In a piece written exclusively for PerthNow, notorious vegan activist and OnlyFans star Tash Peterson says she’s been unfairly targeted after appearing topless during her first Melbourne protest.
Last week, I protested topless in Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall to draw attention to the egregious abuse sheep endure at wool operations here in Australia and the world over.
Occupying the street in little more than undies on a Victorian winter’s day is a little uncomfortable, but I’m no stranger to protesting while wearing very little – in fact, it’s something I do regularly to promote animal rights.
Sure, it can get cold, and news about me isn’t always flattering, but I know my discomfort is nothing compared to what animals experience every day on farms, at slaughterhouses, and in shearing sheds, so I don’t let the headlines bother m
But after this, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protest, one article did stand out – because it was especially petty and roll-your-eyes sexist.
The headline read, “Not the Centre of Attention? Controversial Vegan Activist Tash Peterson Appears Less Than Impressed as Curvy PETA Protester Steals the Show”.
It’s not the commentary on my appearance that bothers me – that’s part and parcel of putting your body on the line in the name of animal liberation.
It’s that this particular tabloid took one moment from an hour-long protest in which I happened to be looking down and tried to turn it into a catfight between two women, implying that we’re not on the same side.
Let’s be clear: we absolutely are.
Moreover, we both agree that neither of us was the focus of this demonstration – Australian sheep abused for their fleece were
The “curvy protester” to which the headline refers is Stefania Ferrario, my good friend and fellow animal rights advocate. She is a woman I greatly admire, and (even when I’m briefly glancing down) we see eye to eye on animal rights issues, agreeing that – as PETA puts it – animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, or use for entertainment.
Stefania and I were motivated to join this particular action after seeing new eyewitness footage filmed inside a Victorian shearing shed earlier this year and released by PETA this month.
In the video, a badly bleeding sheep, injured during shearing, is being held between the knees of a shearer, while they crudely stitch up her gaping wound – without administering any pain relief. After the rudimentary job is done, the shearer nonchalantly mops up the animal’s blood with her own fleece.
It’s grim viewing, but sadly, it’s nothing new.
Over the years, PETA has released numerous exposés into the global wool industry, spanning 118 operations across four continents, including the wool capital of the world, Australia.
The new website WoolFacts.com hosts footage of sheep being thrown, kicked, stamped on, and beaten with clippers – and highlighting this abuse was the point of PETA’s protest.
It’s those hens, cows, sows, and ewes I’m thinking about in moments of quiet reflection during a protest – not what attention the women I admire are getting.
It was already newsworthy – aside from the shocking insight into a cruel industry, we were almost naked in Bourke Street Mall, for flock’s sake!
There was no need to stoop to a clickbait headline that tries to pit women against each other.
For me, feminism and a vegan lifestyle are inextricably linked.
It’s the exploitation of female bodies – to lay eggs, make milk, and breed more animals – that feeds the human appetite for flesh, skins, and secretions. In the egg, meat, leather, and wool industries, female animals’ ovulation cycles are manipulated, they’re artificially inseminated, and their babies are stolen.
Their nipples may be cut off during rough shearing, and their wool is used as a cleaning cloth.
Every single animal-derived product that consumers purchase began with an animal who never gave consent to be used and abused.
And I can assure you, it’s those hens, cows, sows, and ewes I’m thinking about in moments of quiet reflection during a protest – not what “attention” the women I admire are getting.
The headline reinforced something I’ve always known: the tabloids love nothing more than pitting women against each other.
Luckily, we know that a better world is possible if we refuse to hurt other females – no matter what their species may be.
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