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‘Most Farmers Prefer Blondes’: Social Intersectionality and Species Relations

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Abstract

In the British farming calendar, the Royal Smithfield Show has historically been one of the major events. During one visit, I was sharply reminded of the gendering of agricultural animals on encountering a stand on which there were three pale honey coloured cows, some straw, a bucket of water and Paul, a farmer’s assistant. Two cows were lying down while the one in the middle stood and shuffled. Each cow sported a chain around her neck with her name on it. The one in the middle was named ‘Erica’. Above the stand was a banner that read ‘Most farmers prefer Blondes’, a reference to the name given to this particular breed, the Blonde D’Aquitaine.

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... Also animal-related labour in agriculture is gendered, with historical shifts in its gendered character; while looking after domestic animals was a feminised form of labour in agrarian societies, male participation in animalrelated labour increased as animal production shifted from subsistence to industrial production , 9-18, Wilkie 2010. Men also predominate in slaughter work (Cudworth 2011a, 166-167, Pachirat 2011, 63, Vialles 1994, 101-110, Wilkie 2010. Gender identities can be shaped by animal-based practices (Deckha 2012, 539). ...
... Female animals are used to produce milk, eggs and offspring which are raised for meat (ibid.). Farmed animals are also frequently gendered; for instance, cows may be constructed according to stereotypic female attributes as motherly, docile and caring (Cudworth 2011a, 163-165, Kaarlenkaski 2012, 20-22, Wilkie 2010. ...
... Many animals utilised in agricultural production tend to be female (such as cows, sows and hens utilised for dairy or egg production or for breeding purposes) (Cudworth 2011a). These animals experience specific forms of suffering because of their gender, such as early separation from their offspring or living in cages (sows and hens). ...
Thesis
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Public attitudes toward the mind and status of animals are interrelated with the ways in which they are treated in society. Therefore, it is important to understand these attitudes, how they vary in society and what factors influence their development. Additionally, how people make connections between meat and animals influences their moral stance regarding the eating of animals. Thus, it is useful to examine how cultural meanings of meat and its connection to animals are constructed in everyday contexts. This thesis examines attitudes, perceptions and meanings regarding farmed animals in Finnish society from the perspectives of sociological animal studies. With this analysis, the thesis makes a contribution to three key areas of discussion in sociological animal studies and in animal studies generally: first, discussion on social determinants of attitudes toward animals; second, people’s perceptions of animal mind and the ways in which these perceptions vary in society and according to the categorisation of animals; and finally, the cultural meanings associated with meat and with the meat–animal link. The thesis is based on a mail survey with Finns (n = 1,824/1,890) and on five focus groups with different consumer groups, comprising gastronomes, hunters, organic consumers, rural women and supermarket customers (n = 39). The first and second articles of the thesis examine the factors that associate with Finnish attitudes to farmed animals and perceptions of their mental capacities based on the survey of Finns. The first article suggests that there are important social group differences in attitudes to farmed animals. Of social groups, gender has the most robust link with these attitudes; on average, women express consistently higher concern for farm animal wellbeing than men do. Additionally, the article suggests that younger people and urban residents are more likely to express greater concern for farmed animals than older people and rural residents. The articles also show linkages between animal-related experiences and attitudes. Those who live or grew up on a farm with agricultural animals tend to express less concern for farm animal wellbeing than those without a farming background. Additionally, people who share their households with companion animals tend to express greater concern for farmed animals and greater belief in their mental capacities. The articles also provide evidence for positive association between valuing social equality, concern for farmed animals and belief in their mental capacities. In this way, the thesis provides empirical support for the suggestion that attitudes to animal wellbeing and to human equality are linked. The second article examines how Finns perceive the mind of different species. It shows that phylogenetic and cultural categorisation of animals are linked to people’s perceptions of their mind. Of mammals, people ascribe most mental capacities to companion animals (dogs), followed by farmed animals (cows and pigs) and wild animals categorised as threats or pests (wolves) and game (elk). Apart from basic sentience, belief in the mental capacities of chickens is relatively low. Additionally, Finns tend to ascribe minimal mind to salmons and shrimps. Based on the focus groups, the third article examines the meanings Finnish consumers associate with the use of animals for food. The article suggests that consumers negotiate the meat–animal link in varying ways: some prefer to dissociate meat from animals, while others appreciate products that visibly reflect their animal origin. The article also highlights the ambiguities involved in placing animals in the categories of companion and food. Earlier literature has suggested that disconnecting meat from its animal origin is an important cultural process that helps to maintain the meat-eating practice. However, this thesis demonstrates that omnivores’ relationship to the meat–animal link is more complex as they may make various kinds of connections between meat and animals. In the meat-eating logic where the animal-origin of meat is less concealed, objectification of animals as potential food is a central process that helps to uphold the meat-eating practice. Overall, the thesis has contributed to developing a sociological approach to studying animal-related attitudes and human–animal relations. It has generated new insights into the social variation in attitudes to farmed animals and the multifaceted ways in which consumers negotiate connections between meat and animals. As a further development of the research field, the thesis highlights the importance of incorporating into attitudinal research multispecies perspectives that facilitate including animals more visibly as actors in research processes. There are various avenues available to make attitudinal research less human-centric and take it in more animal-inclusive directions. Keywords: Animal Categorization, Animal Mind, Animal Welfare, Consumers, Cultural Meanings, Farm Animals, Human–Animal Relationships, Meat, Public Attitudes, Sociological Animal Studies
... Intersectionality refers to "the ways in which different forms of prejudice, oppression and marginalization are intricately connected and cannot effectively be addressed without reference to their interrelationships" (Potts, 2010, p. 295). Adams (1994Adams ( , 2015 has been at the forefront of work in this area, making the link between, for example, cultural constructions of masculinity and eating meat, and the objectification of women and animals (Cudworth, 2011). These are not coincidentally similar social categories, they are "interlocking constructions of difference" which reflect and maintain hierarchies of power and control (Twine, 2010, p. 398). ...
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My visit to the Royal Smithfield Show, one of the largest events in the British farming calendar, reminded me of the gendering of agricultural animals. Upon encountering one particular stand in which there were three pale honey coloured cows (with little room for themselves), some straw, a bucket of water, and Paul, a farmer"s assistant. Two cows were lying down whilst the one in the middle stood and shuffled. Each cow sported a chain around her neck with her name on it. The difficulty with "Erica" the cow is that she does not behave in the way expected by this breed. The Blonde D"Aquitaine has been produced through rigorous selective breeding in order to obtain a "good looking" and easily managed farmed animal. Cows occupy a particular place in a typology of species in which different kinds of animals are assigned to different groups. These groups are distinguished by different formations of human–animal relationships. Drawing on Ted Benton"s (1993) useful categorization, I consider that animals can be construed as "wild" (in conditions of limited incorporation with humans); used as a labour force; used for entertainment or edification; installed as household companions; employed as symbols; and consumed as food (Cudworth 2003: 165-6). Shifts in forms of "pet keeping" and in representations of animals have led some to argue for significant change -a postmodernisation of human animal relations (Franklin 1999; Baker 2000). By this, they infer that in "modern," Western, relatively wealthy regions of the globe "the categorical boundary between humans and animals…has been seriously challenged, if not dismantled in places" (Franklin 1999:3) and that there is an increase in respect and affection for a wider range of animals. However, for most people in such regions, the main relationship with animals is one of objectification – animals are expendable resources, eaten as meat. The farming of animals has long been, and continues to be, the most significant social formation of human–animal relations.
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