Animal Equality [Hardcover]

Dunayer dispels the myth that language separates humans from nonhumans. Two of her many examples include Alex the African gray parrot who can count, identify objects, and convey fear and sorrow (all using human English), and Washoe the chimpanzee who learned American Sign Language then spontaneously taught it to her son.

The author draws analogies between the current treatment of nonhumans and past abuses of human slaves and women. (At one time both human slaves and women were not considered "persons," much like nonhumans today.) Words like emancipation and abolitionist are resurrected and applied to a cause just as worthy of our concern and immediate action.

The book incorporates a handy thesaurus of words that can be used as alternatives to speciesist terms (e.g. use "flesh" or "muscle" instead of "meat," use "captor" or "keeper" instead of "caretaker") as well as style guidelines for countering speciesism (e.g. use the term animals to include all creatures, human and nonhuman, with a nervous system; avoid expressions that elevate humans above other animals, such as human kindness, the rational species, the sanctity of human life).

This book is a very important building block in making the world a better place for everyone.

Even people who are sensitive to our more obvious speciesist epithets (like the use of "animal" or "subhuman" to refer to bad actions and "pig" to refer to human sloppiness) and our use of impersonal pronouns when referring to non-humans -- even such sensitized people might still find themselves not exactly "off the hook" (also speciesist).

The book includes a useful thesaurus of speciesist terms and substitute, preferred expressions, as well as a list of style guidelines.

Although this is not a book that one can read in one sitting, it is an important work for both people who care about our treatment and "use" of animals as well as those who care about how we use language.