Gay Icon, Katrina Fox speaks
with the Abolitionist
By Claudette Vaughan
Flesh-eaters and dairy-lovers beware, Katrina Fox has a radical vegan agenda for the Sydney queer community.
 Abolitionist: What's your contribution so far to the animal rights/liberation movement, Katrina?
Katrina Fox: I went vegetarian at age 11; my first ‘activism' was when I was around 21 and joined London Animal Action on various demos – anti-vivisection, handing out leaflets outside McDonald's (I'm originally from London, have been living in Sydney for the past five years). Then I wasn't active again until about 1997 when I heard about the Hillgrove Farm campaign in England – a place that bred cats for vivisection (now closed). I went on the national demos, as well as ones for Shamrock monkey farm in Brighton (also closed), and Newchurch guinea pig farm (also closed). I also went on some fur demos and it was around this time that I went vegan. Here in Sydney I write for the GLBTIQ press, so my contribution at the moment is trying to get the word out about animal rights to them – via articles, and also by being interviewed. I'm interviewed in the next issue of a well-known dyke art and culture magazine, out later this month (September) and will no doubt cause a stir with some of my comments, especially on BDSM and ‘leather'!
Abolitionist: Where are all the queer/lesbian/transgendered radicals of the Sydney scene and why aren't they working in animal rights?
Katrina Fox: Ha, if I knew the answer to that, I'd be hanging out with them! I really don't know where they are – I think those that are around are focused on other areas such as refugee issues, anti-racism and other human rights issues. The queer community is split at the moment between those who are pushing for same-sex marriage and the right to be as ‘normal' as everyone else i.e. suburban queers into the whole family thing; and those who prefer to retain their ‘specialness' that they believe comes from being gay/queer and embracing their ‘freak'. Ironically though, it's those pushing for gay marriage who are organising marches and protests (albeit not terribly exciting ones – marching down Oxford Street on a quiet Sunday afternoon to Hyde Park isn't exactly radical – going through the streets of the city on a busy Saturday, sitting down in traffic, disrupting business is more likely to be effective).
I guess those working in human rights or queer rights no longer make the connection between animal rights and human rights like they did in the 70s and 80s – which is crazy really because even the RSPCA are coming out publicly now and saying there's a link between cruelty to animals and violence towards humans, but I guess in these difficult times and a war-torn world, people are scared and focused on their own issues, so the wellbeing or rights of animals comes at the bottom of the pile.
It's unfortunate because I don't believe that we'll ever have peace or compassion towards other humans until we afford animals the rights and respect they deserve. As long as society condones the brutal slaughter and torture of non-humans, treating them as slaves to be owned, it's always going to be so easy to then apply those sentiments to certain humans – hence sexism, racism, homophobia and transphobia. Those people campaigning for peace and non-violence should be at the forefront of the animal rights movement, because of all the dreadful atrocities going on the world, none is on such a large scale as that perpetrated against non-humans.
Abolitionist: Especially against animal testing in HIV research and AIDS testing. What are your views on that?
Katrina Fox: I think the whole HIV situation in the West has changed. Although people are obviously still dying from AIDS, many are living much longer and living full lives with the aid of drugs. I'm only talking about countries like Australia, England and the US, not third world countries where it's still a huge issue and people aren't getting treatments. When you compare the early 80s and the activism around HIV and AIDS, with groups like ACT UP in the US who stormed churches and literally took to the streets with a passionate anger, it's a different scenario nowadays. The HIV-positive queens are out partying, mixing recreational drugs with HIV medication most weekends and HIV has become almost an accepted part of the queer community – in that it is possible to live longer and well.
So, maybe it's that there's not such a desperate rush for a ‘cure' via research that there once was. I don't mean to sound flippant towards anyone who's positive here – of course they want a cure, as do we all, as soon as possible, I'm just offering my observations on the trends in the general queer community. For example, the editor of one of the gay magazines I write for, who's been positive for 15 years, recently told me that in the past being HIV-positive was an identity in itself, and now that's been lost. In some ways that's a good thing because HIV-positive people are able to integrate and don't have to be defined solely by the virus; on the other hand, it means that activism around HIV and AIDS wanes, and that includes people thinking about and challenging the use of animals in research and drug testing.
Abolitionist: Many queer people would support vivisection because entrenched in queer culture is the false notion that if there's a possibility for a cure for AIDS arriving from out of animal experimentation exists then the means justifies the end. How do you counter that argument?
Katrina Fox: Yes, that's true. In fact, a while back a woman from a large AIDS organisation in Sydney wrote an article in a gay magazine about how hard it was to find a vaccine against HIV and mentioned in passing how animal experimentation (in primates and monkeys in particular) was a ‘necessary evil' and yet in another sentence said how hard it would be to find a vaccine because monkeys and primates are different to humans!
I took her to task in my column the following week and did what I usually try and persuade people to do – read a book by Dr Ray Greek and his wife, such as Sacred Cows & Golden Geese . Or at least point them in the direction of the Greeks' website (www.curedisease.com) or to an article I wrote for Nexus magazine in 2001 based on their book on the dangers to human health because of animal experimentation. Queer people are no different to anyone else who wants to see a cure for a horrible disease, and thanks to propaganda spewed out by the researchers and drug companies, are willing to sacrifice animals in a misguided belief that animal experimentation will achieve this.
It's frustrating because the Greeks' books don't get the media exposure they should. I went to the press conference in London of Sacred Cows & Golden Geese and no journalists from major media organisations showed up – despite a celebrity (author Jilly Cooper) being present. I point people to the website of Australian GLBTI activist Peter Tatchell (www.petertatchell.net), who runs Outrage in London where he's based, as he has written several articles on how HIV and AIDS research and treatment has been hindered not helped by animal experimentation.
In addition queer animal rights activists must explain the situation any time it comes up in conversation. I interviewed a researcher here in Sydney whose team had made a breakthrough in HIV treatment using human cells, but they had to then ‘test' the findings on primates and she was half-apologetic about it (I told her it was pseudo-science and she didn't disagree!), so there's a lot of misconceptions to overcome – that even if a development comes through non-animal (and therefore more accurate) methods, researchers still subject animals to torture to justify it. Incidentally, the woman at the AIDS organisation didn't try to defend herself in response to my column, and when I interviewed Peter Singer earlier this year who said that brain-dead humans would be more useful in HIV research than primates in a gay magazine, no one wrote in, outraged.
So I think when you put it in clear terms and explain things, people kind of get it, but sometimes I think that even if they can be convinced that animal experimentation is useless for curing human diseases, they're still not willing to stand up and say so and instead adopt a ‘just in case' mentality. They're frightened to ditch animal experimentation ‘just in case' it might be useful.
 Abolitionist: You are a great supporter of direct action as a legitimate tool to further advance the animal rights cause. Tell us about that?
Katrina Fox: Well, just from seeing the results of the Hillgrove, Shamrock and Newchurch campaigns, mentioned in an earlier question, it's clear that direct action works – along with a range of other methods. I would encourage people to do what feels right and comfortable for them – for some, it may be letter-writing or sending emails, for others it may be handing out leaflets in a mall. Obviously I can't encourage anyone to break the law, but I will say that yes, I do have every admiration for people who take more radical forms of action; Hillgrove, Shamrock and Newchurch didn't close down simply because of letter-writing, they didn't close down simply because of demonstrations, they didn't close down simply because workers were visited at home by protestors or had their cars set on fire. It was because of a combination of all those activities – and again, I'm not suggesting anyone should do the latter, but I'm not going to condemn those actions. It annoys me that people don't make the connection between the women's and black liberation movements where those forms of radical direct action were commonplace, and the animal rights movement, where the actions and groups such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) are deemed ‘terrorist'. As far as I'm aware, no one to date has been killed by animal rights activists, so they're pretty crap terrorists, aren't they? They'd have surely failed Terrorism 101, and I doubt Al Qaeda would give them a job!
When I was living in London, I did an article for Diva , the UK's national lesbian magazine in which I interviewed various animal rights activists including one who was part of the ALF (I know they don't have ‘members' as such). She said that once you'd seen certain things e.g. in an abattoir or lab, you had to make a decision as to how far you'll go to stop that happening and for her, it was destroying equipment or buildings related to animal torture. I think there's misconceptions about the ALF and other radical groups, because this woman told me that they don't just go in there and torch a place without any consideration for human and non-human lives; each operation is scouted out for weeks, sometimes months, in advance, and if there's even so much as a bird's nest there, the operation will be called off.
This side of the ALF is never presented in the mainstream media – when I went to meet this woman, I admit that even I had expected an angry person. Instead, she was articulate, relaxed, friendly and spiritual and had used her time in prison to positive effect by spreading the animal rights message and managing to convert some prisoners and a screw to veganism! I always tell this story in discussions with anyone who goes off about the ALF or ‘extreme' animal rights activists. We look back at the women's and black liberation movements and hail the activists as heroes, not terrorists, yet their actions were the same. I yearn for the day we are able to look back at the animal rights movements and regard them in the same way. After all, as Martin Luther King said: “The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists will we be?”
Abolitionist: Do you ever miss the heady days of England where animal rights and animal liberation is taken much more seriously than what it is here in Australia?
Katrina Fox: I must say, I do, yes, particularly lately. Coming to a new country is always a bit manic and stressful and it can take a while to settle in. I'm at that stage now where I'm trying to get a handle on the animal rights movement in Sydney and what's going down. I certainly miss getting up on a Saturday morning for a national demo against Huntingdon Life Sciences (what a truly nasty and evil company that is), going to the meeting point where London Animal Action had organised two to three large coaches to take us to Cambridge – and this was just the London contingent; more coaches arrived at the protest destination from all over the country and even from Scotland.
The journey was always good, just being among people who were passionate about the cause as you are, but in other ways totally different. I loved seeing middle-class posh older women sitting down in the road and refusing to leave, even when manhandled by police; I loved it when the police said ‘you have to go left' and we'd all go right, sometimes breaking police human chains to do it; I loved running through fields being chased by riot police (definitely keeps you fit!); I loved sitting down on the motorway, stopping the traffic; seeing stickers in public toilets and on the button you press to cross the road at the traffic lights; hearing John Curtin talk about how he and a group of activists rescued around 40 beagle dogs from a lab and how they didn't make a sound (40 dogs!) because they knew they were being got out; listening to Robin Webb, Heather from SHAC and other people giving inspiring speeches in town centres. There were hundreds of us and it was fantastic.
Abolitionist: How is your mission to turn Sydney gay people into vegans coming along, Katrina?
Katrina Fox: Hehe, I'm not sure, but I'm having a good go! When I wrote my article ‘Animal Passions' for SX , which was a call for the queer community to embrace radical veganism, I expected some hate mail but got none; instead all sorts of people who'd I met and seen around came out of the woodwork to tell me they were vegetarian (well at least they're on the right path!) and would pay more attention to buying cruelty-free products in the future, so I think there are probably more queer vegans out there than I'd thought, but maybe they're not being vocal. As I have a voice in the queer press, I'm using it to be vocal – I think a float in next year's Mardi Gras would be good – queers for animal rights. I'll put the call out and see if there's any interest – rally the troops, so to speak.
Abolitionist: I think the Australian animal rights scene would benefit enormously from watching and learning from queer radical political campaigns. Those snappy go-for-the-jugular types of campaigns that gay activists put together so seemingly effortlessly. What do you think? Will the twain ever meet between both movements?
Katrina Fox: I mentioned ACT UP earlier – I think one chapter took on the whole issue of condemning animal experimentation in HIV and AIDS research – activists storming churches and other public places; the lesbian avengers in London who took over a double-decker bus; the dyke who abseiled into the BBC during a news programme and chained herself to Sue Lawley. I've seen no evidence of this the past few years, and certainly not in Sydney. As I said earlier, the big ‘issue' at the moment is same-sex marriage and this has the entire queer community split because not everyone wants it.
The National Day of Action for same-sex marriage saw around 500 people turn up in Sydney – initially you might think that's not a bad turnout, but when you consider the thousands upon thousands who get their arses out onto the street for Mardi Gras, it's a pretty poor show. Also, the campaigns aren't particularly snappy or go-for-the-jugular because it seems that GLBTIQ activists are too busy trying to appear ‘normal' and ‘just like everyone else' and wanting the same things and being all ‘nice' about it. When you look at those earlier groups and campaigns, they were more about ‘screw you, we're queer, fabulous and different AND we want equal rights'. It's a different mindset and attitude. So maybe the animal rights movement has gone all respectable in Australia too – I don't know, you could probably answer that better than me.
For the two rights movements to meet, there has to be enough interest and momentum to realise that united we stand, divided we fall, and instead of focusing solely on our own issues, we should be linking up with other movements and fighting the bigger fight which affects us all. Justice Michael Kirby, a well known gay man and judge in Sydney, said this in a recent lecture – he told how gay rights activists focus only on gay rights, women on feminism, indigenous people on indigenous issues, and he's right, but I would extend that to animal rights too, because it's all part of the bigger picture. Right-wing fundamentalists, governments and large corporations are the common enemy and the cause of injustices for all those groups mentioned because their entire ethos is profit at all costs – human rights, animal rights etc, and the reason they continue to succeed is because despite any differences they may have, they know how to come together when necessary, while the rest of us are so busy in our various ‘minority' groups and sub-groups, often infighting, instead of coming together as one. If you put all the human and animal rights movements together, we'd be one mighty force to be reckoned with.
Abolitionist: Has the animal rights movement become a movement based around online petitions and those endless emails alerting activists to the latest animal poll or taking the latest “animal rights” news from farmers websites?
Katrina Fox: It does seem that way to some extent, doesn't it? I know Animal Lib NSW are organising some events and hold stalls which is good. You need both a carrot and stick approach, but at the moment there's lots of carrots and not enough sticks! I guess there's the sedition laws here in Australia which may have had an effect on protests or demos? In the UK and US, the ALF are still going strong with their various actions it seems, although I believe Robin Webb said it's becoming more difficult what with DNA and other technologies making identification easier, but if the spirit's there, I reckon the activists will get around it.
I think a lot of movements are now taking the online activism approach. On the plus side, it's a way to get people who aren't necessarily committed to a cause but are stirred enough to care, to do something proactive that won't take a lot of time and effort out of their day – like sending an email. The net can be a great way of uniting activists and getting information out there – I notice a lot of the animal rights groups are now setting up profiles on Myspace, the social networking giant – and I think this is a good thing. Sometimes activism can be a lonely business – setting yourself apart from the ‘norm' by explaining why you're a vegan etc, so it can be good to feel you're part of a bigger, global movement and ‘meet' people as passionate as you. But, as I mentioned earlier, it should only be one tactic among many.
Abolitionist: What's your all-time favourite type of activism?
Katrina Fox: I'd have to say a good march with lots of others through very busy city streets, sitting down in the roads, stopping traffic, bringing a busy town centre to a halt is a really good buzz. Singing '60s protest songs such as ‘We Shall Overcome' and ‘We Shall Not Be Moved' is an extra bonus, as is chanting things like ‘human freedom, animal rights: one struggle, one fight', and screeching out ‘Eeeeeeevil!!' when going past the premises of an animal abusing company is very cathartic and fun!
Abolitionist: Gay people, especially in Sydney love their companion animals and we often see them at different shows and fairs etc around the place. There's been some talk about trying to get legislation through to allow companion animals on buses and public transport. What other campaigns do you think particularly suits queer culture with regards to our non-human brothers and sisters?
Katrina Fox: Do you know, I had no idea that dogs weren't allowed on buses or trains and it's only now you've said that, that I realise I've not seen one on public transport. How bizarre! Why would you not allow them on trains or buses? With regard to other campaigns, I think the campaign to get the queer community to embrace veganism is a good one. Trying to get them to realise that if they are appalled at the suffering of companion animals, they should be equally appalled at the suffering and abuse of farm animals and animals used for food and clothing. In the early days of gay lib, women's lib and animal lib, there was much more of a connectedness and awareness, which has been lost. I think this is partly to do with both gay men and lesbians coming out of gay lib and feminism and rejecting the stereotypes of those early times i.e. being vegetarian or vegan is seen as being passé, uncool or boring. Instead they want to be trendy and ‘rebel' against those early times by eating meat, wearing fur etc. We've swung from one extreme to the other – feminism was hijacked by sex-negative women in the early days and now society reveres raunch culture. Taking elements of both those, I believe, is the way forward.
We need to let queer people know that you can be utterly fabulous, wear heaps of make-up and outrageous clothes, shoes etc and be an ethical consumer and activist. It's not an either/or situation: buy a pair of six-inch black thigh boots – just make sure they're vinyl, not leather. Cake your eyes with blue-glitter eyeshadow or paint your lips with screaming red gloss – just buy them from a cruelty-free manufacturer. GLBTIQ people usually have a good eye for the next best thing, and if we can persuade them that veganism is it (it's hardcore, radical, fabulous), the rest of society will follow…as they do with dance music, fashion etc J
Katrina Fox is a freelance journalist and editor of two books on sex and gender diversity and is currently working on a third, to be published by the Haworth Press in 2008. She writes features for LOTL , Australia's national lesbian magazine, and articles and a regular column, Keeping Abreast, for SX , a weekly arts, news and entertainment magazine for the GLBTIQ community in Sydney. Her columns also appear in her Blog, which you can read, alongside many of her published articles, on her website at www.katrinafox.com You can also join Katrina on Myspace at www.myspace.com/katrinafox1
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