Carol J. Adams
“Equality isn’t an idea; it is a practice. We practice it when we don’t treat other people or other animals as objects.”
Author of The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory, Adams is a feminist activist best known for her work on the intersections of feminism, animal rights, ecofeminism, and veganism.
I have recently finished reading her "The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory" and I am dead serious, and I swear that I am not the same person I was one book ago.
Throughout the book, she explores how patriarchy and the oppression of women, and the exploitation of animals are interconnected through patriarchal structures and power dynamics. Known for deconstructing the forms of oppression, she used references from books, songs, tv series, advertisements, and a collection of basically pieces from everything tangible.
She coined the concept of "absent referent" which is, basically explained as "The condition of a sign which has an empty, absent, non-existent, paradoxical, hypothetical, supernatural, or undefined referent, such as nothing, null, vacuum, or void." Similar to the female body being dehumanized and objectified, animals are made absent referents and made invisible.
For instance, the animal (the referent) is "absent" because its identity is erased. It is called meat, burger, or any form of meat that you consume. However, it was a living creature before; the animal that is being consumed is made absent; no one thinks that they are eating an animal, they just enjoy the meal itself.
Language reinforces this idea that we say "beef" instead of "cow," or we say "pork" instead of "pig." So basically, it is all about the language and the culture.
The situation is no different when it comes to women’s objectification. Their bodies are reduced to mere objects rather than individuals. The ads shown in the book portray women's bodies as a comparison to juicy steaks or meat pieces. Also, commercials where burgers are eaten sensually by half-naked women equate meat consumption with male sexual dominance.
There are a lot of examples that I want to include here but let's keep it small with some chapters from the table of contents:
Chapter 1: The Sexual Politics of Meat
Chapter 3: Masked Violence, Muted Voices
Chapter 5: Dismembered Texts, Dismembered Animals
Chapter 6: Frankenstein's Vegetarian Monster
And a lot more with great examples that will make you realize what is actually going on in society and industry. Adams's contents range from historical contexts and literature to contemporary advertisements and ecofeminism; so there is no way to pick one from the contents and delve into it. But one thing I know is that you should definitely read it. Please. Do read it.