People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, has unveiled its newest animal rights campaign with a line of fake "human" leather clothing with realistic features, USA Today reports.
"People are rightfully horrified by the idea of wearing human skin and the thought of it should make everyone's stomach turn, just as much as wearing the skin of a cow, goat, sheep, or any other animal," PETA said in a statement to the newspaper.
The clothing will be displayed, not sold, on PETA's online "store," known as "Urban Outrages."
"Built to appear like a real online shopping experience, its goal is to make visitors question why it's deemed acceptable to use the skin of any living, feeling being for fashion," the organization says on its website, adding, "And yes, it's as disturbing as it sounds."
The products are "made of the finest leather — that on second look, reveal human faces on the jackets, human teeth on the shoes, and human blood oozing from the bags," according to PETA.
PETA's executive vice president, Tracy Reiman, told the New York Post in a statement that "a cow's skin belongs to her, and she feels fear and pain in a slaughterhouse every bit as much as you or I would."
Reiman added that the exhibit "challenges shoppers to see the individual behind every bit of animal skin on store racks and shelves."
Retired sociology professor James Jasper, who wrote "The Art of Moral Protest," told USA Today that "moral shocks bring attention to an issue. Look at all the publicity this PETA campaign is getting. In the end, some people will be turned off, but others will notice the issue perhaps for the first time. And still, some will have their commitment to the cause strengthened."
However, Barry Glassner, sociologist and author of "The Culture of Fear," told the newspaper that "these organizations work off of our inborn fight or flight responses when we're confronted with something scary. And of course they want us to fight this horrible situation and join the organization."
He added, "It's an unfortunate reality, but fear sells. It's the quickest way to grab someone's attention and have them listen ... and any organization whose mission is to heal the world shouldn't sully it with fear campaigns."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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