PETA porn to promote...wait, there's a naked lady!

by John MacBeath Watkins

PETA porn? Sounds delicious, but it's in no way related to pita sandwiches. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is planning a porn site, which should be ready in time for the Christmas season, using porn to get people to look at their propaganda.

PETA.xxx isn't ready yet, but PETA has already contacted the ICM Registry to reserve the site, and expect to have it up in November. After all, Thanksgiving and Christmas are family-oriented holidays, and what could be more family-oriented than videos of people engaged in the procreative act?

The ABC News story on it is here and David Horsey's take is here. Personally, I have no objection to using sex to sell a message (or, for that matter, tires.) But in the past, PETA has been a bit more restrained, using nude volunteers modestly shielded by a banner with PETA's message, sometimes looking rather cold. The technique is cheeky, attention-getting, and all in good fun. The question in my mind is, can they keep on-message and keep it fun while doing porn? And just how hard-core will it be? Naked women eating bananas seems about right for the message, go much further and you've got an entirely different demographic tuning in.

And if your porn is constantly interrupted with messages to neuter, will that interfere with its enjoyment? Let's just pick a few random words out of, say, this post on their website:

breeders be spayed and neutered. Bob Barker

Now, you're going to think I'm taking this out of context, because, well, I am, but with the moaning and all, can you be sure you'll hear every word in the messaging part of the experience when you're trying to pay attention to the massaging part? No. You'll be thinking, hey, I know it would be hipper to be gay, but what have they got against breeders? And do we really want to be thinking about Bob Barker while this stuff is going on?

And can we really concentrate on the need to give up dairy goods while looking at womens' breasts? More likely we'll be thinking, wow, those poor cows, we should...wait, there's a naked lady!