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Animals and Women is a collection of pioneering essays that explores the theoretical connections between feminism and animal defense. Offering a feminist perspective on the status of animals, this unique volume argues persuasively that both the social construction and oppressions of women are inextricably connected to the ways in which we comprehend and abuse other species. Furthermore, it demonstrates that such a focus does not distract from the struggle for women's rights, but rather contributes to it.
This wide-ranging multidisciplinary anthology presents original material from scholars in a variety of fields, as well as a rare, early article by Virginia Woolf. Exploring the leading edge of the species/gender boundary, it addresses such issues as the relationship between abortion rights and animal rights, the connection between woman-battering and animal abuse, and the speciesist basis for much sexist language. Also considered are the ways in which animals have been regarded by science, literature, and the environmentalist movement. A striking meditation on women and wolves is presented, as is an examination of sexual harassment and the taxonomy of hunters and hunting. Finally, this compelling collection suggests that the subordination and degradation of women is a prototype for other forms of abuse, and that to deny this connection is to participate in the continued mistreatment of animals and women.
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Part I: Sexism/Speciesism: Interlocking Oppressions 9
1. Sexist Words, Speciesist Roots / Joan Dunayer 11
2. Exploring the Boundaries: Feminism, Animals, and Science / Lynda Birke 32
3. Women Battering and Harm to Animals / Carol J. Adams 55
4. License to Kill: An Ecofeminist Critique of Hunters' Discourse / Marti Kheel 85
5. Speech, Pornography, and Hunting / Maria Comninou 126
6. Abortion and Animal Rights: Are They Compatible Issues? / Gary L. Francione 149
Part II: Alternative Stories 161
7. Beyond Just-So Stories: Narrative, Animals, and Ethics / Linda Vance 163
8. Thinking Like a Chicken: Farm Animals and the Feminine Connection / Karen Davis 192
9. Of Wolves and Women / Diane Antonio 213
10. The Power of Otherness: Animals in Women's Fiction / Marian Scholtmeijer 231
11. Birds Don't Sing in Greek: Virginia Woolf and "The Plumage Bill" / Reginald Abbott 263
12. Taming Ourselves or Going Feral? Toward a Nonpatriarchal Metaethic of Animal Liberation / Brian Luke 290
13. Speciesism, Racism, Nationalism...or the Power of Scientific Subjectivity / Susanne Kappeler 320
Bibliography of Feminist Approaches to Animal Issues 353
Notes on Contributors 363
Index 367
Carol J. Adams is a writer and a professional consultant on issues of sexual harassment and sexual violence. She is the author of several books, including The Sexual Politics of Meat and, most recently, Neither Man nor Beast.
Josephine Donovan is Professor of English at the University of Maine, Orono. She is the author of many books, including Feminist Theory and the editor of Feminist Literary Criticism.
"This is an outstanding collection. The authors write expertly on the surprisingly intimate relation between attitudes toward animals and women in our culture. From reading their work on pornography, the treatment of 'laboratory' animals, hunting, wife-beating, and factory farming I have learned a tremendous amount. This superbly edited volume makes an important contribution to the cause of animal and human liberation."
– Jane Tompkins, Duke University – N/A
