Miss Piggy Receives Her Feminist Award and Talks About Feminism

By Marie Lodi | June 6, 2015 | 9:20pm

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Miss Piggy has received her controversial award from Brooklyn’s Sackler Center for Feminist Art during a ceremony this past Thursday. The world-famous celebrity, author and style icon has been added to an illustrious roster of past recipients that include Toni Morrison, Connie Chung, Sandra Day O’Connor and Anita Hill. Elizabeth Sackler, the center’s founder and the presenter of the awards, championed for Miss Piggy’s win. “She has inspired children to be who you are and this squares very directly with feminism,” Sackler told USA Today. Gloria Steinem had the honor of presenting the Muppet with her award.

In an interview with Time, Missy Piggy, described herself as a longtime “ardent feminist and champion of women’s rights. “I believe that any woman who refuses to accept society’s preconceived notions of who or what they can be is a feminist,” she said. “I believe any woman who is willing to struggle, strive—and if necessary learn karate—to make their mark in the world is a feminist. And, yes, I believe that any woman, who cares about her appearance, her star billing and most especially her percentage of the gross, is a feminist. Moi is all of these things.”

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Miss Piggy also responded to those who believed the porcine Muppet was undeserving of the award:

“Another reason some refuse to consider moi a feminist is that I do not fit the popular image of a feminist. It’s true, I did not march in women’s-rights parades down Fifth Avenue in the early 1970s. (That was long before I was born.) However, today, in solidarity with my feminist foremothers, I go shopping on Fifth Avenue whenever possible. And it is true, I did not burn my bra. Was this a political statement? No, it was simple common-sense economics. When one pays top dollar for intimate apparel like moi does, setting it ablaze is wasteful, improvident and highly incendiary. And yes, it is true that I am a Porcine American. How can a … ahem, pig … be a feminist? After all, the p word has long been associated with the very antithesis of feminists ‘male chauvinist.’

This, alas, is a vestige of latent ‘species-ism.’ Sure, there are male chauvinist pigs, but there are also male chauvinist humans and, on very rare occasions and at their own peril, male chauvinist amphibians. Let us not besmirch an entire species because of the sins of a few.”

And her final thoughts:

“Yet one last question remains: What is the future of feminism? The answer is obvious — feminism’s future must be proud, positive, powerful, perseverant, and, wherever possible, alliterative. It must believe in itself, share its triumphs, overcome its setbacks and inspire future generations. I must, in other words, be a lot like … moi.”

Image via Getty.

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