Teh One Who Knocks
09-20-2011, 11:29 AM
By Damon Poeter - PC Magazine
At least they wouldn't have to change the acronym, right? But animal-rights activist group PETA is apparently willing to run the risk of being dubbed "Pornographers for the Ethical Treatment of Animals" with a plan to launch a porn website "in the name of animal rights."
PETA has filed paperwork to register the site under the new .xxx domain. Limited registration for .xxx domains began earlier this month and the domain itself is scheduled to go live in December.
Registration for a .xxx domain runs through Oct. 28 and comes in two tracks, Sunrise A for those in the adult entertainment business; and Sunrise B is for those outside the industry who might not want to have their businesses associated with a porn-focused domain.
Most organizations outside of adult entertainment would theoretically use the Sunrise B track to claim a domain (like PCmag.xxx) that they planned to simply squat on. It appears that PETA sees the track as an opportunity to gain more publicity for its cause.
"We're hoping to reach a whole new audience of people, some of whom will be shocked by graphic images that maybe they didn't anticipate seeing when they went to the PETA triple-X site," Lindsay Rajt, PETA's associate director of campaigns, told The Telegraph.
"We try to use every outlet that we can to speak up for animals. We anticipated that this new triple-X domain name would be a hot topic and we immediately decided to use it and take advantage of it to try to promote the animal rights message."
That attitude was criticized by spokespeople for women's groups and even other advocates for animal rights.
"This may be in their minds the only thing left at their disposal to lower the bar," Jennifer Pozner executive director of the New York-based advocacy group Women In Media & News, told the U.K. newspaper.
"PETA is extremely disingenuous. They have consistently used active sexism as their marketing strategy to garner attention. Their use of sexism has gotten more extreme and more degrading."
A Facebook group called Vegans (and Vegetarians) Against PETA was also critical of PETA's rush to embrace pornography in the name of animal rights, quoting an excerpt from Making A Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights, by Bob Torres:
"PETA is routinely seen as the organization that speaks for the entire animal rights movement. For reasons both philosophical and practical, this is tragic for animals and for people that care about them, as PETA has shown a remarkable insensitivity to other causes for social justice. ... One of the richest critiques of PETA comes from their blatant and frequent commodification of women for the sole purpose of raising attention for the 'cause.'"
But Rajt denied such charges.
"Our demonstrators, the models, all chose to participate in our campaigns," she told The Telegraph. "It's not a very feminist thing to do to turn to women and tell them whether or not they can use their voices, their bodies to express their voice."
The site itself may have a tough time getting repeat business, however. Rajt said it would have pornographic content but that it would be interspersed with undercover photos and footage of animals being mistreated.
PETA's porn site will also have vegetarian and vegan recipes, she said.
At least they wouldn't have to change the acronym, right? But animal-rights activist group PETA is apparently willing to run the risk of being dubbed "Pornographers for the Ethical Treatment of Animals" with a plan to launch a porn website "in the name of animal rights."
PETA has filed paperwork to register the site under the new .xxx domain. Limited registration for .xxx domains began earlier this month and the domain itself is scheduled to go live in December.
Registration for a .xxx domain runs through Oct. 28 and comes in two tracks, Sunrise A for those in the adult entertainment business; and Sunrise B is for those outside the industry who might not want to have their businesses associated with a porn-focused domain.
Most organizations outside of adult entertainment would theoretically use the Sunrise B track to claim a domain (like PCmag.xxx) that they planned to simply squat on. It appears that PETA sees the track as an opportunity to gain more publicity for its cause.
"We're hoping to reach a whole new audience of people, some of whom will be shocked by graphic images that maybe they didn't anticipate seeing when they went to the PETA triple-X site," Lindsay Rajt, PETA's associate director of campaigns, told The Telegraph.
"We try to use every outlet that we can to speak up for animals. We anticipated that this new triple-X domain name would be a hot topic and we immediately decided to use it and take advantage of it to try to promote the animal rights message."
That attitude was criticized by spokespeople for women's groups and even other advocates for animal rights.
"This may be in their minds the only thing left at their disposal to lower the bar," Jennifer Pozner executive director of the New York-based advocacy group Women In Media & News, told the U.K. newspaper.
"PETA is extremely disingenuous. They have consistently used active sexism as their marketing strategy to garner attention. Their use of sexism has gotten more extreme and more degrading."
A Facebook group called Vegans (and Vegetarians) Against PETA was also critical of PETA's rush to embrace pornography in the name of animal rights, quoting an excerpt from Making A Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights, by Bob Torres:
"PETA is routinely seen as the organization that speaks for the entire animal rights movement. For reasons both philosophical and practical, this is tragic for animals and for people that care about them, as PETA has shown a remarkable insensitivity to other causes for social justice. ... One of the richest critiques of PETA comes from their blatant and frequent commodification of women for the sole purpose of raising attention for the 'cause.'"
But Rajt denied such charges.
"Our demonstrators, the models, all chose to participate in our campaigns," she told The Telegraph. "It's not a very feminist thing to do to turn to women and tell them whether or not they can use their voices, their bodies to express their voice."
The site itself may have a tough time getting repeat business, however. Rajt said it would have pornographic content but that it would be interspersed with undercover photos and footage of animals being mistreated.
PETA's porn site will also have vegetarian and vegan recipes, she said.