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3 Are You Waving at Me?
- University of Illinois Press
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65 3 are you waving at me? ingrid e. newkirk Coat of fur, hat with feathers Lobsters boiled alive Who are they, and who am I That I may live, and they must die? I guess it’s not very politically correct to start off an essay that has to do with women and their influence by declaring that I detest being defined by the word “woman.” Perhaps that sounds a bit strange to anyone who knows that I’ve been a feminist since forever or, more accurately, since I saw a drawing of a suffragist chained to a railing; that I marched in the bra-burning ’60s when women first demanded equal pay for equal work; and that I became one of the first deputy sheriffs in Maryland—I dare say in the country. (During a drug bust or other tricky bit of business, if there turned out to be a guard dog or two on the premises, the men (who lifted weights in their off hours and belonged to gun clubs) would say, “We aren’t going in until Newkirk is here to deal with the dogs!” Of course, I know that women’s rights are vital, so don’t get me wrong: It’s just that I have a “thing” against compartmentalization. I see it as the root of all evil; the labeling and compartmentalization of life have contributed enormously to discrimination. If no one knew we were women, no one could ever have discriminated against us on the basis of that fact. In one of my favorite books, Woman and Nature, the author, Susan Griffin , juxtaposes passages from others’ writings from years gone by in which i-xvi_1-192_Kemm.indd 65 4/13/11 11:35 AM 66 ingrid e. newkirk the woman and the “dairy” cow or the mule were regarded in exactly the same supremacist, patronizing ways. Take this gem: Girls ought to be active and diligent; nor is that all, they should also be early subjected to restraint. . . . [I]t is, therefore, necessary to accustom them early to such confinement, that it may not afterwards cost them too dear, and to the suppression of their caprices, that they may the more readily submit to the will of others. —jean-jacques rousseau, émile The teacher should insist that the horse stand still and on all four legs during the process of mounting and until asked to move on by the rider. Fidgeting on the spot or moving without command must not be tolerated. —alois podhajsky, the riding teacher In the same way, I can’t bring myself (and why should I?) to root for the English drivers when I sit mesmerized, watching international auto races, or for the American (my adopted country) or English entrants valiantly skating for the gold. It’s not because they aren’t the best—some are—but because nationalism also makes my skin crawl. Funny enough, it was the founder of New York’s Vegetarian Feminists’ Collective, Connie Salamone, many moons ago, who cautioned me that there are inherent dangers in narrowing our definition of ourselves and about the importance of being ever more inclusive. “Woman” is so narrow a term, a bit like “white,” which upon closer examination is meaningless in that it actually means “black”—a long time removed from Africa and now peculiarly depigmented. And isn’t the definition of “woman” based on sex? So much emphasis on sex! Yes, the Vagina Monologues tell “our” side of the story, mock what needs to be mocked—and mockery of the pathetic is healthy—and let “us” vent, but they point out that at the root of the problem of women’s subjugation is the fact that we are the baby incubators, the carriers of men’s seed—not equals, but vessels, defined by our sexual organs. One only has to think of why “mammals” are so named! My appeal is that we not fight only for consideration, respect, and freedom for those we relate to the most, whether they be our family; others of our religion, race, or gender; or even all human beings—for then we will be mimicking the hierarchical, supremacist ideas that have caused the very problems we object to—but that we reject all classifications as much as we possibly can and demand to be part of something bigger, members of the community of all living beings. This is where the animal rights message comes in: the challenge not to restrict the provision...