Those Who Lay Eggs: Institutional Sexual Violence and Carnism in Chicken Run

Reuben Dylan Fong

---

Those Who Lay Eggs: Institutional Sexual Violence and Carnism in Chicken Run

Abstract: Vegetarian ecofeminism posits that all forms of oppression (both human and nonhuman) are linguistically and ideologically interlinked. In her book, The Sexual Politics of Meat¸ Carol J. Adams argued that both consumption and depictions of meat literalize and feminize the metaphor for sexual violence against women, as well as patriarchal conceptualizations of women and intersectional with institutional oppression of animals. The mutually constructive conceptualizations between the oppression of women and the oppression of meat-purposed animals are exemplified in Peter Lord and Nick Park’s 2000 film, Chicken Run. In the film, this dyad of oppressions is primarily depicted in three forms: The regulations of egg-laying as feminine gender capital to achieve the institutional compliance and passivity of women, trading eggs for tools with masculine rats as a patriarchal bargain, and the chickens’ eventual freedom from their oppressors, restoring their reproductive rights through the reclamation of their eggs as childbearing systems.

Keywords: Anthropomorphism, Carnism, Children’s Films, Sexual Violence

Click here to view the full article.

Browse all articles here.

Opening the Doors of Perception and Looking Beyond the Binary

Paul "Pablo" Martin

---

Opening the Doors of Perception and Looking Beyond the Binary

Abstract: The great intellectual strides attributed to the ontological shift born of the Cartesian Divide have come at a cost. Constricting reality into binary and hierarchical structures often renders holistic points of view either superfluous or invisible and limit our analyses to only those observations that pass through our terministic screens (Burke, 1966). Instead, adopting contemporary physics’ understanding that the universe is an integrated whole comprised of dynamic relationships invites paradigmatically different observations to the world of animal scholarship. This paper explores two theoretical framings that demonstrate this: Milstein’s (2011) work on identification and consubstantiality in whale tourism as it relates to animal autopoiesis, and Schutten and Burford’s (2017) application of coherence that reveals orca behavior as a form of internatural communication. By applying such open and egalitarian perspectives in more of our efforts to understand non-human animals, human animals can continue to expand and refine their own perceptive capabilities.

Keywords: Animal Communication, Autopoiesis, Internatural Communication, Hierarchy

Click here to view the full article.

Browse all articles here.

Liminal Animals in Liminal Spaces: A Day at Berlin Zoo

Kristine Hill

---

Liminal Animals in Liminal Spaces: A Day at Berlin Zoo

Abstract: This reflexive essay is based on a visit to Berlin Zoo on an overcast February day. It attempts to make sense of the “zoo experience” through critical self-reflection and observations of how visitors relate to animal others. The concept of zoo inhabitants as liminal beings, neither domesticated nor truly wild, is explored. Animals born and raised in captivity do not belong in the wild any more than their ancestors belonged in a zoo. Although they likely could not survive in their “natural” habitats, they are no less “elephant” or “tiger” than free-living members of the same species. These animals occupy liminal spaces where they are subject to “the gaze” and exist as entertainers and educators. Despite concerns regarding the ethics of keeping captive wild animals, I argue that, given proper respect and husbandry, keeping some individuals as ambassador animals could be justified. However, any moral justification for captivity should be considered from the perspective of individual animals and species.

Keywords: Animal Exhibits, Gaze, Liminality, Zoos

Click here to view the full article.

Browse all articles here.