Huckleberries Online

PETA Strips Down Again To Make Point

Posted by DFO

Feb. 18, 2009 10:11 a.m. • 63 comments

Amber Tegantvoort, left, and David Shirk, both of Seattle, wear body paint as they join protestors from the animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals who were dressed as mermaids Tuesday in Seattle. The group was protesting against eating fish and the use of fish farms outside the Aquaculture America 2009 convention, which is meeting in Seattle through Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Question: PETA often uses nudity or semi-nudity to draw attention to its public protests. How effective is this tactic?

63 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

nic on February 18 at 10:17 a.m.
I’d say not effective at all. Kinda makes me want to eat more meat.
Cabbage Boy on February 18 at 10:17 a.m.
“How effective is this tactic?”

Gets them front-paged here.
marmitetoasty on February 18 at 10:20 a.m.
Hoping that was biodegradable paint they used……. and psstttt mermaids aint real..

x
Transplanted_Texan on February 18 at 10:29 a.m.
Gets ‘em front-paged, sure, but I don’t think anyone’s going to say, “Oh, wow! A naked person! I think I’ll skip that fishwich after all.” In fact, I think I’m going to go have a couple hot dogs right now, and do it with my clothes on.
Bob on February 18 at 10:41 a.m.
How many PETA protesters does it take to change a light bulb?
None
PETA doesn’t change a thing.
Arch_Druid on February 18 at 10:47 a.m.
Bob, a real funny. I generally stay away from PETA commentaries. I think they are doofuses. The rest of you guys have better arguments about them than I do.
Walkabout on February 18 at 10:49 a.m.
PETA knows that sex sells so they use it to get attention. The point of the campaign is not, “I see scantily clad people so now I don’t want to eat meat”, rather “I see scantly clad people so lets check out their website and see what this is all about.” The more traffic they get to their website the more potential vegetarians they reach.
JamesBond on February 18 at 10:49 a.m.
I think the PETA chicks are hot, smokin’ hot. Everytime I see one, I’d like to take her out for a nice steak dinner.
Cabbage Boy on February 18 at 10:53 a.m.
So walkabout, are you sayin daveo is a closet PETA member?
Joker on February 18 at 10:59 a.m.
PETA is using a shock campaign that’s 20 years old. Nobody is shocked by nudity or semi-nudity anymore. Just watch expanded cable TV for a few days, you’ll see more skin and simulated sex than you can image.

Come on PETA people, dream up something new. Throw blood on people, uh, wait they’ve done that. Hmmm. Well, keep trying.
Joker on February 18 at 11:01 a.m.
Hey i can see her nipples. Sweet.
GaryIngram on February 18 at 11:12 a.m.
Ansering the question directly with no malice aforethought, I love to look at naked people, especially the PETAs on Biggest Loser. (PETA - People Exposing Troubled Assests)
Liz on February 18 at 11:20 a.m.
PETA: People eating tasty animals.
and no: these tactics don’t do anything but numb me out to anything productive they might actually have to say.
Transplanted_Texan on February 18 at 11:23 a.m.
Mmm. Those hot dogs were good. I can’t believe I was originally thinking PB&J. Thanks, Dave, way to fix my lunch! :)

007 - YES.
nic on February 18 at 11:40 a.m.
Speaking of PETA… and bare flesh… March 15th is EATAPETA day! Mmmm, can’t wait.
toadman on February 18 at 11:42 a.m.
“How effective is this tactic?”

Well, I like it. I’m not sure what point they’re trying to make, but hey, boobs.
JeanC on February 18 at 1:43 p.m.
It’s only effect is to get PETA in the news. If they actually CARED about animal welfare they would do constructive stuff, like make sure there are more no kill shelters and fund spay/neutering clinics to help cut down on the number of unwanted cats and dogs. PETA perfers to not put their money where their mouths are, that would mean they wouldn’t have enough money to spend on themselves.

PETA only cares about PETA and I really wish people would start seeing that and stop giving them money and start supporting local animal welfare groups.
JohnA on February 18 at 2:15 p.m.
At first glance, I wondered why “PETA picked a pack of pickled people” to represent them. :)
JamesBond on February 18 at 3:51 p.m.
Wait, PETA is a pro-nudity group, isn’t it???
JeanieSpokane on February 18 at 4:04 p.m.
These are better than the Photo of the Day cutlines!
DFO on February 18 at 4:22 p.m.
>These are better than the Photo of the Day cutlines! — JeanieSpokane.<

I’ve noticed a decline in energy re: responses to the APhoto of the Day cutlines. Do you think it’s time to put that feature away and go to a good or controversial photo that has a question with it?
JamesBond on February 18 at 4:36 p.m.
Personally, I’d be happy with a new picture of a hot PETA chick posted every morning!
JeanieSpokane on February 18 at 4:43 p.m.
I like the Photo of the Day cutline contest - some of the answers are just way too funny! But controversial photos would be quite the thing. Right now - I have one. Posted by AP so I can use it here. Found at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090218/ap_en_ot/ny_post_cartoon. It is a cartoon that the NY Post stands behind, that I personally think is crude, disgusting, offensive, and just bad. It would make for a great conversation. In it, the cartoonist is silently comparing Obama and the stimulus package to the chimpanzee who went nuts yesterday and was killed. I say it is wildly inappropriate - but maybe up for discussion. I am not posting the picture.
JeanieSpokane on February 18 at 4:45 p.m.
… And JB - I want a FOD (Fireman of the Day) picture. Every morning. Hot. Right out of the shower with just his red suspenders on. Ok, whitey tighties, too.
DFO on February 18 at 4:52 p.m.
JeanieSpokane; you’ll see that cartoon posted as the Parting Shot today. Got a good question to go with it?
Cabbage Boy on February 18 at 5:02 p.m.
Question, why is it fine to call Bush a chimp, but not Obama?

Yes, I know the racial undertones, but perhaps the latter would be an insult to any self-respecting chimp?

I saw the cartoon and got the message. And infinite # of chimps on typewriters could not write Shakespeare’s classics. But one could write the stimulus bill.
Cindy_H on February 18 at 5:09 p.m.
“I’ve noticed a decline in energy re: responses to the APhoto of the Day cutlines.”

I dunno, today’s photo got a lot of hits. I’m thinking if you stick with nekkid pics and undie shots you’ll be sure to stimulate some sort of response.
JeanieSpokane on February 18 at 5:37 p.m.
DFO - I’m toast tonight - getting geared up for my little jam session with Cindy and others for the blogfest. I’m a morning person!!!! I just think it’s an ugly hateful cartoon. I have no questions, unless someone could phrase it differently. Maybe this:

Does being the first black president make Obama immune from derogatory and demeaning “jokes”?

CB - I’m sometimes pretty dense - did that actually happen - Bush was called a chimp??? Well, then. Sheesh!!!! What a quandry.
Cindy_H on February 18 at 5:43 p.m.
Jeanie, I’m pretty sure only Bob called Bush “Chimpy.” But he did so like a gazillion, billion times. Who knows maybe it caught on in the blogosphere?
Transplanted_Texan on February 18 at 7:24 p.m.
Cindy - I remember back at the beginning of Bush’s first term, there were photos circulating around putting pics of his various facial expressions side-by-side with similar ones from monkeys (monkies?).
Escapee on February 18 at 7:24 p.m.
I don’t think PETA would want my nude body as part of its protests, unless, perhaps, I held a sign that read, “Support Us or we won’t make him put his clothes back on.”
Cindy_H on February 18 at 7:31 p.m.
So, TT, you’re saying Bob did NOT invent the whole Chimpy moniker? Now that you mention it, I do remember those photos.
Gosh. Nevermind. Bush=Chimpy=NOT BOB’S IDEA.

« Back to Huckleberries Online

You must be logged in to post comments.
Please create a profile or log in here.

About this blog

D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.