Does Gender Matter?

Today I came across a shocking, yet ultimately unsurprising statistic. Animal advocacy groups are dominated by women; we make up 85% of their members. In contrast, when animal abuse is reported, over 90% of the culprits are men.

Of course, we must remember that in both scenarios, these are individuals. Clearly 85% of the female population is not in an animal advocacy group, and 90% of males aren't animal abusers. Nevertheless, I think that these numbers can mean something.

If I am to look at the Loving/Killing binaries of animals, it is clear that those who advocate for animals love them, and those who abuse them kill them. Is Loving versus Killing animals a gender war? Females respecting animals versus males taking them out? Could it be that as women grow more powerful in society and therefore gain a voice in ethics and humane treatment of animals that loving animals will overpower killing animals? I can only wish.

In the meantime, this statistic shows that the animal rights movement is one led by ladies. And in every battle to improve the lives of animals (politics, science, entertainment, industry), we will be going up against those who run these sectors: mostly men. In this sense, patriarchy and speciesism will have to be combated against in order to promote justice to animals.