The Negative Media Portrayal of Whales and of Those who Love Them

This guest post is written by Eva Lin, Whale rights activist.
Dear Whale Hailers,
     I am so thrilled to be posting on this blog, which I consider one of the few safe havens for whales on the internet. Today I would like to educate you an a serious issue- whales in the media. The media constantly surrounds us, penetrating our social interactions, day-to-day life, and even our thought process. This has cultivated, in some cases, a negative attitude not only toward whales, but toward those who love them.
     This sociology paper suggests that the media is representing whales in a way which leads to fan communities that fail to truly understand whales, and accuses us fans of elevating the whale to mythical platforms which are based on imagined ideals rather than fact. Whale lovers are seen as simpletons who take their obsessions to the extreme.
     Take, for example, the Animal Planet show Whale Wars, in which the host is shown harassing whalers. In this clip, they track a Japanese whaling ship and provoke the captain, ignoring warnings and attacking until the whalers strike back.

     Whaling is absolutely not right, but this way of opposing it makes the whale support community seem immature and rude.

     But it is not just the whale support community that is mocked, it is the whales themselves. By far the most prominent example of this is the "fail whale", an image of a whale that appears when Twitter is too overloaded for users to tweet. Rather than express outrage at the association of website errors with whales, Twitter users have instead chosen to support this horrible injustice by joining the Fail Whale Fan Club. They create numerous offensive reproductions of this whale, below: 

     What is so offensive about a sand whale, you ask? Firstly, the Fail Whale design itself, which suggests that whales are lazy and need to be supported by flocks of birds. Secondly, the tide will eventually come in and wash this whale away, suggesting that whales are fleeting and weak.

     This whale cupcake encourages the consumption of whales, a disgusting and barbaric ideal. 

     In addition to offensive images, the Fail Whale has led to the creation of a game in which you shoot cartoon whales for entertainment. 

     Finally, have you ever heard a fat person referred to as a "whale"? Urban Dictionary certainly has. A search for "whale" leads to suggested definitions "fat", "fatty", and "obese". This use of whales as negative slang must stop. To combat this injustice I have created the "It's great to be a whale" support badge, which you can print out and tape to notebooks, t-shirts, your best friend, etc. 

     For too long we have sat in silence, accepting these injustices. For too long we have allowed the media to insult and mock us and our beloved whales. Today I say to you, Whale Hailers, no more! Today, we stand up for what is right! Today, we stand for what we believe! And Today, we stand for justice, JUSTICE! We take a stand against whale-hate in the fervent hope that our children and our children's children can live in a world where whales are understood and loved, a world where no man, woman, or child feels isolated or laughed at because of his or her love of these noble creatures. 

 Peace, Love, and Whale-Pride,

Eva Lin