

“ Available evidence suggests that vegans are approximately twice as likely to be female as male (Cole and Stewart 2010; Imaner Consultants 2003; Amato and Partridge 1989).4 Possible )explanations for this include a greater capacity for empathy with nonhuman animals on the part of women as a result of a shared experience of (patriar- chal) oppression (Adams 2000) and a gendered socialization process that disproportionately predisposes women to compassionate feelings towards nonhuman animals relative to men (Maurer 1990).Vilification of women’s responses to nonhuman animal exploitation therefore combines sexism with a trivialization of a compassionate ethical response as ‘sentiment’.”