Semiconscious Consumerism: Leather VegansBlogger Justin Juul weighs in -- just in time for Slow Food Nation this weekend -- on the contradictions of fashion and philosophy. Read his thoughts on high-end street gear in a time of economic crisis here, his saga of American Spirits here, and his sassy deconstruction of the Nike and American Apparel connection here.
I became a vegetarian the year my father moved the family from Southern California to a ranch in North Carolina, right across the street from a cow farm. My dad had just retired from the Marine Corps and was on a mission to return to the farm-life he’d abandoned when he enlisted 20 years before. It was totally normal for him, but that shit freaked me out. I’d grown up in small cities on the fringes of military bases across the country and here I was at seventeen years old, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but my two little dogs and a giant herd of cows to keep me company.
Needless to say, I got out of there quick. I jumped on a greyhound bus back to California the day I turned 18 and I haven’t looked back since. But the image of those peaceful cows never left me. Watching them play with my dogs made me realize that animals were pretty similar across the board. I would never eat Burny or Katy, I rationed, so I probably shouldn’t eat the cows either. And so it went. I became a vegetarian because I realized that eating animals is cruel, but wearing them? Well, that’s another story.
You see, although I hate to admit it, I’m sort of a hipster.
I wear stretchy jeans and I ride funny bikes and I listen to Girl Talk and I hang out in shitty dive bars in The Mission. And yes, as a hipster, I have no choice but to don a tight leather jacket with goofy-looking shoulder straps whenever the temperature drops. I mean, what else am I supposed to wear, a coat? That shit’ll make me look fat, yo. I’ve got a myspace/facebook image to maintain here!
It sounds hypocritical and sort of stupid, but I’m not worried and I don’t feel any shame. You see, I bought my leather jacket at a thrift store so my hands are clean. It’s a loophole my girlfriend, a lifelong vegetarian with a mind-boggling collection of patent leather shoes and fancy purses, taught me about. Wearing a dead animal is okay, it seems, as long as someone else wore it before you.
Here’s the rationale: if you buy your skin coats and torture shoes from thrift stores, you’re not directly supporting the slaughter industry because the animal that died for your particular garment was probably killed before you were born and the company that killed it is probably out of business. Therefore: no harm done. You can sleep at night, knowing that you look really really cool, and you can still walk around feeling superior to all those other ignorant assholes who buy leather shoes from the mall and eat bacon for breakfast. Makes sense to me!
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Comments (5)
Wish you could give underwear fashion tips to my neighbor here in our building ....his recent endless tweak fests turned him into an UNWORTHY underwear fashionista as of late.
His fine accessories include his [hair dresser] scissors and butcher knives that he slashes at us while we evacuate . . . .AFTER HE'S SET OFF THE CLANGING FIRE ALARM @ 3-4 in the morning. His other accessory of late is a music CD he uses to spy behind him as he walks around.
I'd be happy to chip in on a used COAT (instead of jacket) for him thanks to his lack of qualifications to be seen in his underwear while dodging his slashing blades!
Just sayin!
Posted by Begonia Buzzkill | August 29, 2008 12:44 PM
The problem with your loophole is that resale value is, mentally, sometimes factored into a purchase.
If cars could never be resold it would effect the price people paid for them, yah?
Some of the money you spent on your jacket is going to be used by the original owner to buy new leather stuff.
-Cockroaches are people too!
Posted by Bushy Hyde | August 29, 2008 03:16 PM
Thanks for taking the time to read my post Begonia! And thanks for the heartfelt response. It feels really good to know that my work is actually reaching people and making them think about issues that matter.
As far as your neighbor goes; I totally agree with you. I hate him too. Dude's always like "ahhhh. Get these bugs offa me NOW!" What a dick!
And I find his misuse of music CD's pretty irritating as well. I mean it's like, come on dude, people might want to listen to that music CD! It has music on it.
I'd love to sit him down to discuss his behavior as of late, but everyone knows you can't have a civil conversation with a tweaker. They're always rambling on and on about completely irrelevant shit that makes no sense. And they always focus on the wrong part of the story. It's like, you say something, but they hear something totally different. Then they proceed to go on a rant about random people in their building or whatever. Total waste of time.
Just sayin!
Posted by Justin J | August 29, 2008 03:50 PM
you'll be adding to the demand for leather jackets.
Posted by simon k | September 2, 2008 06:57 PM
That is such complete hypocrisy!
It's not ok to eat meat because "it's cruel," BUT IT IS OK TO WEAR LEATHER as long as it's second-hand? Because that way, you are not the one who caused the animal to be killed in order to wear it's skin? Does everyone who orders a hamburger walk up to a cattle farm and pick out the cow they want killed? Do people who wear leather specify the animal whose skin they want to wear? Of course not! There's a demand for it, that's all. And as long as people want to eat meat or wear leather, these industries are not going to go away.
Just because you lived "right across the street from a cow farm" for one year, that doesn't make you any less removed from the average schmuck who buys steak or chicken from the supermarket without any real thought to how this meat got there.
If you're going to be a vegetarian, fine. Do it for your health. Do it because you once visited a slaughterhouse and it made you violently sick for hours. But don't do it for something as vague as "animal cruelty," ESPECIALLY if you're going to claim that you're any less cruel for wearing second-hand leather. Dead animal skin is dead animal skin, no matter how well-tailored, or how skinny it makes you look.
Posted by Stella | September 4, 2008 11:53 AM