The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-vegetarian Critical Theory, 20th Anniversary Edition

352 Pages·2010·4.27 MB·English

by  Carol J. Adams

THE SEXUAL POLITICS
OF MEAT
A FEMINISTVEGETARIAN
CRITICAL THEORY
Praise for The Sexual Politics of Meat and
Carol J. Adams
“A clearheaded scholar joins the ideas of two movements—vegetari-
anism and feminism—and turns them into a single coherent and
moral theory. Her argument is rational and persuasive. . . . New
ground—whole acres of it—is broken by Adams.”
—Colman McCarthy, Washington Post Book World
“Th e Sexual Politics of Meat examines the historical, gender, race, and
class implications of meat culture, and makes the links between the
prac tice of butchering/eating animals and the maintenance of male
domi nance. Read this powerful new book and you may well become
a vegetarian.”
—Ms.
“Adams’s work will almost surely become a ‘bible’ for feminist and
prog ressive animal rights activists. . . . Depiction of animal exploita-
tion as one manifestation of a brutal patriarchal culture has been
explored in two [of her] books, Th e Sexual Politics of Meat and Neither
Man nor Beast: Feminism and the Defense of Animals. Adams argues
that factory farming is part of a whole culture of oppression and insti-
tutionalized violence. Th e treatment of animals as objects is parallel
to and associated with patriarchal society’s objectifi cation of women,
blacks, and other minorities in order to routinely exploit them. Adams
excels in constructing unexpected juxtapositions by using the language
of one kind of relationship to illuminate another. Employing poetic
rather than rhetorical techniques, Adams makes powerful connec-
tions that encourage readers to draw their own conclusions.”
—Choice
“A dynamic contribution toward creating a feminist/animal rights
theory.”
—Animals’ Agenda
“A cohesive, passionate case linking meat-eating to the oppression of
animals and women . . . . [It is] a well-researched, provocative, and
stimulating argument.”
—Th e [Australian] Age
“Th e Sexual Politics of Meat is an excellent book. Combining a knowl-
edge of recent work in language studies . . . with a clearly defi ned
moral line, Adams argues that the cruelty and doublethink involved
in meat eating is closely linked to the attitudes that have supported
the oppres sion of women.”
—Oxford Times
“With this bold and provocative book, a powerful champion of ani-
mal rights has entered the lists, challenging the patriarchal domina-
tion of the Western world’s eating habits.”
—National Women’s Studies Association Journal
“Th e Sexual Politics of Meat couldn’t be more timely, or more
dis turbing.”
—Environmental Ethics
“Th e Sexual Politics of Meat is a book from which those opposed to all
forms of tyranny can draw sustenance.”
—San Antonio Light
“I found this book to be loaded with ideas and connections that
I never before read or heard. Drawing on historical and literary paral-
lels between feminist and vegetarian movements, Adams details the
interrela tionships between meat eating and male dominance. To talk
about vegetarianism, she says, is to threaten one of the pillars of
patriarchy. Adams also makes a strong case for animal rights.”
—Vegetarian Times
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THE SEXUAL POLITICS
OF MEAT
A FEMINISTVEGETARIAN
CRITICAL THEORY
Carol J. Adams
T A E
WENTIETH NNIVERSARY DITION
2010
Th e Continuum International Publishing Group Inc
80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
Th e Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd
Th e Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
www.continuumbooks.com
Copyright © 1990 by Carol J. Adams
New material copyright © 2000, 2010 by Carol J. Adams
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written
permission of the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-1-4411-7328-7
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed in the United States of America
Copyright acknowledgements will be found on page 329, which constitutes
an extension of this page.
In memory of
31.1 billion each year, 85.2 million each day
3.5 million each hour, 59,170 each minute
and in memory of
Mary Daly (1928–2010), my fi rst reader:
She opened worlds where we found ourselves at home
It is not possible now, and never will be, to say I renounce. Nor
would it be a good thing for literature were it possible. Th is generation
must break its neck in order that the next may have smooth going.
For I agree with you that nothing is going to be achieved by us.
Fragments—paragraphs—a page perhaps: but no more. . . . Th e
human soul, it seems to me, orientates itself afresh every now and
then. It is doing so now. No one can see it whole, therefore. Th e best
of us catch a glimpse of a nose, a shoulder, something turning away,
always in movement. Still it seems better to me to catch this glimpse.
—Virginia Woolf to Gerald Brenan
Christmas Day, 1922
We have learned to use anger as we have learned to use the dead fl esh
of animals, and bruised, battered and changing, we have survived and
grown and, in Angela Wilson’s words, we are moving on.
—Audre Lorde
“Th e Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism”
Say Stella, when you copy next,
Will you keep strictly to the text?
—Jonathan Swift
“To Stella, Who Collected and Transcribed His Poems”
CONTENTS
Illustrations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Preface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Preface to the Tenth Anniversary Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Preface to the Original Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Foreword by Nellie McKay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Part One: Th e Patriarchal Texts of Meat
Chapter 1
Th e Sexual Politics of Meat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Chapter 2
Th e Rape of Animals, the Butchering of Women . . . . . . . . . . .64
Chapter 3
Masked Violence, Muted Voices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Chapter 4
Th e Word Made Flesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117