Good grief.

Why why WHY is it always /cows/? I mean, I don't have anything against cows, but how come when women are represented by animals, it's always either cows or cats?

When I was pregnant and told people I was planning to breastfeed, all I heard was, "Won't you feel like a cow?" as if cows were the only creature on the planet that made milk.

Hmm. Let's list off a few other creatures who make milk: cats, dogs, lions, tigers, bears, dolphins, orcas, hyenas, cheetahs, mice, ferrets, sheep, pigs, moose, gazelles.... Obviously, the list goes on a long ways, seeing as the ability to produce milk for one's young is the signature trait of, y'know, mammals.

And yet somehow, human women always wind up equated with cows. Or cats. I just don't get it.

i'm not sure if u are being rhetorical or not, but the cow/milk angle is quite obvious. yes... plenty of other animals make milk, but in the USA the only kind we drink with any regularity is COW MILK, hence the connection in our minds between COWS and MILK

in countries where the primary form of milk comes from goats or something, i wouldn't be surprised if the reference would be goats or something

Because Cows are meat (like women) and Cats are spiteful (like women). God forbid we be represented by something intellegent (like dolphins) or graceful (like horses). Or, I don't know, maybe being represented as people once in a while (like we are). Ugh.

cats are spiteful?

cats are spiteful?

and let's not forget similar stereotypes apply to men

ever hear the "men are dogs" meme?

why? because they would lick their balls if they could?

I didn't say I believed it but I've heard it. You know, because cats don't shower you with affection they're aloof. And because they get into a snit if you're gone too long, they're spiteful.

And I didn't say that simular stereotypes don't exist for men. I didn't mention them because the question was "Why are women always cows or cats anyway?"

This isn't directly pertinent to the issue, but it's worth mentioning that Modesty Zone appears to be a humor/satire site.

As for why it's cows: I'd wager it's the large, pendulous nipples. Clearly many men have a love/hate relationship with breasts.

Cheers,

TH

Ah, Tom, if only that were the case. The site is run by Wendy Shalit who wrote "A Return to Modesty." While I can understand why you would you think otherwise, the site is all too real.

I am not a PETA fan, but I thought that the milk gone wild ads were amusing. I see all sorts of ad campaigns that "sarcastically" objectify women (recent Burger King ads that were weird and surreal and full of T&A), but the Milk Gone Wild ads really poke fun at Girls Gone Wild without "sarcastically" showing nipples for men to "sarcastically" masturbate to later.

"God forbid we be represented by something intellegent (like dolphins) or graceful (like horses)." - Holli

Men (some, at least) are already represented by horses, although not because they are graceful ;)

Anyone else notice that the "Bella junior"-fit shirt appears to be pretty tight-fitting? (The drawings even have boob-shading.) Tsk tsk.

Also, the modesty movement has a blog (!) -- which may be the funniest thing since the abstinence sucker. One post examines Ann Coulter's "godless" fashion on the cover of her new book.

I always love the milk line. 'Cause a man won't marry one of us gals if he doesn't have blue balls, you know! ;D

Heh. I always thought the milk line was a great argument for sleeping with a guy before marrying him: that way you can weed out the losers who just want to get into your pants, and find the man who's interested in you for more than just sex.

Yeah, and hell -- what is up with this history of anti-cow sentiment? Clearly we need to work to improve the public conception of cows.

On a slightly more serious note, I'm also weirded out by the "Girls Gone Mild" shirts, although I'm not exactly sure why. (Weirdly, I first thought of "mild" cigarettes, as if these girls were lightly menthol-flavored. So much for that seriousness, heh).

the anti-cow sentiment is clearly an edifice of the gary larson (the far side) paradigm

cows are evul

:)

I have to agree with EG! If a man is only after sex, why would you marry him? And if he's after a lifelong commitment of respect and love, why NOT have sex with him?

That cow looks so sad and shameful. It doesn't look like it's about sex at all - it looks upset that it doesn't have any cow clothes.

I worry about the Christian right teaching their girls they are "cows" whose ultimate goal with a man is marriage. I went to a Christian college and say WAY too many of my friends married off too soon - usually at that stage in a relationship where you start having sex. They wanted to have sex, so they got a marriage license. It wasn't so crass as that, of course, but I think a LOT of those relationships would have cooled off after the passionate stage was over. I worry about the state of those marriages now.

God forbid we be represented by something intellegent (like dolphins) or graceful (like horses).

Horses stink and dolphins make me feel guilty about what I eat.