Women and the Animal Rights Movement - by Emily Gaarder (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Animal rights is one of the fastest growing social movements today. Women greatly outnumber men as activists, yet surprisingly, little has been written about the importance and impact of gender on the movement. Women and the Animal Rights Movement combats stereotypes of women activists as mere sentimentalists by exploring the political and moral character of their advocacy on behalf of animals.

Emily Gaarder analyzes the politics of gender in the movement, incorporating in-depth interviews with women and participant observation of animal rights organizations, conferences, and protests to describe struggles over divisions of labor and leadership. Controversies over PETA advertising campaigns that rely on women's sexuality to "sell" animal rights illustrate how female crusaders are asked to prioritize the cause of animals above all else. Gaarder underscores the importance of a paradigm shift in the animal liberation movement, one that seeks a more integrated vision of animal rights that connects universally to other issues--gender, race, economics, and the environment--highlighting that many women activists recognize and are motivated by the connection between the oppression of animals and other social injustices.

Review Quotes

"Based on indepth interviews with women animal rights activists, this eye-opening study provides a valuable grassroots portrait of the movement, showing how it affected the women and how women have shaped it."

--Josephine Donovan "The Feminist Care Tradition in Animal Ethics and Animals and Women" (1/1/2099 12:00:00 AM)

"Emily Gaarder offers a careful analysis of not only the preponderance of women in the animal rights movement, but also how gender has shaped social movements, more broadly."

--Leslie Irvine "author of If You Tame Me: Understanding Our Connections with Animals" (1/1/2099 12:00:00 AM)

"Animal advocacy has always been a social movement powered by women--but it has not always been feminist. Gaarder's work uncovers the gendered politics of animal activism, advancing current discussions in Animal Studies and Gender Studies alike." --Greta Gaard "author of Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens" (1/1/2099 12:00:00 AM)

"At the heart of Gaarder's critique is a dual commitment to feminist care theory and to the idea of interlocking oppressions wrought by the long arms of sexism and male dominance. Gaarder give us rich starting points for such crossgenerational feminist conversation."
-- "Signs" (7/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"Gaarder undertakes the important project of historicizing the role of women in animal rights through narratives drawn from in-depth interviews and participant observation. Women and the Animal Rights Movement adds texture to the history of women in the animal advocacy movement."
-- "Feminist Formations" (12/1/2013 12:00:00 AM)