Saving Animals: a Critical Overview of the Gendered Dimension of Direct Action for Animal Liberation

This dissertation critically examines the history and actuality of direct action for animal liberation, starting with a theoretical introduction on antispeciesism, considering its connections with other struggles, in particular anarchism and transfeminism, laying the foundations for an intersectional analysis. Thereafter, the history of direct action will be traced through the analysis of some case studies, which will provide the basis for developing a critical discourse on direct action, particularly with regard to the debate on violence and nonviolence. Finally, after a critical examination of the gender composition of the anti-speciesist movement, the focus will return to direct action, considering how it can become an exclusionary practice for categories of people considered insufficiently strong and determined, but also because of the salvific approach it often takes. These aspects are embodied by the activist-hero, typically connoted as male, whose figure will be criticized through a transfeminist and decolonial lens. The methods I use for data gathering are diversified: I use various sources such as books, academic papers, reports, newspaper articles, sites, zines and social media pages. Part of the research is based on interviews with people who have taken part in various forms of anti-speciesist activism, allowing the analysis to take on a personal perspective, both in the form of accounts of experiences and in the diversity of opinions.