PETA.XXX

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an organization that prides itself on defending all animals from humans eating them, wearing them, experimenting on them, using them for entertainment, and any other actions that proliferate the abuse or exploitation of animals. PETA’s blind passion has led to several campaigns that are viewed by the general public as outlandish, libelous, misogynistic, sexist, and sexually exploitative. These advertisements --featuring nude women and women performing sexually suggestive acts with vegetables-- have become so infamous and tabooed that PETA is more known for using naked women showering together or posing to advertise a cause and less known for the actual cause they are intending to thrust into the national spotlight through controversy.
These trivial images are just the beginning for PETA’s sexually suggestive and erotic advertisements. PETA spokeswoman, Lindsay Rajt, announced in August 2011 an advertisement campaign sure to deter many supporters and further the abhorrence of negative pundits: Peta.xxx.
Peta.xxx is PETA’s audacious response to Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) authorization of the creation of .xxx domain names.
ICANN is an international non-profit organization and government affiliated agency housed in California. According to ICANN’s website, the organization’s chief purpose is to coordinate IP addresses, organize domain names, and manage other identifiers of internet locations across the world wide web.# As a part of their responsibility to organize domain names, ICANN is strongly encouraging pornographic websites to create .xxx domain names to facilitate internet safety by virtually creating a red light district for the internet.
.XXX domains are not only being used by distributors of the adult industry. Many corporations and schools have created .xxx domain names to prevent their brand from being tarnished from association or confusion with pornography. Another motive for organizations to block .xxx domains similar to their institution or organization’s name is to avoid cyber squatting-- the registration of domain names of well known organizations and brands to eventually resale for profit. Harvard University, for example, purchased Harvard.xxx and has reserved the website from registration. Other universities and organizations, such as Texas Christian University, Ohio State University, Red Cross, and MTV have done the same.#
PETA too bought a .xxx domain name with the appellation of PETA; however, instead of purchasing peta.xxx to block an outside force from using their title, they plan to soon launch a pornographic website to enhance their mission of “get[ting] the animal rights message out to as many people as possible.”#

While spreading their mission, PETA acts in a Machiavellian manner. Niccollo Machiavelli is an Italian writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is Best known for writing The Prince which was published in 1532. In the Prince he write, “Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.” No matter how you go about doing things (people will judge and hate you), thus you have to work to reach your end goals. Your ends will justify your means, so it doesn’t matter if they are good or ethically strong.
This concept--originally created by Machiavelli--has now been adapted in the ethical system consequentialism. This ethical standard basically states that the results/final consequences of an action determines whether or not that action was ethical in the first place. Although they feel that their advertisements get their message across, one has to ask if their means (exploiting women) justifies their ends (promoting the ethical treatment of animals).