World Day for Animals in Laboratories 2015

Today is world day for animals in laboratories, a day we think of all those who are being tortured in laboratories in the name of science. In the UK we also use this day to bring together all animal rights activists in one location and take over the chosen town for a day.

Today we met in the town where I do most of my activist work, Europe's vivisection capital, Cambridge. Cambridge University houses numerous laboratories with many different species including primates and sheep who are tortured every second of their lives. Just recentlyAstra Zeneca was granted building permission for their new headquarters which will also imprisons animals. Behind most walls in this town there is a screaming soul that needs rescuing.

If you know the UK animal rights scene, you will know that the Cambridge AR chapter is probably the most (in)famous one. We are the longest-standing AR group, running since the 70s. But recently we have been struggling to identify our own politics, this being the reason for me almost not participating in this wonderful day. I am glad I did, and only because of my amazing Anti-Speciesist Women's Group. 

And because I feel that today, as during most days in animal rights, we celebrate the wrong people and create the wrong heroes, I want to use this space to honour the people who did not get acknowledged today, be it through applause, laughter, words of gratitude or encouragement. 

This is for all the women and non-binary folk (not just in Cambridge, but everywhere), who were present today. Who baked cakes. Who volunteered at stalls. Who marched along in a crowd of people they didn't know or didn't like. Who introduced themselves. Who made themselves vulnerable. Who screamed their lungs out to let everybody know that 'there's no excuse for animal abuse'. For those who held a megaphone and those who messed up the easiest chant on the planet time and time again. For those who exposed their bare faces to the police. And especially for those who held the most thoughtful and intelligent speeches and did not receive the time and recognition their male comrades did.

This is for Sophie Hill, who if I had heroines, would be one of them. A woman who singlehandedly took on Cambridge University and the vivisection industry as a student, and a veterinarian who knows the true value of science.

Watch and spread her speech here (it contains the most poignant last sentence).

I am so proud to have been able to march and scream along with some of the strongest women on this planet, to listen to their speeches and to bear witness to the atrocities hidden behind Cambridge's walls together with them.

We won't let the kyriarchs of this world feed off our solidarity!

Until all are free.

Happy 2015

Happy new year to all of us. One year closer to the end!

We spent New Year's at my home in Germany, where we are a completely vegan household, most recently also including Figaro, the dog. The only thing that reminds us of our guilt are the massive leather couches in the living room.

This was so until the fireworks started to penetrate the walls of our flat. Just before midnight, as is tradition in Germany, the fireworks went off. This was not a contained firework display. Here, regular supermarkets sell all sorts of explosives a few days before the new year, which means that a few days before and a few days after we constantly hear explosions in fairly regular intervals from one corner of the neighbourhood or the other.

Of course, Figaro was scared, as he is every year. We were here, though, to assure him that everything was fine. The squirrels, fish, foxes, rabbits, owls, geese, swans, ducks and moorhens in the park outside our door, did not have anybody to let them know that it will be fine in a couple of hours (Yes we had constant explosions between midnight and 2AM - and this was not an explosion here or there at a time, this was numerous fireworks all at the same time over the course of two hours!).

I started picturing the invasion of their homes, by all kinds of rockets and fire crackers. I cannot begin imagining how amplified the sound must have been for them if it was already invasive for me in the safe space of my flat.

How many animal parents were not able to protect their children from humans who thought it would be funny to tie a fire cracker to their child? How many rabbit families were ripped apart because humans threw a rocket into their burrows? How many birds went deaf and disorientated or lost their nests from the unbearable noise? And how many fish died from the poison that humans threw into their water yesterday?

This gave me a massive reality check and burst my vegan bubble immediately.
Of course, we went out to check for injured or confused animals and to our relieve we only met one bunny who luckily ran away from us and hid when we approached slowly.

The trees, the grass and the water were full of trash, the remnants of the weapons that destroyed homes, injured and killed countless of animals. I couldn't suppress the feeling of war, nor the feeling of gratification every time I heard ambulance sirens.

The epitomisation of everything that is wrong with the world - And the Story of Marie Françoise Bernard.

***Trigger Warning: Portrayal of animal cruelty***

Claude Bernard was amongst the most prominent proponents of vivisection in 19th century Europe. He was celebrated as 'one of the greatest of all men of science' by science historian I. Bernard Cohen. Claude Bernard was a physiologist, a scientist who opens up the body to learn about its inner workings. It even seems as if in Bernard's work there was no greater purpose, such as for example helping those who want help. Rather, it looks as if he was doing science for science's sake, so to speak. His writing reflects this sentiment:

The physiologist is no ordinary man. He is a learned man, a man possessed and absorbed by a scientific idea. He does not hear the animals' cries of pain. He is blind to the blood that flows. He sees nothing but his idea, and organisms which conceal from him the secrets he is resolved to discover.(Thanks Wiki)

I don't think I have ever encountered all principles of patriarchy, perfectly exemplified in five short sentences. But there we go, that's exactly what this quote is, the epitomisation of the patriarchal mode of expression - or Phallogocentrism, a horribly bloated word which basically means that everyone who has/is a massive dick is seen as the best (people without penises can also be dicks). 

Phal - from the phallic, the masculine, potent, able-bodied, knowledgable

  |

logo -  from logos, the systematic, logical, rational, not emotional nor intuitive

  |

centr - from the centre, in the middle, surrounded by everything else, the main and only point of attention

  |

ism -    indicating an ideological conviction, a constructed -not natural- truth to subscribe to

All patriarchal ideologies operate under the phallogical principle. Patriarchy implies that there is someone - a patriarch- hierarchically above you, who you must please so as to justify your existence. This can be a god, a king, a lord, a master, a judge, a father, brother or son...any figure to look up to. If we subscribe to patriarchy we communicate through phallogocentism (the mode of expression or language of patriarchy) and we make it our purpose in life to become more like that figure, so as to please him. The more we are opposed to becoming like our patriarchs, the more we suffer, as our existence will not be validated and legitimised because we don't speak a language that is understood by him.

This painting of Claude Bernard -who, following his teacher, often operated on dogs without anaesthetic - portrays the reality of this systematic production of privilege (and by extension oppression). The painting shows a room filled with 13 humans who are portrayed as male, mostly wearing dark attire. We gaze directly upon the centre where we find a man - Bernard - wearing a white shirt and yellow vest, covered by a white apron (the mostly white outfit resonates very much with contemporary perceptions of the lab coat as a symbol of knowledge and understanding). He is pointing towards a bloody opening in a dog's chest/stomach (the dog is lying in front of him) whilst most men around him are looking intrigued towards him and the dog. The dog Is lying on their back, shackled by chains attached to their neck and paws, seemingly screaming in agony with their mouth wide open. Their right paw seems to be dislocated or broken by force as it is portrayed in a way that dog's paws don't bend. In the left corner of the painting we find another dog with a chain around their neck, bearing their teeth towards Bernard and tensing their body as if moving rapidly. This dog is ignored by the humans, none of which show any emotional expression, except perhaps attentiveness and contemplative curiosity. Behind the group of men we find a shelf with two skeletons, presumably from previous experiments, allowing us to imagine the upcoming death of the two dogs in the painting. The right bottom side of the image bears a book, behind which we see a curtain, that has been moved aside, thus no longer concealing much. The book in combination with this curtain might indicate to us that the scientist here is revealing knowledge to his spectators. He is unveiling a secret, a mystical, previously unexplored truth that he penetrated and can now expose to other. The top left side of the painting shows the only window in this room, which is placed at an angle and thus indicates the men's location in an attic, above other rooms of the house (that perhaps are attended to by women - if there are any in the building). The attic is also closest to heaven and god.

So there we go, two small examples of Claude Bernard's legacy (the quote and the painting) show us everything that is wrong with the world. There is one very exciting aspect in Claude Bernard's life however. The fact that his scientific career was only made possible through his arranged marriage to Marie Françoise Bernard (née Martin). This gave him the space - metaphorically, physically and financially - to validate his torture chambers and build his career upon vivisection.

Marie Françoise Martin - One Awesome Lady

For catholics divorce is seen as a sin, and imagine the gravity of the sin when a woman wants to divorce a man in their marriage - today this still poses a huge moral dilemma for many women in abusive relationships so imagine this situation in the 19th century! Nevertheless Marie Françoise Martin separated from her husband and established an anti-vivisection society (thanks wiki). She had two daughters (and a son who died in infancy) with him. Wikipedia states that not only Marie Françoise, but also the older daughter Jeanne-Henriette actively campaigned against vivisection. They took a stand against the patriarch(y) and broke out of social convention. They spoke their own language and refused to give Claude and everything he stood for any platform to voice his ideas from. Of course, Marie Françoise came from a position of privilege with her wealthy upbringing but that also meant that she might have had a lot to lose when refusing to use phallological language. In this context she surely is one awesome lady!

 

Young Greens invite Tom Holder to speak about Vivisection

Yesterday saw a historic moment in our little town of Cambridge, a town that houses a university which prides itself on the crimes that are committed within the walls of its laboratories. Torture in the form of starvation, forced drug addiction as well as sensory and social deprivation are just some of the examples that come to mind when I think of the science emerging from Cambridge University.

Why we won't support debates on vivisection

Yesterday the Young Greens (the young branch of the Green Party) hosted a debate between the pro-and anti-vivisection camps. Although it makes sense to fill the audience of these sort of events with animal rights people, we decided not to attend. We have a few problems with debates in general. This tradition of debating is held up by many elite universities, but more often than not is it a mere spectacle, where everything is practiced and staged to the last detail so that it can be crammed into a very rigid frame. Most people get a kick out of the controversy that these events live off or they attend because they think they can show up or humiliate the opposing party with their questions. These debates don't invite conversation or dialogue and most people have made up their mind about the subject before attending. I don't see real change being implemented through debating.

Giving a platform to speciesist hate speech is not politically correct

Another reason we didn't attend is perhaps a form of protest. We decided not to give our time and attention to someone who actively advocates for crimes against animals. We don't believe that these people should be given a platform.

Most of us, who are social justice advocates, would agree immediately that it would be absurd to have a debate between any other oppressive group and a representative of those they oppress. So why are animal liberation activists still so concerned about giving animal abusers a voice? To show that we are the bigger person, that we have nothing to hide, that we are open to debate? I don't get it. All it does is validate the voice of the oppressor.

A friend of ours suggested it would make much more sense to have a debate between representatives of a range of scientific models that do not use animals for research. Which -if we advocate dismantling the system from within and with its own tools-  is the only option that actually helps the animals.

Feminism, feminism, feminism, can't you talk about anything else?

Nope. I would like to. But I can't.
Unfortunately feminism is the only tool I have to protect myself in a world that recognises the able white masculine cis-male voice, one that I don't fully have, as the only valid and legitimate voice.

Before I came to animal activism I 'tried out' some other general social justice groups. I never really felt I fit in. I knew I wanted to be active and that I belonged somewhere on the left of the political spectrum but it was too confusing to see so many different 'lefts' and none that I would feel at home with. In fact, I didn't know what was so alienating to me in all those activist groups I tried to join but failed, until I started reading feminist literature, which I had to actively seek out - unless I picked a module at uni that was taught by a woman - although some of them were still very masculine.

It's explicitly identifying with feminism that enabled me to see the whole picture. Having always been a feminist, not knowing that it does not go without saying for most people, I didn't realise until my late teens that I need to actively seek others out who share the same values as me. Finding 'my kind' of feminism was a huge journey for me. After I discovered TERFS (Trans-exclusionary feminists) I got a bit of a reality check once again, realising that feminism doesn't equal feminism and I still needed to dig deeper to find what exactly I want to fight for/against.

Feminism lead me to activism, as feminism for me meant the total rejection of discrimination based on the socially constructed categories we give each other and everything around us. Feminism quickly equalled anarchism for me. Then logically, those two ideologies combined lead me to veganism. I had the biggest epiphany of my life when I realised that what we do to animals is the same evil that we perpetrate against other humans who we somehow categorise as lesser based on their gender/sexuality/age/ability/race/natonality etc or in fact, their species. It was not so much that I first had a strong feeling of solidarity with non-human women, but rather that I logically understood that I am oppressing these women the same way that patriarchy oppresses me. Out of that conclusion arose the deep empathy to my animal sisters (and brothers). 

The fight for animal liberation symbolised the ultimate fight for me, the one that would free us all. The one thing that needed fixing so that we all could live happily ever after. When I found my way to animal activism, I once again was in for disillusionment on a big scale. I thought, this must be the place where people already have figured out how discrimination and oppression work. I will learn so much! Wrong again (well, wrong about how everybody will have made the same conclusions as me, not wrong about the fact that I am learning a lot). My first animal rights protest had ladies in their underwear with 'blood' all over their bodies, 'but ok' I thought, 'they are doing this voluntarily, their bodies their rules. I admire their courage'. Then, the further I looked and the deeper I got into the Animal Rights community (world wide a rather small network), the more I saw racism, ableism, nationalism, sexism and especially misogyny popping up everywhere, in AR communities in all cities and all countries. 

This put me in an awkward situation, as by critiquing animal liberationists and vegans I felt I am betraying my comrades, who just like me face ridicule, shame and harassment every day for their choice not to eat animals and to speak out for their rights. Recognising that all of us, no matter how oppressed we are, still benefit from human privilege I tried to suppress being affected by the many micro- and macro-violences produced within my new family, against me and others. We had common enemies that I would rather focus on, appreciating all efforts to save our non-human friends*.

It took me about a year to figure out which spaces are safe and which ones aren't within this community. I am still figuring that out actually. And I only now figured out, that it is ok for me to build my own space and establish my own rules. I am still working on not feeling that I need to justify myself for the decisions I make but thanks to a growing feminist vegan community who recognises the same faults with not only the sexual politics of meat but also the sexual politics of veganism and animal liberation (which are both an expression of patriarchy) I feel more empowered every time I overcome a setback.


So, it looks like I'll have to continue talking about feminism as long as I live. I will never cease to speak the language of feminism until we are all free and there won't be the need to call it 'feminism' anymore. Even if it means that I need to stand up to people who demand I be held accountable for suggesting these unreasonable and uncomfortable ideas I have, I will continue to do so. That is the most valuable thing I've learned from animal rights, actually, how to stand up for the things you believe in. It is frustrating and it takes out a lot but there are people who will support you and you need to surround yourself with your kind of people. Jennai Bandock is one such incredibly strong person, who does her own thing because she knows she is right. For anybody who is frustrated by announcing, explaining and justifying yourself, I recommend her speech with the title 'The Hidden Cost of Patriarchy'. Absolutely empowering!

I will leave you with some of my favourite written lines ever, arisen from the brilliant mind that is Luce Irigaray**: 'It is still better to speak only in riddles, allusions, hints, parables. Even if asked to clarify a few points. Even if people plead that they just don't understand. After all, they have never understood'.

If anybody ever gives you shit for standing up against oppression, remember that.



*I just now noticed that I am writing in the past tense, as if I have left all of this behind me. In fact these developments in my thinking are so fresh and they hit me so quickly that I am still working through them.

**Irigaray is a brilliant old school feminist but not vegan as far as I know and I am not sure how far she extents her thoughts on liberation with regards to gender issues either.

The Language of Patriarchy: Phallogocentrism

My presentation from the International Animal Rights Conference 2014 is finally up!

The title seems really bloated, but I try my best to unpack phal-logo-centrism in the presentation. It is a concept that helped me so much in understanding patriarchy and it revealed the urgency for vegan anarcha-feminist activism to me.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

P.S. After this presentation I have adjusted some things on the slides (e.g. instead of intersectionality I now talk about liberation - but my understanding of liberation could be the topic of another post)

DIY Spontaneous Activism

 In this post we just quickly wanted to show you how easily you can go from vegan to animal activist. On August 23rd for example, we celebrated vegan outreach day and although we were stuck at home working, we used the possibility to use the library books we had at home as leaflet carriers.

Just order or print out a bunch of leaflets from Animal Aid or Viva! and put them in the books you borrow from the library. If you are one of those people who writes notes into library books or underlines and highlights sections in them, consider leaving notes such as "www.earthlings.com" or "Youtube Best Speech Ever Gary Yourofski", or "Youtube Melanie Joy Carnism", etc.

These are also the things you can write on Sidewalks and the street with a piece of chalk.

Another easy thing to do is when you are sending postcards to people, leave a bit of room for a sticker, like we did last time when we sent postcards from Germany.

If you are good at overcoming your fear of public speaking you could also consider what our good friend Sophie - a person who truly only lives for the animals - pulled off the other day in Cambridge.

Check out her spontaneous one-woman protest here:

Post by Sophie Kennerley.

International Animal Rights Conference 2014

Last month we attended what was probably the greatest four days of our lives. The people, the location, the food and the absence of profit created the most amazing atmosphere which allowed us to learn an enormous amount about activism and self-care.

The International Animal Rights Conference in Luxembourg was set in a former slaughterhouse - when you paid close attention you would notice hooks and other remnants of the building’s dark and sad past. It was incredibly empowering sitting next to fellow vegans, listening to the tactics of animal liberationists in this giant hall, knowing that this is the place thousands of animals were murdered ruthlessly. We reclaimed it and made a powerful statement with our sheer presence - around 400 people from all over the world attended!

The Movement for the abolition of meat as well as
many other vegan organisations occupied the former
abattoir with their materials for four days.

Out of those almost 400 people a visible majority was female, yet, disappointingly but not surprisingly more speakers were male, which did not change the fact that mostly this conference created a safe space for us. In fact, when I was looking at the speakers who had been confirmed before I myself submitted an abstract, I thought I would not be invited to speak as there were already a hand full of feminist speakers. To my surprise, Heiko the organiser sent me a very encouraging email, inviting me to speak, even mentioning that they don't have many speakers addressing feminist issues. I thought to myself: 'Five explicitly feminist speeches is seen as not many? This must be an amazing place!' And indeed it turned out to be the wonderful gathering of ideas I was hoping for. The primary purpose for all of us to attend were the animals. This was felt throughout every talk and every interaction. The feeling of solidarity and the willingness to listen and learn that everybody approached each other with was overwhelming.

I haven't felt so safe outside my own home for a very long time. Everybody was so accepting and respectful. Nothing mattered except for freedom and liberty. IARC is a place in which especially as a woman I felt safe. Speaking to an amazing activist who we met on the second day, Ana, psychologist, athlete and director of Vegan Power 50 K, I realised I was not the only one feeling this way. In our conversation we both realised that this was a place where we were not objectified (or objectified less?). We weren’t put under the (same amount of) pressure that we felt outside of this conference to apply make-up, wear gendered clothing or shave. Shit! The conference was so freeing, that when back home, I felt my bra restricting me to the point I couldn't breathe properly (which was a result of my psycho-somatic sensitivities and the fact that back in reality I felt overwhelmed with social pressures). Of course I have overheard some sexism and cheap pick up lines at the conference, but nobody is perfect, and these four days were pretty damn close to perfect (for myself anyway). Not only because of the minimised gendered interactions, but also because of the minimised speciesism and capitalism. It makes a huge difference to run an event on a non-profit basis. It gave rise to solidarity and respect, which, unlike at other conferences, was not based on someone's attire (usually men in suits get the most respect at conferences) or the amount of papers they have published, but solely on the fact that everybody tried the best in their capacities to help each other out.

I must admit though, as wonderful and safe I felt at the conference, I also was accompanied by the feeling that my voice would be less important or less interesting to the attendees. I wasn't sure what that stemmed from, perhaps because I addressed systemic change from a more abstract perspective, rather than direct action and ALF tactics in my speech. It didn't become clear to me until I spent some time with Alissa, a vegan feminist activist and host of Animal Voices Vancouver. (Animal voices aired a report on IARC 2014, which conveys well what kind of inclusive space this conference is.) Alissa invited everyone for a feminist discussion group, an informal circle that would create a place of exchange between the female participants of the conference. Men were invited, too, and thanks to Lisa Kemmerer (who I wrote about in yesterday's post), the problematic of masculinity became obvious to me in one instant that night. All she did was call out, very peacefully, a silencing of the female voice by a male. It was a profound and overwhelming moment, whose energy stayed with me until today.

I am grateful to all the strong women (and men) who I met at the conference and who have inspired me and given me the confidence to stand up for what I believe to be right.

The most beautiful cake
in celebration of  the opening night.

We also both want to express our gratitude for the tireless efforts of the organisational team. They have managed to create an atmosphere of trust and solidarity you (surprisingly) rarely experience in activist circles. We are both absolutely grateful to all volunteers who fed us, cleaned up after us and gave us the possibility to solely focus on the animals for four whole days. Thank you for everything and see you next year!

All recorded talks will be available on Youtube on Vegan Kanal.