Media and Body Image

“Media and Body Image” The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an organization led by Ingrid Newkirk, fghts for the rights of animals all over the world. According to PETA (n. d. ), its main goal is to give “attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in the clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the entertainment industry’. However in the year 2009, the animal rights organization produced a billboard campaign that went beyond its mission statement. It can be said that PETA’s billboard campaign is npleasant to most people.
It is evident in the campaign that it depicted an oversized woman wearing a swimsuit, with the caption: “Save the Whales; Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian”. Literally thinking, there is no connection between saving whales, and going vegetarian to lose weight. Clearly, PETA through the campaign is attempting to draw the connection between the ad’s target market and the whales that need to be saved. Is there certainty that PETA intended to create an offensive billboard campaign for people who are overweight? According to PETA’s writer, Liz Graffeo 2009), she and her team specifically launched the advertisement for the residents of Jacksonville.
She added that the reason why PETA launched the advertisement is to help people of Jacksonville, “lose the blubber”, by becoming vegetarians. The real reason why PETA launched an advertisement is to persuade people to live a healthy lifestyle and not to promote whales’ wellbeing. In my opinion, as an animal rights organization, PETA does not have the right to compare fat people to whales. PETA has to realize that those people who showcase their bodies in different swimsuits are confident enough about their size. The human being should never be depicted as endangered like whales.

To add, the poster is not only disrespectful to the obese but to the human race as a whole. If PETA wants to create an advertisement beyond its mission statement, it should be sensitive enough to the target audience of its campaign. Reference List PETA (n. d). Our Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www. peta. org/about/ default. aspx Liz Graffeo. (2009, Aug 8). Lose the blubber: Go Vegetarian [Article]. Retrieved from http://www. peta. org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2009/08/17/10se-the- blubber-go-vegetarian. aspx Media and Body Image By vmsl