April 28, 2007
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PETA
PETA is asking the Associated Press to refer to animals as he/she instead of it.
(This is Daisy. It belongs to a veterinary student).
The Associated Press has a guideline that currently refers to animals as inanimate objects. PETA requested that the Associated Press “take a progressive step and give animals the respect that they deserve by revising AP style guidelines to reflect the usage of personal pronouns for all animals.”
Here is the link: Link
Should the Associated Press refer to animals as he and she in order to give them the respect they deserve?
Comments (110)
FIRST
I mean, sure. Dogs and cats and such are animals. WE are animals.
Yes. They are not inanimate. They are living beings.
Perhaps we should right them into the constitution as well. They should have the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
In all seriousness: My students are writing a synthesis essay at this very moment about the use of animals in biomedical research. I wonder if any of them will find and use this bit of information.
WOW! write…not right.
What is wrong with me this morning?!?!
The AP does not respect anyone. PETA should concentrate it’s efforts and money on more important animal issues and stop being so “Hollywood”.
they are living but they are not alive. But why not call a female animal she we call ships she etc…
I dunno, it doesnt seem weird to me to refer to a dog/cat as he or she
but it also pains me to agree with PETA on anything…
Yeah – I think they should use the right sex.
I hate the word “it”.
P E T A = People Eating Tasty Animals
The AP should refer to them as whatever they would like.
PETA should refer to them as whatever they would like.
You should refer to them as whatever you like.
No they should just all them MEAT.
*No they should just call all of them MEAT.
That’s better, it’s early on the west coast.
the animals do have a gender…
as long as people are being massacred around the world, i say no one should give a good flying rats ass about how animals are being addressed or thought of.
sigh
How pointless.
sigh, why are we quibbling over stupid ass things like the correct pronoun to use when referring to animals? what about global warming? war in iraq? poverty? omg… stupid asses
I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal what they refer to them as.
This is a silly thing to be worrying about. However, common sense dictates that if you call the animal by name (Daisy) you should refer to it by gender (she). Animal, dog, beagle, etc. can be referred to as “it.” I like dogs, but a beagle in a shirt does not deserve my respect.
She’s so cute! I bet she’ll like Ellis
*Grrrooooaaann* Don’t these people have anything better to do? Seriously. They’re animals. Refer to them however the heck you want. And as my favorite bumper sticker says, if God didn’t want us to eat animals they wouldn’t be made of meat.
sure. get all those little critters to sign the petition and away you go.
I’m all for PETA but there’s a line and I think they just took two hops and a leap of stupidity over it.
Yes, it makes sense to me.
When I was learning English in Taiwan, they told us animals can be referred to as “it,” but when you know the gender of the animal, they should be called by their name or their gender. I also believe that animals should be respected, so why not refer to them as we refer to people?
hmm… this also reminds me of the book “A Child Called ‘It’” by Dave Pelzer
I don’t think it will hurt anything, and it may help. I don’t see why not.
When you know the gender…why not say it? Daisy obviously is a female…so say ‘she’. If you’re just speaking breedwise, “that Pomeranian is wagging it’s tail” does just fine.
No, thats just silly.
P E T A = People Eating Tasty Animals
Posted 4/28/2007 9:17 AM by RdKingClassic03
HAHAHA!! That just made my day.
Meh, I refer to animals as he or she just because I think it makes more sense when I hear it, but if you’re going to call a dog “it,” I’m not going to stop you. There goes PETA again, with nothing intellegent to say.
Well, when a newspaper is talking about a specific animal, especially by name, then they should say the gender. I mean, when I’m reading about specific pets, I’d like to know what gender the pet might be, wouldn’t you? Sure, it’s not the most important thing PETA should be fighting for, but it’s still a pretty good idea nonetheless.
They should refer to PETA as “Shut the f*** up”.
Let’s talk about something else…maybe a tad bit important? I don’t want to cry over “Omg! He called that dog an ‘it’!!”
sure why not.
Maybe PETA would be happier if we humans all got down on our hands and knees and gave each other’s butts a good sniff before we talked to each other.
Of course!
It’s us humans who don’t deserve respect. We torture animals, our environment and other human beings! I refer to MY pets as he/she’s. I mean, why not?
They certainly aren’t inanimate objects and there isnt anything wrong with calling a dog a he or a she… They have gender too.
PETA kills me though how they seem to care more about animals than people. My thinking is that whoever started PETA didnt have any friends and had to resort to befriending animals instead. And I can see why because some humans really suck and the company of an animal can be better than that of jerks. However, I don’t like how they try to make animals out to be on the same level as humans.
God created us in HIS image… the animals although part of HIS creation do not have GOD’s own breath in them. WE contraryto popular but misinformed belief we are NOT animals. (But lets not get into the whole EVILutionary debate here). God has given us the privelege and the responsibility to care for and maintain the planet we live on as well as the creatures that dwell here too. But lets not worship the creation rather than the creator!!!!
I wish PETA would stick to having beautiful naked women in cages to protest something or another.
What about asexual animals?
Of course. It’s silly not too. You wouldn’t want people to refer to your children as “it” and animals are sort of like children to people.
Look, I’m all for animal rights, but PETA gives guys like me a bad name. They care more about animal rights than they do human rights.
I don’t care. It’s silly.
Well, I usually refer to my pets as “he” or “she,” but most animals are fixed so I guess if they really wanted it politically correct we would be calling the males “enuchs.” Sometimes you just don’t know whether an animal is male or female, and instead of people getting huffy over you calling it the wrong gender (it’s amazing how irritated, defensive, and upset some people get if you call thier animal by the wrong gender, instead of just correcting you.) you just refer to it as “it.” Plus, it’s a lot easier writing about an unspecified animal because you can refer to it as “it.” I personally hate how when writing about an unspecified person you need to use “he/she” or “he or she” to be grammatically correct. It’s so much work and takes up so much space in papers.
If I know the gender of an animal I refer to it (oh no, PETA’s going to hurt me for that one… and all the rest of the “it”s in here.) by it’s gender, but when I don’t know it makes more sense just to use “it.”
That doesnt do shit for treating animals ethically.I’m all for social justice, but PETA is just Pussies for Publicity Stunts.
definately
i had a dog. HER name was precious.
Yeah, if they’re talking about specific animals and they know the gender, go ahead. And they is a gender neutral pronoun, so we’re all good. I don’t think it matters at all.
Hell YES Dan!!!!
Candy
If you know the animal personally (pet, friend’s pet, etc…) then it would probably be appropriate to refer to the animal using the correct gender pronoun. But for any animal…well, that’s overkill.
Dan, question. Do you visit everyone who’s first on your site?
Haha. Because I’ve noticed that whenever I’m first, you come up on my footprints.
Sure, but if one doesn’t know the gender of the animal one would have to refer it as “it.” That word makes it easier than saying “he or she” all the time…but yeah they are living, I could adjust.
hahas what about hermaphrodites?
What do they do when the sex of the animal isn’t known?
This makes me want to call them its all the more.
In my experience from English class, if you’re talking about a pet or referring to the personality of sorts of the animal, personal pronouns are allowed. But “giving them proper respect”? Please. Shut your pie hole.
Oh ok, now when I write articles about in which a dog is involved I have to actively look for a penis.
I agree with whoever said that if you refer to them by name or you obviously know its gender, use the correct gender pronoun. Most people give their pets “boy” or “girl” names. If we say “the golden retriever chased its ball” and we don’t know the gender, then use “it.” That would be grammatically correct. I don’t think it has anything to do with animal rights or dignity, however. It’s just what the animals are. PETA gets a little wacko, in my opinion…..
I admit, I have pets. Kirby, the dachshund, is a male. Sunny and Layla, the lab and golden, are my “girls.” And yes, I do have real children, too.
After a week of enduring and treating dog diarrhea that got in the carpet and elsewhere and then when taking her outside during this fiasco she ate something her nose found in the grass without even considering the affect it would have on her already messed up digestive system – no respect.
Lol..
My friend has a dog called ‘cookie’ whom i insist on calling ‘biscuit’!!
Let’s see what PETA has to say about THAT!
That book puts a totally different perspective on the word “it.” But Clara Bow was called the “It” girl, and that certainly was not derogatory at all… All in all, it’s really not a big deal. When used in different contexts, the word “it” can have both positive and negative connotations.
Hey, lets let them vote too! after all they live in thier country, might as well get a say, right?
Animals have genders and they’re sure not inanimate unless they’re dead so.. I say pronouns, that’s how I refer to my pets.
i always refer to dogs and ctas as he or she, unless im not sure of their gender.. then i use “it” and the owner seems annoyed and then i ask the gender and name and say he or she.. or the pets name.
Daniel (doubledb)
I call my dog “she”.. cuz that’s what she is!
Um… if they feel like it.
Honestly I don’t think it matters…
No.
They have a gender.. So why shouldn’t we refer to them as hes and shes.
well they do have genders so, sure why not?
SHE is cute.
I always referred to animals as he or she unless I didn’t know the gender. It makes sense to me. I mean, there shouldn’t be like a law that says you MUST but it would be nice. And for the people who refuse to? I don’t understand why. Is it gonna kill you THAT MUCH to say one word different? It’s nicer.
who gives a crap? “The dog. It died.” I love dogs, but unless the gender is really important, why does it matter?
A dog dies in an animal hospital. It would be insensitive to refer to the animal as “it” to the owners. I get it. But in the press every time? A deceased whale explodes in the middle of a Taiwanese intersection when it was being transported. It exploded. She exploded, he exploded. “It” just flows off the tongue. We refer to people as he, she,etc because they’re people! animals aren’t people–though some folks want them to be sooo badly if the above pic is any indication. I think taking pictures of animals with human-clothes on is more of an insult. I respect animals when I’m not eating them, but I respect them as ANIMALS. that’s life.
I guess I don’t care, but I think making an issue of it is silly.
It’s just that ppl who are that fanatical about something are bound to contradict themselves. And if you look at how we live, and what it takes for us to live where we live and how we live, animals are going to get the short end of it–always. We drive cars, we mulitply, we develop communities. Animals have to deal with all of it. Just because someone does it less doesn’t mean that they’re not guilty of ever doing it, so stop with the trivial nonsense. people usually will refer an animal by “he, she,etc” when the name is mentioned because more times than not, it will imply a gender. If not, then why should it matter? the only people who’d be offended are animal enthusiast (why, I’m not sure)–not the animals. THEY CAN’T READ!
PETA… haha what a joke
Yeah, why not refer to them as he/she? I just think PETA would have a little bit bigger chance at people taking them seriously with this one if they wouldn’t have shown their butts with so many of their other uproars…
I like most animals better than most people, and I prefer to use he/she if I know the gender of the animal…but I don’t think the animals really care one way or another what they are referred to as, so PETA needs to focus on more important things, like finding homes for animals in pounds and the like.
I don’t think it will make a difference. Dogs don’t speak human language. You called whatever you want and they still love you the same as long as your tone is nice.
I think they should refer to pets as he or she, but other animals as it. And they shouldn’t go to great lengths to find out if the animal is a he or she. For snakes and sharks it is sometimes very hard to identify!
I think they should use he or she, but I don’t really think it’s a thing of respect. It’s more so that they are of a certain sex, so they can be identified that way. I don’t think it would hurt the animal’s feelings if it was referred to as an it though.
Retards. Personally, I don’t flinch or wince, hearing an animal called “it”. No skin off my back.
I think they’re making a bit of a big deal about the ‘it’ thing. It’s not worth all the fuss. There are other ways of showing respect. Better ways, focus more on them.
As for giving them the rights of the Constitution, I like eating meat, I can’t lie about that. But otherwise, I agree, I am AGAINST euthanasia (sp?) and if they run out of space at the shelter, just set them free and let them freely persue happiness, and if they don’t like human companionship, they have the right to freedom in the wilderness.
what a cute hokie dog
Yes
have they earned respect?
I’ve always had animals, so I’m just used to referring them as “he” or “she.” “It” just sounds so..inanimate. But I agree with cral7617, if you don’t know the gender then it’s okay to refer to an animal as an it.
Pfft, whatever.
Interesting topic. I guess I didn’t realize the AP had such guidelines. I don’t have a lot of respect for PETA, but this makes sense to me. Doesn’t matter either way, but I can understand the perspective.
“A deceased whale explodes in the middle of a Taiwanese intersection when it was being transported.”
Where the hell did this come from? lol
awwwww cute puppy!!!
*laughs like hell*
PETA makes one mistake in assuming that animals can read and understand English, or any other language for that of matter
-David
absolutely, and you didn’t give them that respect.
No. That would be completely pointless. Sure if you know the name and sex of the animal call it he or she, but I wouldn’t go out of my way.
What if the animal is an hermaphrodite? Would it not be an it? PETA is ridiculous. Line them up to replace the poor wittle bunny wunnies in animal testing.
This reveals why PETA is completely irrelevant unless you are a rabid liberal!
How should one refer to a neutered animal?
RdKingClassic03 said: “P E T A = People Eating Tasty Animals” That’s stinkin’ FUNNY!!!!
I call my dog “knucklehead”–don’t tell PETA.
That’s great now tell me the gender of that dog in the pic without refering to its name or any previous knowledge.
I can’t really tell.
They should refer to animals as he/she because they have a gender. It doesn’t really have anything to do with respect, even though I think animals should be respected.
I hate PETA…some things are just so …stupid? No, petty.
I can not respect an organization that rally around the rights of ants, but neglect the cries of the unborn. Calling a dog an it/she/he makes no eternal difference. Rescuing those who can not stand up for themselves makes all the difference.
what the hell……….
PETA is so……..
hey, here’s an idea you animal freaks, why don’t you focus on the PEOPLE that are suffering right now? HUH? quit wasting ur money on animals when you have HUMANS suffering all over the place.
Um. I think there pushing it a little.
the problem is that how could you tell?
Its a dog. Just a dog. It loves you, it is a nice companion. Its a dog.
In general, it is a living being with a gender, so in my little world, it make sense – logically – to refer to “it” based on it’s gender. But sure if you have no idea what gender the dog is… then I can see using “it” Kinda like saying – “hey i saw a picture of this adorable dog on Dan’s blog today… IT was wearing a shirt – which blows my mind… why do people put clothes on their animals…” Sure in that sentence let’s call the dog “it” b/c we have no idea what’s under it’s tail… “it” refers back to the dog. so in that case, yes the dog is kinda a thing… But if i’m talking about one of my cats… and i KNOW their gender it’s always “she did this or she did that”
Oh and in your caption “This is Daisy. It belongs to a vet student” Yeah, to me that sentence sounds totally WRONG. First you formally introuduce the dog. Then turn around and call the dog “It”. Yeah, that doesn’t work for me. If i was editing your writing, I’d automatically change it b/c to me that just doesn’t seem gramatically correct.
Lol, next PETA will go around trying to get people arrested for running over animals0_o. I always refer to an animal by its sex(I wonder what PETA would say about my Triops which is a hemophridite^_^) if I know what it is.
While everyone is discussing things that matter to the world, the PETA are worried that everyone will call the animals as ‘it’.
Yes! Animals have feelings too!
They have a policy for treating animals as inanimate objects? I think PETA is just exposing some serious AP stupidity.
Animals, especially cats, are Gods and should be referred to as He, She or Thee, Thou, etc.
I’m sure animals understand you when they respond to their name being called… it’s all just by reinforcement. if you know its gender and you’re talking to their “owners” (peta would probably argue we don’t own our pets, same as we don’t own other people) about it, it would be more like respecting the master, not so much the pet
You know, I refer to my dogs as “he” and “she”, but this is the AP, and dogs can’t read!!!
definitely. animals think and feel. we’re all in the same kingdom.
First I think we need to start referring to the unborn as he and she. Not a cause I think PETA would endorse.
It depends. If the animal has a name, then “he” or “she” is appropriate. But cattle and livestock should still be considered “it”.
Humans, on the other hand, should always be called “he” or “she”. Referring to a human as “it” implies that it is appropriate to for one person to own another. But of course, we all revile the practice of slavery, where we treat people like property. Based on this, even the unborn should be called “he” or “she”, if the gender is known, since like all other humans they are not the property of anyone else.