Monday, July 19, 2010

"Veganism" in Online Media

"Not Eating Meat" is Not "Being Vegan"

A My Face Is on Fire reader sent in a link to an article yesterday she thought might be worth deconstructive poke or two ("Alice + Olive Designer Stacey Bendet Doesn't Eat Animals, But Feels Glamourous Wearing Them"). Stacey Bendet showed up at a MAC cosmetics line launch wearing a Mongolian lamb vest--a piece she designed herself. Fashion designers use animal products all of the time, of course, so why should Bendet stand out? From the article:

[T]he designer admitted to us that she has somewhat mixed feelings about the fur pieces she makes. "I'm vegan, actually," she said. "I don't eat [animals], I don't put meat in my body. So every once in a while I think it's okay to wear it. But I made it — I'm probably going to hell."

She continued: "I don't feel that guilty wearing it. I don't know why. It doesn't make sense. But something about putting it inside me feels really barbaric. Something about wearing it just feels a little glamorous."
A woman who makes her living designing clothing using animal products and who wears that clothing describes it as being "glamorous" and sexy and calls herself a vegan? Um, right.

2 comments:

Vanilla Rose said...

I take comfort from the fact that at least the person who wrote the article, or the person who commissioned it, felt there was something inconsistent going on.

Cassidy said...

Just reading her quotes is slightly embarrassing...