Bold and Fearlessly Feminine: Meet Women Helping Us End Speciesism
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate all the historical, cultural, and political victories and contributions made by women all over the world. PETA and PETA Latino are honored to have worked with so many powerful women of many backgrounds to help spread our message that animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.
These inspiring women have chosen to use their platforms to speak up for justice and help change the way the world sees and treats animals. From promoting vegan living to helping animals stuck at SeaWorld, they are loud and proud about supporting animal rights.
Stéphanie Gérard
TV host, singer, actor, and yogi Stéphanie Gérard has a passion for helping animals and making delicious vegan meals. In an article, she had this to say about being vegan: “You will begin with yourself and then you’ll want to change the world.”
Kate del Castillo
Kate del Castillo has participated in several PETA Latino campaigns, including ones focused on companion animal protection, fur, and SeaWorld. In a video for PETA Latino, she said, “It doesn’t matter if we have fur or feathers or fins; the shape of our face; or the number of legs—we’re not different in any important way.” Kate is also the winner of PETA Latino’s 2022 Woman Warrior for Animals Award, in recognition of her efforts to end animal exploitation and speciesism around the world.
Sofía Sisniega
Actor Sofía Sisniega is a passionate vegan and women’s rights activist. She has used her platform to speak up for all oppressed species in many of her Instagram posts as well as in PETA Latino campaigns. In her campaign against the dairy industry, she laments the separation of mothers and their young: “Animals suffer their whole lives and babies are separated from their mothers. Most Latinos are lactose intolerant, and it’s completely unfair to be pushing dairy on Latino communities. So whether you’re lactose intolerant or not, you should be intolerant of cruelty.”
Krystal Bee
We’re always hungry for vegan radio personality Krystal Bee! She loves dishing about the hottest vegan-friendly restaurants in Los Angeles and the latest and greatest plant-based cookbooks. She discussed a vegan starter cookbook by the women of Spork Foods: “I love the women of Spork Foods for providing delicious and easy to make yummy vegan recipes! Sometimes people are scared to try vegan, let alone try cooking vegan. So the fact that these recipes can fulfill great taste and don’t require too much time in the kitchen is always something to look forward to!”
Genesis Butler
Genesis Butler is the Marvel Universe’s newest vegan hero! She was chosen to be featured in Marvel’s Hero Project, an unscripted series that follows several young heroes who are making a difference in their own communities. She says, “It makes me so happy because I am going to be able to share why we should have compassion for all animals and when we have compassion for all animals, we are also showing compassion to the planet and to each other.”
Erika Fernandez
Erika Fernandez is a Fox Sports host who feels strongly about animal rescue. She founded the Amor sin Raza foundation and has committed her life to giving animals a chance to find permanent, loving homes. Her superpower is rescuing dogs! What’s yours?
Liz Solari
Liz Solari is an actor, a model, an activist, and a vegan who’s spreading the word about animal rights, being vegan, and animal rescue. She says, “I think we have to look at ourselves, and instead of calling others ‘wild,’ think about why we feel we are civilized when it comes to buying a piece of dead animal in the grocery store or ordering it in a restaurant.”
Andrea Meza
In her debut PETA campaign, Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza encouraged everyone in the world to go vegan! “You just have to adjust some things, like change dairy for almond milk, soy milk, or any kind of milk that you want. And you can change meat for vegan meat that you can find in every supermarket or [use] tofu [or] mushrooms,” she advises in her video. “[A]ll these different textures … will add a delicious taste to your meal.”
Xiomara González-Govea
Xiomara González-Govea is an accomplished journalist who has made animal issues the center of her life and work. She’s been a vocal advocate of animal rights since she was a young girl. “My father had a ranch and I saw things that I didn’t like,” she remembers, explaining that that was the moment her vocation was born. “I thought, ‘I need to speak up for these animals.’”
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Feeling inspired? You can get started on your vegan journey today—order a copy of PETA’s free vegan starter kit! It has everything from recipes and tips on eating out to health information.
