Media menagerie

In my years of working at a veterinarian’s office, I saw pet owners exploit their animals to no end. Some clients would enter towing schnauzers in miniature Hawaiian shirts, while others dyed their pets pastel colors for Easter. Still, I don’t think I ever saw any situation worse than that of Ebony, a high-fashion furball, though not by choice.\nThis dog had it all – a rhinestone collar, crimson bows in its ears and a red pedicure. Although it was living a life of luxury, I felt sorry for the dog. Ebony, you see, was not a “she.” Ebony was a doggie drag queen, all because he had the misfortune of being born a male poodle.\nNowadays, we tend to project our familiar concepts of human behavior onto those who are, well, not human. Of course Ebony’s owner knew the dog’s gender. But he, along with just about everyone else in the world, had a major mental roadblock that kept him from accepting the fact that there are actually male poodles in the world. The species has to procreate somehow – poodles just don’t grow on trees. \nTake a second to ponder what conceptions of domestic animals and wildlife you have taken away from popular media. I’m sorry to say it, but penguins don’t tap dance, and I don’t envy the parent who will have to explain that to their kids on their next trip to the zoo.\nAdmittedly, most of the application of stereotypical human characteristics to animals is completely harmless. In some cases, it even sparks interest in certain species. Most people can figure out that it’s not common for lions to befriend fast-talking meerkats that speak with New York accents and their foul-smelling wacky, warthog sidekicks. Although the species used to sell ad space or movie tickets and TV shows may generate audience awareness, the prevalence of their stereotyped images sometimes does more harm than good. \nDomestic animals such as Ebony may suffer a loss of dignity because of the way society views them, but their wild counterparts are substantially worse off. Consider the polar bear, for example— renowned Coke spokesman whose popular image leads many to believe that the species is flourishing in its Arctic habitat and regularly getting its caffeine fix from the sugary, bubbly magic of America. \nUnfortunately, this is not quite the situation. As warmer temperatures melt the ice caps, polar bears are fast losing their natural habitat, one which they also share with their tap-dancing penguin buddies. In fact, wildlife advocacy organizations are working to have the polar bear designated as an endangered species.\nSo don’t expect all geckos to sell you car insurance with witty banter and Australian accents. Ad agencies push a certain conception of animals to sell their products, but we can’t allow that to make us complacent. The same puma that is used to sell you shoes now may not exist in 30 years.\nIf we take the popular images of animals at face value, mainstream media may soon become the only place we are able to see them.