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Jennifer Grubbs, Michael Loadenthal

Feminist Formations, Volume 25, Issue 2, Summer 2013, pp. 235-243

(Article)
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DOI: 10.1353/ff.2013.0021

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Book Reviews235
among Faculty of Color Teaching for Social Justice. Review of Higher Education
33 (4): 473512.
Slaughter, Anne-Marie. 2012. Why Women Still Cant Have It All. Atlantic, July/
August. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-stillcan-8217-t-have-it-all/9020/1/.
Vine, Phyllis. 1976. The Social Function of Eighteenth-Century Higher Education.
History of Education Quarterly 16 (4): 40924.

Sister Species: Women, Animals, and Social Justice edited by Lisa A. Kemmerer.
Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2011, 208 pp., $65.00 hardcover, $21.95
paper.
Women and the Animal Rights Movement by Emily Gaarder. New Brunswick, NJ:
Rutgers University Press, 2011, 196 pp., $23.95 paper.
Jennifer Grubbs and Michael Loadenthal
The valuable contributions from Lisa A. Kemmerers edited volume Sister
Species: Women, Animals, and Social Justice and Emily Gaarders Women and
the Animal Rights Movement highlight the connections and tensions between
feminist thought, personal narrative, and animal rights activism. The two
books coalesce a collection of individual accounts into a growing literature on
intersectional, anti-speciesist feminist thought, while situating these accounts
within a larger, historically significant movement. As many critical scholars have
pointed out, written histories are crafted within racist, patriarchal, and colonial
frameworks that systematically erase the roles of many, while privileging the
roles of some (Downson 2000; Guy-Sheftall 1995; Zinn 2003). Kemmerers collection captures these often ignored accounts of women whose personal experiences shaped their political work. Through ethnographic researchspecifically,
participant observation and in-depth interviewsand archival documentation,
Gaarder asserts that the involvement of women in the animal rights movement
has been transformative. Taken together, these books carve out the historical
significance of womens involvement in liberatory struggles and articulate the
ways in which lived experiences inform theoretical analyses. Taken separately,
Kemmerer and Gaarder approach this project with slightly different methodologies. Although ethnography remains a central tool for both, the structures of
the books vary. Kemmerer and the contributors to Sister Species highlight their
personal journeys to animal advocacy and feminism. Sister Species uses personal
narratives to illustrate the multitude of approaches to thinking about animals
in relation to ourselves. Gaarder, on the other hand, serves as an intermediary
and fragments pieces of interviews with her analysis.

236Feminist Formations 25.2

Women and the Animal Rights Movement

Gaarder undertakes the important project of historicizing the role of women
in animal rights through narratives drawn from in-depth interviews and participant observation. Her book takes a dual approach: an historical discussion
of the role of women in the animal rights movement, and an ethnographic
study of contemporary animal advocates. It focuses not only on telling womens
stories through biographical accounts of their involvement, but also explores
how the politics of gender shape the tactics, strategies, images, and goals of the
struggle against speciesism. Gaarder begins by broadly outlining the discourse
among feminism, animal liberation, and ecofeminism, and the historical roles of
women in these social movements. During the opening sections of the book, she
examines the backgrounds and histories of the twenty-seven female respondents
that make up the books data set. In chapter 2, Gaarder continues this inquiry
through explorations of four thematic veins, namely: the activists childhood
and family influences; the timeline for radicalization and involvement; changing
lifestyles and diets; and involvement in other social justice movements.
Throughout chapter 3, the book interrogates why women constitute the
majority of the animal rights movement, and, accordingly, it attempts to explain
the absence of men, who traditionally dominated social movements in terms
of sheer numbers. Gaarder attempts to problematize and historicize this demographic imbalance and to examine how a dominant female presence shapes the
functions (for example, tactics and strategies), perceptions, and effectiveness of
the movement. In this discussion, the author also tackles the difficult and controversial task of explaining womens gravitation toward animals, while simultaneously presenting essentialist descriptions with a critical eye. It is here where
Gaarder examines issues of womens and animals shared oppressions, and the
biological determinism that presents women as naturally more caring beings.
Chapter 4 is based on how womens involvement in the animal rights
movement effects other realms of their lives. Gaarder, for example, profiles a
veterinary student and her vegan politics. The chapter also looks at how an
awareness of animal rights can lead to changes in ones lifestyle, such as adopting
a vegan diet, making different decisions about what to wear and what brands to
buy, and so on, and the ways that this awareness effects activists careers, friendships, family circles, and romantic partnerships. In chapter 5, Gaarder reflects
on how the institution of gender shapes the movements division of labor and
distribution of leadership roles, as well as dictates the perceived legitimacy of
the activists themselves. She discusses female respondents reported frustration
with males who appear only interested with big payoff actions like clandestine
sabotage, laboratory raids, and confrontational demonstrations (97). Gaarder
further interrogates how male dependence on such actions creates an associated
strain on women, who are left with the logistical tasks of outreach, fundraising, and other drudgery. Although it is not the focus of the discussion, this

Book Reviews237

section also mentions that linkages between the female-dominated animal

rights movement and the male-dominated punk and straight-edge movements
serve to prefigure gender roles.
The preceding discussion of the interplay between gender and animal
rights activism is used to mount a concerted critique of the use of sexism to sell
animal rights. As one would expect, this focuses on the controversial anti-fur,
anti-circus, and anti-meat campaigns of People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA). Although this criticism is not novel, Gaarder does a good
job of explaining how the exploitation of female bodies and female sexuality for
the sake of nonhuman animals perpetuates sexism. The great contribution of
this chapter is not the critique itself, but rather her examination of how women
justify their involvement within sexist-laden campaigns. She outlines a number
of justifications provided by female activists, ranging from sex sells to we use
what works, demonstrating that female acceptance of, challenges to, and rejection of such methods are far from monolithically parroted. In her concluding
chapter, the author notes that women often explain their role in a social movement in terms of gender, biology, and their socialization as nurturing, caring,
and empathetic women. Strangely, this narrative is experienced in tandem with
the lived reality of sexism. In the final pages of the book, Gaarder concludes
that two competing and overlapping frameworks exist for why women choose
to involve themselves in this particular movement: the oppression of animals
is the most pressing social issue of our time and thus movements focusing on
human concerns (for example, sexism, racism, homophobia) are divisive and
selfish; and fighting for animals is part of a broad, intersecting web of inequality
that encompasses gender, race, class, and environmental concerns (15354).
Although Gaarders book does an excellent job of chronicling the demographic war of sorts occurring in the contemporary movement for the liberation
of animals, the book does little in the way of remapping the popularized understanding of the struggle. Despite her approach of documenting, highlighting,
and carefully examining the roles played by women, the movement remains
perceived by outside audiences as driven by patriarchs. While the so-called
rank-and-file activists may be more female than male, Peter Singer is still seen as
the father of animal rights following the publication of his Animal Liberation
(1975). Singers foundational text popularized the term speciesism and presented
it alongside other -isms (for example, sexism, racism, ethnocentrism, and so
on), despite the fact that the term was coined by an earlier male, Richard D.
Ryder, in a 1970 leaflet. Interestingly, Gaarder retells a story of Singers that
was originally contained within the pages of Animal Liberation. In the story, a
female protagonist is portrayed as hypocritical, since she professes her love for
animals while eating a ham sandwich (111). In the Singer anecdote, the male
is the observer of a disconnected politic, and the woman, a fool. Highlighting
this anecdote is limiting, in that it reinforces a sexist politic in which men are
rendered arrogant and nonaffective. Although this critique of Singer and many

238Feminist Formations 25.2

utilitarian animal rights scholars is on point, it further erases the intricacies of

anti-speciesist politics adopted by an array of women.1 It remains essentialist
to reduce utilitarianism to men, to reduce affective-sentiment-based politics to
women, and to dismiss the reality that even women are advocates of animals
based on reasons other than emotionally driven experiences. Gaarder is careful not to make these assumptions, and the interviews include the voices of
women who are deeply critical of the outdated dismissal of ecofeminism as
essentialist. However, it is important to bracket Singers account from Animal
Liberation as part of a larger philosophy in which empathy is dismissed. The
chapter concludes with the assertion that empathy and reason work together
(116), but the disjuncture remains that critiques feminists operating within a
reason-based politic.
The importance of Gaarders book is in highlighting the individual voices
of female activists, and also representing these women within a movement
that often is portrayed as male-dominated. Despite the quantitative reality of
a movement primarily populated by women, the animal welfare, rights, and
liberation movements remain championed by male figureheads. While Singer is
seen as the father of animal rights, ecofeminist contributionsthe majority of
which are femaleremain largely marginalized in academia. Scholars like Tom
Reagan, Upton Sinclair, and Richard Ryder are recognized within the canon
of animal rights discourse as foundational individuals, providing yet another
level of erasure. In the NGO and activist realm, powerful organizations remain
dominated by male leaderships. For example, the Humane Society of the United
Statess president is Wayne Pacello, and Farm Sanctuarys cofounder and president is Gene Baur. The same canon further asserts Henry Bergh as the founder
of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA),
and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has Paul Watson at its helm. In
the public realm of above-ground liberationists, those named tend to be male
as well, including Ronnie Lee, Robin Webb, Keith Mann, Barry Horne, Rod
Coronado, Jerry Vlasak, and others. Because of this historical understanding,
Gaarders book is essential to understanding a more balanced activist-centric
history. She articulates the marginalization of women by highlighting their
theoretical and activist contributions, but there remains the dilemma of how
to queer the patriarchal trend of erasure in public histories. While the book
pays close attention to the roles of race, class, gender, sexuality, and ethnic (dis)
identity, the research sample is predominantly constituted by white women, as
recorded in the appendix. Gaarder is critical of this demographic trend and
remains reflexive throughout the book, yet the lack of voices from women of
color remains.

Book Reviews239

Sister Species: Women, Animals, and Social Justice

Kemmerers edited volume brings together a diverse collection of women reflecting on formative experiences that shaped their politics on animals, as well as
their work with animal advocacy. The authors pull from various elements of
their liveswork, family, romance, education, theology, and so onto fuse
narrative and theory. Each essay contributes to a discourse at the intersections
of feminist theory, critical thought, and activism. As the authors speak to issues
of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, speciesism, and other forms of constructed privilege, they remain grounded in the power of subjectivities. Carol
Adams, an ecofeminist author and activist who has spent the last twenty years
articulating the connections between sexism and speciesism, provides a succinct
foreword that sets the tone for the book: a shared value of justice amid a plethora
of difference. Although the contributors represent various perspectives within
animal advocacy and feminist thought, they are not spokespersons and should
not be tokenized as such. As Adams puts it: If you assembled us all in a room,
there would be energetic discussions and disagreements; about language choice,
about the theoretical framing of animal oppression, about tactical decisions,
about the use of women in animal activism, and the symbolism of womens
bodies (xi). The selection of contributors seems random at first, but upon further interrogation, the intention becomes clear. The perspectives encompass
activists, academics, lawyers, artists, and a theologian; the approaches to social
change range from institutional, nonviolent, and incremental to illegal direct
action.
Kemmerer provides an overview of concepts in the introduction, expanding
on the ecofeminist discourse around interconnectedness, speciesism, empathy,
violence, trauma, and instituting and sustaining change. This introduction,
however, does not fully situate all of the essays. There are apparent tensions
among the perspectives presented, and times when the themes presented
conflict. For example, the foreword seems to ground the book in an ethic of
care, whereas several essays specifically denounce the role of compassion in
their work. Lauren Ornelas declares that more important than compassion,
animal advocacy is about fighting injustice and being proactive to solve the
worlds problems (154). The concept of compassion, as described by Adams
and Kemmerer, indicates the role of patience and process to create sustainable change. Each chapter follows the journey of a woman who identifies as
an animal advocate. The final chapter, however, runs counter to the project:
Allison Lance uses hyperbolic language to establish her no compromise
politics, clearly establishing an Us/Them binary. As an activist who travels to
geographies and cultures of which she is not a member, it seems ethnocentric to
refer to Ecuadorian long-line fisherpeople (gender neutral) as compassionless,
brain-dead people (166). Although it was refreshing to see unabashed support
for the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front, it contradicted

240Feminist Formations 25.2

the overall inclusive theme of the book. There are critical moments that the
authors experienced that brought them to animal advocacy, veganism, and
social justice work; that said, it is unreflexive and exclusionary to assume that
fisherpeople, or even hunters, will never change their ways toward compassion.
Moving back to the beginning of the book, pattrice jones describes how
her relationship with other-than-human animals has changed over the years.
She adds texture to her present-day work with rooster rehabilitation by sharing
details of her journey to veganism as a lesbian feminist actively involved in many
struggles for social justice. Similarly, Twyla Franois recounts the ways in which
the American medical system failed women in her family who had cancer. Her
decision to go vegan was a source of empowerment and connected her familys
health disparities to political action that felt authentic. Miyun Park links her
experiences with racism and xenophobia as the daughter of Korean immigrants
to her empathy with animal oppression. Personal anecdotes recount the ways
in which children Other animals and naturalize their exploitation.
A. Breeze Harper expands on this discourse of (dis)identity politics and
privilege as she recounts her childhood experiences with voicing empathy
toward animals and insects in school. She links the trauma of racism to that of
systemic privilege, and develops a politics that counters bullying with compassion. Harper demonstrates how the understandings of self are always already
complicated by how others treat you and how one fits within larger social
structures. As she developed her intersectional anti-speciesist politics over the
years, she balanced being bullied with expressing compassion. Hope Ferdowsian,
the daughter of Iranian immigrants who moved to the United States to avoid
religious persecution, compares the trauma that humans experience with the
trauma that chimpanzees in captivity experience. Through an observation-only
research method, Ferdowsian examines the ways in which chimpanzees experience trauma. Her essay and method beg the moral dilemma of how to study
animals without imposing the speciesist practices of captivity, intervention,
anthropocentrism, and so on.
Ingrid Newkirks essay is less focused on how to situate animal advocacy
within an existing politics than highlighting an activists desire to eliminate the
exploitation of animals in the quickest way possible. She shares her insecurities
about initiating and sustaining change for animals. Newkirk, however, seems
less interested than other authors in connecting her animal advocacy work to
the intersecting struggles of sexism, racism, classism, and so on. Many of the
contributors view their work as part of a larger politics, but Newkirks emphasis
on pragmatic change for animals loses sight of hegemonic reproduction of sexism
through PETA work. In this sense, Lance and Newkirk share a by any means
necessary mentality. Lance, also an activist and organizer, has invested years
in direct-action animal liberation work. She has been hardened to the realities
of speciesist legal systems as described by Christine Garcia (chapter 12). Because
of these experiences, Lance is less forgiving with her language toward animal

Book Reviews241

exploiters. The descriptions of animal abusers are on point, but they create a
clear divide between animal liberationists and everyone else. The perspectives
are understandable for these seasoned organizers, and the binary framework is
accurately experienced by those on the frontlines. These essays were just not
clearly situated by Kemmerer within the larger scheme of the booka collection
of essays by animal advocates and interconnected experiences with oppression
and privilege.
Compassion takes on a new meaning for both Sangamithra Iyer and Karen
Davis as caretakers for chimpanzees and chickens, respectively (chapters 6 and
11). Iyer expresses her disdain for how she experiences racist labeling in various
contexts, because she was deemed white in Cameroon and then a person
of color in Europe. Her transformative experiences in Cameroon culminated
when she fostered three chimpanzees orphaned by the bush-meat trade. As
Iyer discusses the ways in which other species experience motherhood, she
creates a discourse on speciesist trauma, concluding that empathy is not a
human construct and is not limited to the human experience. Davis recounts
her fascination with Nazi concentration camps and how they resembled the
plight of animals. As she shares her journey that led her to found United Poultry
Concerns in 1990, the empowering transformation she underwent from feeling
powerless as a youth to an animal advocate is clear.
The authors approach social justice from a variety of perspectives. Aside
from the range of ideological views and personal experiences, they also advocate
a diverse range of strategic and tactical positions. With years of involvement in
the US feminist movement and feminist theological scholarship, Elizabeth Jane
Farians focuses on the relationship between Christianity and how sexism and
speciesism are linked. She is committed to challenging speciesism, but advocates
working from within religious institutions rather than outside of them. Farians
argues for a reevaluation of the spiritualization of violence that is naturalized
in Christianity (106). Linda Fisher expands on the spiritualization of violence
in her discussion of Native American heritage and modern-day representations. Fisher speaks from within the Ojibway community and interrogates the
prominence of products derived from animal parts and the use of hunting. She
examines the complexities of carrying on tradition while maintaining an ethic
that values Mother Earth and all beings. The discussion ultimately questions
whether or not the current representations of Native American perspectives on
animals and the Earth are being reappropriated to service speciesism. Finally,
in her chapter, Tara Sophia Bahna-James advocates the importance of social
theater and activism as a tool to foster inclusivity and action. As a method
to obtain social change, Bahna-James argues that the theater can transgress
boundaries that often inhibit others from engaging in animal advocacy.

242Feminist Formations 25.2

Conclusion
These two books, Women and the Animal Rights Movement and Sister Species:
Women, Animals, and Social Justice, add texture to the history of women in the
animal advocacy movement. Gaarder authors a book based on interviews with
women, whereas Kemmerer edits a volume filled with personal accounts from
women to utilize voice as a central tool of analysis. The books contribute to
the growing discourse on ecofeminism, women in social justice movements,
and the intersectional experiences of women and oppression. Despite the
extensive interviews, Gaarders book would have benefited from embracing the
interviewees subjectivities. Rather than fragment extracted quotes with the
authors theoretical analysis, the quotes can speak for themselves. This is the
advantage of Kemmerers approach with an edited volume. Gaarder provides an
extensive history of women and activism, whereas Kemmerer relies upon only
a few sources to provide a narrow history. Nonviolent activism should not be
exclusively credited to Martin Luther KingJr. and Mahatma Gandhi, as Kemmerer does. On the other hand, Kemmerers edited volume allows the women to
speak for themselves. The contributors in the volume may disagree, and at times
the essays contradict one another, but that is the point; the variety of women in
the animal advocacy movement and the plethora of diverse perspectives do not
fit neatly into one authors history. Taken separately, the books provide different things. Gaarder provides a clear history of women in the animal advocacy
movement, and she maps these activists within histories of other social justice
movements. Kemmerer provides a space to embrace narrative and the unique
experiences of women doing social justice work. Taken together, these books
complement where individually each stops short: an historical record and
lengthy ethnography complemented by a series of essays written by women
whose experiences led them to a range of animal advocacy work. The growing
discourse on ecofeminists and women animal advocates needs a larger library
of texts like these. Similar to other social justice movements, the histories will
be written by someone, but those who write the history control who is included,
excluded, praised, blamed, and even shamed. Future texts would benefit from
following the examples set by Gaarder and Kemmerer: to allow women to speak
for themselves. Future authors should consider interviewing activists and including lengthy quotes without editing, inviting activists to write about their own
experiences in a way that maintains their own voices, and be willing to include
many voices of activists, even those on the fringe or in opposition to others.
The books are written in accessible language and provide a detailed history
of womens involvement in animal advocacy. A wide range of audiences could
utilize these books, including academics interested in grounding contemporary
work within an historical trajectory, nonacademic activists interested in personal narratives about experiences with veganism and structures of oppression,
and both activists and academics interested in gaining deeper understandings

Book Reviews243

of how speciesism intersects with other constructed forms of privilege. Because

the books are written for a wide audience, they are more appropriate for upperlevel undergraduates and graduate students.
Jennifer Grubbs is an anarchist anthropologist at American University. Her
research examines the intersections of privilege and exploitation with species relations,
the neoliberal corporatization of academia, and the political repression of animal
and Earth liberationists. Despite that jargon-filled research summary, she remains
committed to creating theory that also matters to those outside of university walls.
She can be reached at jennygrubbs@gmail.com.
Michael Loadenthal is a doctoral fellow at the School for Conflict Analysis and
Resolution at George Mason University and an adjunct lecturer in the Program on
Justice and Peace at Georgetown University. His research focuses on social movements, political violence, and anarchism. He currently splits his time between raising
a vegan daughter, researching statecraft, teaching theory, and agitating for a better
world. He regularly publishes propaganda and political theory under a variety of
pseudonyms. He can be reached at michael.loadenthal@gmail.com.
Note
1. Utilitarianism, a philosophy based on the evaluation of morality that measures
the benefits for the greater good, has been expanded within animal ethics. A utilitarian
approach to animal exploitation weighs the benefits for the majority with the negative
costs of animal autonomy and life. A common utilitarian approach is used to justify
vivisection on animals if it can prevent human life from being lost to illness.

References
Downson, Thomas A. 2000. Why Queer Archaeology? An Introduction. World
Archaeology 32 (2): 16165.
Guy-Sheftall, Beverly. 1995. Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist
Thought. New York: The New Press.
Ryder, Richard D. 1970. Speciesism, privately printed leaflet, Oxford.
Singer, Peter. 1975. Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for Our Treatment of Animals. New
York: HarperCollins.
Zinn, Howard. 2003. A Peoples History of the United States: 1492 to Present. New York:
Harper Perennial Modern Classics.