Sexual Politics of Meat : a Feminis- Vegetarian Critical Theory (00 Edition)

First published in 1990, The Sexual Politics of Meat is a landmark text in the ongoing debates about animal rights. In the two decades since, the book has inspired controversy and heated debate.T he Sexual Politics of Meat argues that what, or more precisely who, we eat is determined by the patriarchal politics of our culture, and that the meanings attached to meat eating are often clustered around virility. We live in a world in which men still have considerable power over women, both in public and in private. Carol Adams argues that gender politics is inextricably related to how we view animals, especially animals who are consumed. Further, she argues that vegetarianism and fighting for animal rights fit perfectly alongside working to improve the lives of disenfranchised and suffering people, under the wide umbrella of compassionate activism.This 20th Anniversary Edition includes a new preface by the author, discussing new developments in the field and answering some of her critics. It also features an introduction by Nellie McKay. If you have never read The Sexual Politics of Meat, prepare to have your worldview challenged and possibly turned upside down like tens of thousands of readers before you.Praise for The Sexual Politics of Meat A bible of the vegan community. --The New York TimesHer argument is rational and persuasive....New ground - whole acres of it - is broken by Adams. --Washington Post Book WorldRead this powerful new book and you may well become a vegetarian. --Ms. MagazineBoth thoughtful and thought-provoking. --Kirkus ReviewsLikely to both inspire and enrage readers across the political spectrum. --Library JournalCarol J. Adams's original, provocative book makes a major contribution to the debate on animal rights. --Publisher's WeeklyCAROL J. ADAMS is the author of The Pornography of Meat (Continuum, 2004), and co-author of Beyond Animal Rights (Continuum, 2000), and The Bedside, Bathtub, and Armchair Companion to Jane Austen (Continuum, 2008). She has toured as a speaker throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. More information can be found at her website: http: //www.triroc.com/caroladams

This tenth anniversary edition of a book that might seem like some strange side-dish next to the more meaty entrees concerned with race, class, gender, and sexuality is a testament to the book's importance, one based on establishing connections between eating and being. Ms. Adams views eating as more than pleasure, business, and nutrition, seeing it intermixed in a succotash of linguistic, cultural, and political practices connected to man/woman and human/animal relations. Read this book to find out about the "absent referent," usually an animal absented by being linguistically appropriated to dramatize the speaker's experience ("He treated me like a piece of meat,"), the ancient but "absented" vegetarian themes in literature, and the absented vegetarian canon—great works by great writers on vegetarianism passed over by otherwise omnivorous instructors. Even after 10 years and a fresh-in-the-trenches breed of anarchovegans fighting the good fight, Adams still has vital things to say to those thinking about slaughtered flesh. The tenth edition contains a new preface and an updated bibliography.
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When The Sexual Politics of Meat was published in 1990, it touched off a heated debate. On the tenth anniversary of its publication, Continuum is reissuing the book. This special anniversary edition includes an important new preface by Carol Adams that answers the question she is most often asked: Why did you write this book? Adams also discusses new developments in feminist thought and animal rights. Along the way, Adams updates statistics and information, taking her many readers into a new era.

The author compares myths about meat-eating with myths about manliness, and seeks to explore the literary, scientific, and social connections between meat-eating, male dominance, and war. Drawing on such sources as butchering texts, cookbooks, Victorian hygiene manuals, and Alice Walker, the author argues in favor of linking feminist and vegetarian theory.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [243]-260) and index.