I respect everyone’s opinion and their right to free speech. Even when their opinion is fucking bullshit! (Insert link to Xtra’s Toronto Diary, written by Jeremy Feist.) Oh fuck it, I can’t be bothered.
Jeremy seems to have a problem with PETA, which he so eloquently expressed in a recent blog post. If you care for an uneducated rant, do check it out. Or, you can read PETA’s very own Jeff Mackey and his “Six Reasons why PETA’s Gay” (below), which doesn’t even begin to express why PETA is so fabulous for all the arduous work it does saving the lives of millions of animals around the world.
1 Cruelty is a drag: Long before the current flock of RuPaul wannabes ruled the airwaves, PETA enlisted drag divas, including Lady Bunny, Lypsinka and Flotilla DeBarge, to shed some light (and throw some shade) on animal abuse.
2 Give a gal a break: PETA has always been a haven for lesbians, from Ellen DeGeneres to kd lang to Sara Gilbert, even before they come out!
3 Can you make out our message? PETA’s famous make-out tours have not only been girl-on-girl but also guy-on-guy because all vegetarians make better lovers, no matter who you love.
4 Pride in our work: PETA’s Oakland office is a fixture in San Francisco’s legendary Pride parade. Instead of tossing beads (which wouldn’t go with what you’re wearing anyway), they toss literature about the benefits of a vegan diet.
5 You can hear a name drop: With apologies to Logo, our famous friends include the crème de la crème of the real gay A-list. (Reichen and Rodiney? Girl, please.) Perez Hilton, Martina Navratilova, Lance Bass and Tim Gunn are just a few of the celebs whose love of justice for animals dares speak its name.
6 Closets are for clothes: As long as they’re not made from fur, leather or wool. The staff of PETA and the PETA Foundation includes plenty of out-and-proud queer folks, from yours truly to PETA’s senior (but eternally young) vice-president of campaigns, Dan Mathews. He was named one of Out magazine’s “Power 50”and his exploits, including an attempt to turn leather men into pleather men, are detailed in his witty memoir, Committed.
Let’s face it: animals don’t care whether people are queer or not. They just need us to help them. To learn how, take a look at this.
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