Which bodies matter? A review of sexual, coerced and reproductive violence committed against nonhuman animals

Abstract

This paper reviews crimes committed against nonhuman animals within the dairy industry. It argues that sexualized, coerced and reproductive violence is committed against female dairy cows when they are forcibly impregnated through artificial insemination. Reproductive violence is violence that violates a persons’ reproductive autonomy or violence that is directed against an individual due to their reproductive capabilities (Grey, 2017). Within the dairy industry female dairy cows are impregnated through invasive methods. ‘Recto-vaginal rape’ (Vandermark, Salisbury and Boley 1951) - the process - and the ‘rape rack’- the device - are the terms used to describe the artificial insemination of cows. Both involve the nonconsensual penetration of the cows’ anus and vagina. Drawing parallels between the sexual objectification and domination of female bodies, and the commodification of nonhuman reproductive systems, this paper seeks to answer the following questions: which bodies matter? And which lives are griveable? (Butler, 2007)