach is, they just might know what they’re doing. In light of all this information, the blatant sexism shown on not only their anti-bullfighting ad, but others as well, only further pushes their agenda so far into shock value that PETA misses the point entirely. Sexualizing a horrible practice like bullfighting, even when all the gory details are featured, brings more interest to the sexualized part than the actual cause PETA is for. If PETA is making so much change happen in the world, and they’re truly successful, then why should they continue to have to put a sexualized female on their images to get people to