Is Katy Perry's BON APPETIT Video VEGAN?

Does Katy perry’s new single Bon Appetit have a secret pro-vegan message?

Whatever her intention, the vivid imagery throughout draws the viewer into a carnival house of a kitchen where legs can be twisted like dough and tongues placed in torches without repercussion.

A relatively standard, though glamorised, preparation of a meal with someone’s body as the centrepiece.

The thing is, the body they’re needing, chopping, boiling, and garnishing is that of a woman.  A human woman, with who’s name we are all too familiar.

There’s nothing too outlandish about the process, other than the victim.  It’s curious to read the reactions of disgusted meat eaters, condemning Katy Perry’s choice to depict herself in this way, then returning to stuffing a turkey’s corpse with herbs.

For some, it’s the sexualization of the main course that’s disturbing.  But the male gaze that Katy is courting is barely distinguishable from those males' lust for meat.  Whether the flesh be human or non, it turns a manly man on.

And while we're on the topic of sex.  The sexual imagery in the lyrics abounds.  “Got me spread like a buffet” and “melt in your mouth kind of lovin” give a pretty clear picture.  She’s not one for subtlety.  And her announcement of the video in 140 characters or less was accompanied by #sexualliberation.

So is Katy liberated?  Is this video really about taking ownership of our own sexuality?  Of our own bodies?

And what does that mean for the animals we disempower.

We artificially inseminate virtually all animals we raise for food, taking away her choice to be a mother.  We co-opt reproduction for our purposes and strip away any pleasure in the process.

We castrate male pigs to improve the taste of the meat and objectify the process of providing life-giving nourishment to a newborn by stealing his mother's milk.

To quote Carnage "what kind of animal rapes just for milk?"

And what about the sexual liberation of non-human animals?

What about allowing them to take ownership of their own bodies, as we claim to want to do for marginalized humans?

What about consent?

Will anyone but vegans pick up on these undertones?

Maybe not.

But the video does an excellent job of showing us just how absurd it is to use sentient beings for our dinner.

What if all our meals serenaded us as we cooked them?

Would we feel guilty for taking their lives then?

In turning herself into a commodity, has Katy turned herself into a martyr for the animal rights cause?

I guess you can be the judge of that.

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Watch the video here or on YouTube.

What are your thoughts on my thoughts on Katy's video?

Let's have a conversation in the comments.

Until next time,