Obama's "Lipstick on a Pig" Comment
This pig looks great without lipstick.
Photo by Doris Lin.
The blogosphere is abuzz about Barack Obama's "lipstick on a pig" comment. Was it a jab at Sarah Palin? Was it sexist?
No one seems to be questioning whether the comment is speciesist. What does it mean to put lipstick on a pig? The expression is understood to mean that you're taking something ugly or objectionable and hopelessly trying to dress it up. The expression implies that there is something inherently objectionable about pigs.
One of the more subtle issues in the animal rights movement is language and how we refer to non-human animals. Many activists refer to animals as "he" or "she" instead of "it." Expressions like "beating a dead horse" or "shooting fish in a barrel" trivialize the deaths of these animals at the hands of humans, while calling someone a snake or a pig contributes to humanity's irrational disdain for certain animals who are lacking in the conventionally cute and cuddly department. Even using the word "animal" in a way that excludes humans is both biologically and politically incorrect, because it implies that we are somehow separate from, and presumably better than, our fellow members of the kingdom Animalia.
This is hardly the most pressing issue before us, but I believe that words are powerful, and speaking about animals respectfully and thoughtfully is something that all animal advocates should strive to do.
So for the record, no, I'm not offended by Obama talking about putting lipstick on a pig. The animal rights movement has bigger fish to save.
Comments
Well said. I think the issue of language is of great importance to reshape our attitudes to other animals. Pigs and chickens in particular are probably the most semantically abused specieses. It’s time to be polite to animals.
Well, I think it is an offense to pigs, and I’m surprised he used it since it will probably turn off a lot of woman (many of whom are already leary of him after the Clinton battle) but I agree we do have bigger fish to save and we really need to support Obama or risk having the likes of Palin as president. THAT would be a cataclysmic disaster for animals – and the world at large.