Lady Bunny simply loves cute little critters, which explains why the legendary drag queen joined forces with PeTA to take on KFC.

Next stop: the world!

[Images]

Dan Mathews isn't your typical activist.

This fun loving rabble-rouser regularly humiliates himself for his cause, gets arrested and finds himself under fire from flying beef. No, he isn't a gay activist - well, he is gay and an activist, but Mr. Mathews spends much of his rabble-rousing energies fighting for furry friends. Yes, that's right, Mathews works for PETA.

Say what you will about the vegetable loving organization, but you can't deny that they're effective, making headlines and grabbing ink left, right and center.

The model turned activists' memoir, Committed, just came out in paperback, so our meat loving editor took some time to pick Mathews' brain on the evolution of his work, what makes his organization so effective, how to use "impure" allies and what gay organizations can learn from PETA's sensational ways.

Read all about it, after the jump.

[Image by Todd Oldham]

CONTINUED »

We've already received a number of emails and comments on our post on Martina Navartilova's work with PETA to protest Oregon State University and Oregon Health & Science University's investigation into so-called "gay" or "male-oriented" sheep.

Some readers contend that PETA's twisting the facts to suit their mission, insisting that the program's aimed more at helping sheep breeders ween out the "homo" rams for breeding purposes. A reader named Seamus cites an Associated Press article:

The study began in 1995, when researchers at the federal Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho, noticed that some rams refused to mate with female sheep. Of these animals, some showed no interest in males or females, and a few preferred other rams.

A refusal to breed can spell disaster in the sheep production industry.

Stormshak said a key goal is to find a biological test to determine ovine sexual orientation, so breeders can make informed purchases of stud rams.

Another reader led us to this blog posting from September on the subject. If you head on over, you'll find researcher Dr. Charles Roselli's explanation that the program's not nefarious at all. Rather, it's hoping to shed light on more complex physio-sexual mysteries:

Moreover, sexual behavior and sexual partner preference play a fundamental role in reproduction and psychosexual development. There are serious medical conditions that are the result of variations in sexual development, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia and androgen insensitivity syndrome. These conditions may lead to problems of sexual function, social and psychosexual adjustment, mental health, quality of life and social participation. Understanding variations in psychosexual development that may affect these individuals requires reference to studies in non-human species that show marked but complex effects of androgens on sex differentiation of the brain and on behavior. A greater understanding of the biological underpinnings of partner preference may greatly assist in providing affected individuals with the medical services and support that they may desire.

Hmmm, intriguing. We're all about medical advancements, but we still must admit that we're skeptical about the entire thing.

Sure, reader contentions that PETA's exaggerating the issue may hold some water, it still seems that no matter how much good comes from Roselli's research, some more sinister folk may use the information for evil.

It's really up to you, reader, to draw your own conclusions…

(Shout-out to PageOneQ for this swell picture of a "gay" sheep.)

One thing you can't deny about the ladies at PETA is their passion, but while their hearts may be in the right place, we are often bewildered by their actions. We thought it couldn't get any weirder than Survivor winners/lovebirds Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca getting naked (and shaving their pubes) for the good of animals.

Now PETA is planning a "gay make-out" protest in Washington D.C.'s Freedom Plaza wherein PETA member Mike Brazell and his boyfriend will make out on a bed for the afternoon under a banner that reads “Vegetarians Make Better Lovers" while activists try to convince passersby not to eat meat anymore. If Mike Brazell weren't sort of cute, we would denounce this action as totally gross.

PETA plans 'Gay Makeout Tour' event on Washington, DC's Freedom Plaza [PageOneQ]
PETA [Official Site]

Last week we wrote about the Blackglama fur advertisements. We were inundated almost immediately with angry emails from our readers denouncing the fur trade and criticizing our celebration of fur. Calm down queens. We heard you loud and clear.

While all of us here at Queerty have differing opinions, we thought we’d present the other side of the fur equation. Besides, if Martha Stewart can have a change of heart, why can’t we?

In this PETA video our lady Martha, a former fur wearer, denounces the fur trade and shows its cruelness. It’s hard to watch, but informative. Now fake fur looks so much more appealing.