To the Woman in the Boycott Puppy Mills TShirt at the Brooklyn Food Conference

I'm the first to admit that I'm a better writer than I am a public speaker. Like many, I fare much better when I've had some time to contemplate a question before I answer. When I spoke at the Brooklyn Food Conference on May 12, 2012, I didn't have a good answer to one question, and the answer hit me later, long after I walked away from the conference at the end of the day.

During the panel on "Women, Feminism, and the Use of Animals for Food," I spoke about how, in my opinion, sexual campaigns objectify women, promote a very narrow definition of beauty, and do little (if anything) for the animals. A young woman said that such arguments reminded her of people at gay pride parades who try to tell other parade participants not to dress too flamboyantly or too scantily.

At the time, I didn't have a good reply, but I felt in my gut that the two situations were quite different. Later, it hit me: The scantily-clad people in the gay pride parade are removing their clothes as a form of personal expression. It may be spontaneous or it may be planned, but no one is talking them into removing their clothes. On the other hand, the women taking off their clothes for a "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" ad have been told by PeTA that their nakedness is needed to help animals. The women in the PeTA ads are not merely taking off their clothes to express themselves, but are being persuaded to remove their clothes to advance animal rights - a social justice movement. But a social justice movement, in my opinion, should not offend another social justice movement in order to advance their cause.

Anyway, the Brooklyn Food Conference was an awesome event, and I have to thank Adam Weissman and the Occupy Wall Street Animal Issues Group for putting together the two panels on which I spoke. I highly recommend the conference - it's free, it encompasses a myriad of issues surrounding food, the lunch options included several vegan meals, activities for children allow the parents to take advantage of the conference, and there are lots of nonprofit groups and vendors offering merchandise, information, and free samples.

To the Woman in the Boycott Puppy Mills TShirt at the Brooklyn Food Conference

I'm the first to admit that I'm a better writer than I am a public speaker. Like many, I fare much better when I've had some time to contemplate a question before I answer. When I spoke at the Brooklyn Food Conference on May 12, 2012, I didn't have a good answer to one question, and the answer hit me later, long after I walked away from the conference at the end of the day.

During the panel on "Women, Feminism, and the Use of Animals for Food," I spoke about how, in my opinion, sexual campaigns objectify women, promote a very narrow definition of beauty, and do little (if anything) for the animals. A young woman said that such arguments reminded her of people at gay pride parades who try to tell other parade participants not to dress too flamboyantly or too scantily.

At the time, I didn't have a good reply, but I felt in my gut that the two situations were quite different. Later, it hit me: The scantily-clad people in the gay pride parade are removing their clothes as a form of personal expression. It may be spontaneous or it may be planned, but no one is talking them into removing their clothes. On the other hand, the women taking off their clothes for a "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" ad have been told by PeTA that their nakedness is needed to help animals. The women in the PeTA ads are not merely taking off their clothes to express themselves, but are being persuaded to remove their clothes to advance animal rights - a social justice movement. But a social justice movement, in my opinion, should not offend another social justice movement in order to advance their cause.

Anyway, the Brooklyn Food Conference was an awesome event, and I have to thank Adam Weissman and the Occupy Wall Street Animal Issues Group for putting together the two panels on which I spoke. I highly recommend the conference - it's free, it encompasses a myriad of issues surrounding food, the lunch options included several vegan meals, activities for children allow the parents to take advantage of the conference, and there are lots of nonprofit groups and vendors offering merchandise, information, and free samples.

To the Woman in the Boycott Puppy Mills TShirt at the Brooklyn Food Conference

I'm the first to admit that I'm a better writer than I am a public speaker. Like many, I fare much better when I've had some time to contemplate a question before I answer. When I spoke at the Brooklyn Food Conference on May 12, 2012, I didn't have a good answer to one question, and the answer hit me later, long after I walked away from the conference at the end of the day.

During the panel on "Women, Feminism, and the Use of Animals for Food," I spoke about how, in my opinion, sexual campaigns objectify women, promote a very narrow definition of beauty, and do little (if anything) for the animals. A young woman said that such arguments reminded her of people at gay pride parades who try to tell other parade participants not to dress too flamboyantly or too scantily.

At the time, I didn't have a good reply, but I felt in my gut that the two situations were quite different. Later, it hit me: The scantily-clad people in the gay pride parade are removing their clothes as a form of personal expression. It may be spontaneous or it may be planned, but no one is talking them into removing their clothes. On the other hand, the women taking off their clothes for a "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" ad have been told by PeTA that their nakedness is needed to help animals. The women in the PeTA ads are not merely taking off their clothes to express themselves, but are being persuaded to remove their clothes to advance animal rights - a social justice movement. But a social justice movement, in my opinion, should not offend another social justice movement in order to advance their cause.

Anyway, the Brooklyn Food Conference was an awesome event, and I have to thank Adam Weissman and the Occupy Wall Street Animal Issues Group for putting together the two panels on which I spoke. I highly recommend the conference - it's free, it encompasses a myriad of issues surrounding food, the lunch options included several vegan meals, activities for children allow the parents to take advantage of the conference, and there are lots of nonprofit groups and vendors offering merchandise, information, and free samples.

To the Woman in the Boycott Puppy Mills TShirt at the Brooklyn Food Conference

I'm the first to admit that I'm a better writer than I am a public speaker. Like many, I fare much better when I've had some time to contemplate a question before I answer. When I spoke at the Brooklyn Food Conference on May 12, 2012, I didn't have a good answer to one question, and the answer hit me later, long after I walked away from the conference at the end of the day.

During the panel on "Women, Feminism, and the Use of Animals for Food," I spoke about how, in my opinion, sexual campaigns objectify women, promote a very narrow definition of beauty, and do little (if anything) for the animals. A young woman said that such arguments reminded her of people at gay pride parades who try to tell other parade participants not to dress too flamboyantly or too scantily.

At the time, I didn't have a good reply, but I felt in my gut that the two situations were quite different. Later, it hit me: The scantily-clad people in the gay pride parade are removing their clothes as a form of personal expression. It may be spontaneous or it may be planned, but no one is talking them into removing their clothes. On the other hand, the women taking off their clothes for a "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" ad have been told by PeTA that their nakedness is needed to help animals. The women in the PeTA ads are not merely taking off their clothes to express themselves, but are being persuaded to remove their clothes to advance animal rights - a social justice movement. But a social justice movement, in my opinion, should not offend another social justice movement in order to advance their cause.

Anyway, the Brooklyn Food Conference was an awesome event, and I have to thank Adam Weissman and the Occupy Wall Street Animal Issues Group for putting together the two panels on which I spoke. I highly recommend the conference - it's free, it encompasses a myriad of issues surrounding food, the lunch options included several vegan meals, activities for children allow the parents to take advantage of the conference, and there are lots of nonprofit groups and vendors offering merchandise, information, and free samples.

To the Woman in the Boycott Puppy Mills TShirt at the Brooklyn Food Conference

I'm the first to admit that I'm a better writer than I am a public speaker. Like many, I fare much better when I've had some time to contemplate a question before I answer. When I spoke at the Brooklyn Food Conference on May 12, 2012, I didn't have a good answer to one question, and the answer hit me later, long after I walked away from the conference at the end of the day.

During the panel on "Women, Feminism, and the Use of Animals for Food," I spoke about how, in my opinion, sexual campaigns objectify women, promote a very narrow definition of beauty, and do little (if anything) for the animals. A young woman said that such arguments reminded her of people at gay pride parades who try to tell other parade participants not to dress too flamboyantly or too scantily.

At the time, I didn't have a good reply, but I felt in my gut that the two situations were quite different. Later, it hit me: The scantily-clad people in the gay pride parade are removing their clothes as a form of personal expression. It may be spontaneous or it may be planned, but no one is talking them into removing their clothes. On the other hand, the women taking off their clothes for a "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" ad have been told by PeTA that their nakedness is needed to help animals. The women in the PeTA ads are not merely taking off their clothes to express themselves, but are being persuaded to remove their clothes to advance animal rights - a social justice movement. But a social justice movement, in my opinion, should not offend another social justice movement in order to advance their cause.

Anyway, the Brooklyn Food Conference was an awesome event, and I have to thank Adam Weissman and the Occupy Wall Street Animal Issues Group for putting together the two panels on which I spoke. I highly recommend the conference - it's free, it encompasses a myriad of issues surrounding food, the lunch options included several vegan meals, activities for children allow the parents to take advantage of the conference, and there are lots of nonprofit groups and vendors offering merchandise, information, and free samples.

Protest Against Sexist Comments from Bear Hunter Mark T Hall

I've been in the news quite a few times because of my work against the New Jersey bear hunt with the BEAR Group, but this was the first time the I've personally been in the crosshairs. On December 1, 2011, Mark T. Hall, a bear hunter and attorney with New Jersey law firm Morgan, Melhuish and Abrutyn, posted on a hunting forum, "I Promise to Shoot one of the following bears in Your Honor Doris Lin Be sure to check back for pics of the bruin in the back of my truck! Thanks for the Hunt Babe-and by the way you need a new wingman-the girls your hangining, man they just don't ...... well you know," with photos of several bears at a bait pile. The thread had the subject line, "Hey DORIS THIS ONE's For You (pix)." Hall also posted taunting, sexist comments on the Facebook page of animal rights group SHowing Animals Respect And Kindness (SHARK). Hall later posted photos of himself and his teenage daughter with the two bears they had killed. All of this was done without using his full name, but Hall's identity was discovered by Stu Chaifetz of SHARK.

After two demands for apologies went unanswered, SHARK, Animal Protection League of NJ and the BEAR Group organized a protest against Hall on February 2, 2012, at his office. That same day, I joined the Women in the Profession section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. A male attorney calling a female attorney "babe" is offensive, misogynistic and unprofessional, yet this is the type of attitude that colors so many personal and professional interactions. The next day, the NJ Law Journal ran an article about the protest on their front page, and I received an apology letter from Hall on February 6. Although we demanded an apology at the protest, I doubted that we would get one, so in that way, the apology was more than I was expecting. It was, however, probably the worst apology I've ever gotten. The NJ Law Journal followed up with an article about the apology.

In his letter, Hall claimed that he posted his comments "on a members only hunting website to other hunters." No, Hall knew that the website is available to the public. That's why his comments were addressed to me, not "other hunters," and referred to me in the second person. And his apology was "for any offense you took," without recognizing the objective harm and offense of misogynistic comments.

Of course, the bigger crime was the killing of the two bears. I still believe that the New Jersey bear hunt is illegal, and we have appealed to the NJ Supreme Court. But even if the hunt were conducted in compliance with all laws, it is a crime against the bears' moral, if not legal, rights.

I'm grateful for the words of support from so many animal activists. Many thanks to Stu Chaifetz and SHARK for pursuing this issue, APLNJ and the BEAR Group for co-sponsoring the protest, and Mary Gallagher of the NJ Law Journal for covering the issue.

And while the Mark T. Hall chapter may be over, I'll continue fighting the bear hunt and fighting sexism.

Photo courtesy of SHARK

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