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A striking characteristic of the animal rights movement is that women constitute the majority of its activists. This qualitative study of twenty-seven women animal rights activists analyzes how they make sense of their centrality in the movement. The article discusses how cultural discourses regarding sex and gender shape the way women activists interpret their own activism, and the predominance of women in the movement. Their accounts often seek to explain the absence of men more than the presence of women. Women activists explain their large presence in animal rights through biological influences, social learning, and empathy based on common oppressions. As they considered the connection between gender and animal rights activism, women alternatively accepted, rejected, and reformulated dominant ideas about sex and gender. Their complex accounts of the relationship between gender and animal activism highlight the inherently political nature of their choice to become activists.
Keywords: activism / animal rights movement / gender / politics / social movements / women
"Putting yourself out there as an animal rights activist opens you up to a lot of stereotypes and resistance from society. I think a lot of men are hesitant to get involved because they might be looked at as a bleeding heart, openly emotional . . . a little bit too sensitive."
-Abby, animal rights activist and participant in this study
One of the most striking characteristics of the animal rights movement is that the majority of its activists are women. They have been at the forefront of animal rights activism in the United States and Great Britain since the 1800s, and current studies show that women constitute 68-80 percent of the animal rights movement (Jasper and Poulsen 1995; Lowe and Ginsberg 2002). The "Animals' Agenda" report of two 1985 surveys concluded that "at all levels of participation . . . women constitute the single most important driving force behind the animal rights phenomenon" (Greanville and Moss 1985, 10). Regardless of age, political views, or educational level, women are more likely than men to be animal advocates (Kruse 1999). In general, women are more likely than men to support animal rights (Peek, Bell, and Dunham 1996) and to express concern about the treatment of animals (Driscoll 1992).
This legacy begs the question: How do...