¿Son las mujeres más sensibles a los derechos de los animales? Sobre los vínculos entre el animalismo y el feminismo

In this paper we will present on the one hand, the data about women’s presence in animal rights movements in Spain; on the other hand, we will try to find explanatory frameworks that clarify which are the link that connects feminist sensibility to animal rights sensibility. We have made a survey on the percentage of women in the membership of the most important animal rights defense organizations in Spain and, with these results, we have made a review of different theoretical frameworks which can explain this significant gender orientation in animal welfare defense. Finally, we claim that there is a bond between patriarchal ideology and ecological exploitation, in the sense that both share domination and gender oppression. In this sense, the sensitivity to animal rights mobilizes moral feelings of fraternity with nature.