I don't know which is more confronting for people. Being called out for sexism or for speciesism. Both are something nobody wants to be accused of, even if it's obvious. Speciesism is more overt and noticeable, e.g. if you say you love animals (meaning cats and dogs) and then you tuck into a nice juicy piece of dead cow... That makes you, under the sociological definition, speciesist.
Sexism is more insidious. This insidiousness can range from incidentally finding it funny that a man is doing some dishes, to deciding a female hunter is worse then male hunters because she is a woman.
Yes, that is what has sparked this post. Kendall Jones. For anyone who doesn't know, she is a young woman from Texas who kills wild animals for sport, but claims it's for "conservation efforts" and to feed "hungry villagers" in African countries. It's all legal because she pays their governments for the permits to do so. She then posts pictures online of her posing next to these dead majestic animals, while beaming a big proud smile. She calls them her trophies.
I will make it clear right now that I am completely against any and all of the killing she does, for whatever reason, and that I think it's sick that she posts pictures of herself on the Internet next to these animals, presenting them as trophies. According to the Internet, the grand majority of people agree.
While I am not especially opposed to her actions more so than I would be if she was a man (and most people on Facebook threads appear to agree) she does cop certain criticisms that men who do the same thing, do not. She has had directed at her anything from rape jokes and death wishers to rape wishers and death threats. Her Facebook post from the 3rd of January, found here (you have to scroll down) illustrates this perfectly. To accompany the photo-montage of people holding up beautiful, and very dead, wild animals, she has stated:
So... Did anybody notice anything different over the last few days? Our friendly little competition drew thousands of pictures, posted by proud hunters taken for pure enjoyment...some in action, some selfies, some with trophies but all posted specifically "to get attention" for our #hothunter competition. And, whaddya know! No death threats, no rape jokes, nobody offering $100 grand for nude photos of the proud hunters... none of the normal BS that appears on my page on a daily basis. Hmm I wonder why? Could it be because all the people daring to post photos of themselves were men? It was a lot of fun (congrats Trey!) but there real reason I did this whole competition was to prove that what really pisses off the anti-hunting crowd is not that I hunt, or that I pose with my trophies, or that I'm proud of my achievements...its the fact that I'm a girl and I'm doing those things. Well I'm here to tell you, I'm NEVER going to stop. I'm proud to hunt, proud to cheer, proud to wear makeup, and especially PROUD TO BE ME! #therealreason #shootlikeagirl #provingapoint #KJ1hatersnada #brainsbeforebeauty #will #not #stop #lovetohunt
About the special treatment, she is right. The main reason she is so well-known is because she is a woman. I say this knowing that she has deliberately sought fame as a reality TV host. The reason people sat up and took notice is that she is an attractive young woman with a Facebook page. Usually women don't go out and hunt, and document it, and then put it on a Facebook page. The fact that she does has made people go wtf? She defies gender stereotypes and therefore she is even more wrong than the men who do this. I don't think this myself, trust me, but others do - and it has propelled her to infamy. In this thread alone she has received comments such as "Look at me! I'm an attention whore!" and "I hope your mascara doesn't run when a lion is tearing you to shreds". Articles about her are quick to point out that she is a cheerleader. She also receives much more sinister comments like "Let's hunt you for your blonde locks they would look so much better on my head than yours!!" and a statement from a man, that I can't find the quote for (it was probably reported and removed), that suggested if he ever met her he would set his dogs onto her, and then ended with the hashtag "BelieveIt". She also gets rape wishers such as one upstanding citizen who commented "Your kids will be raped by gorillas". One article has even stated that it is a "victory" for Jones that she has managed to have a hate site taken down. It is a victory for a woman to have had a site full of death threats and rape jokes taken down? Wow.
A large number of the people commenting on these threads are also most likely speciesists. Many of them say they too hunt, but are appalled that she hunts endangered species'. Many say they understand her conservation actions, and state that the animals she kills makes it harder for poachers to kill the ones that really matter???? Many people just say it's terrible that she would kill any animals and display them like this; you can bet that a good percentage of these people allow others to kill animals on their behalf so that they themselves can have dinner.
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| Tell me again how this is for conservation? |
It is interesting though, that people subconsciously assume they can tear somebody to shreds without looking at their own failings, just because that person's values differ, if extremely, from their own. If we are going to solve speciesism and sexism we have to look at how they, among other oppressions, intersect. Sexism, racism, rape, speciesism, transmisogyny, wilful environmental destruction, slavery, ableism, capitalism, libertarianism, and many more things, intersect because they are all acts of violent oppression. One should not be answered by another.
Conclusion: It is not okay to wish rape on a person because they like to kill different animals than you do.
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| Just one of the images of her and others with their "trophies". More information on Kendall Jones and her other critics can be found in various places online - I found some of mine here and here. |
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