Miss Piggy might be a fictional character, but she has her own thoughts on feminism and wrote an essay for Time Magazine about it.
The essay was published in conjunction with tonight’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum awards ceremony, where Miss Piggy will receive the 2015 Sackler Center First Award. Previous recipients of the award include Julie Taymor, Anita Hill, Connie Chung and retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Some on the web thought that it was a little silly for a puppet to receive the award, which is meant to honor feminist icons. But in her Time Magazine piece, Piggy defended herself.
“Some Internet opinion-givers may question whether moi deserves such an honor. After all, some might say moi is just a mere Hollywood celebrity who cares more about her appearance, her star billing, and her percentage of the gross than about women and women’s rights,” Piggy wrote. “To which I can only respond: ‘Oh yeah!?!’ By which, of course, I mean that moi is now and has always been an ardent feminist and champion of women’s rights.”
Piggy wrote that she believes “any woman who refuses to accept society’s pre-conceived notions of who or what they can be is a feminist,” so she fits that bill.
She also admitted that she is a Porcine-American, but doesn't think that should keep her from being recognized as a feminist icon.
“After all, the ‘P’ word—has long been associated with the very antithesis of feminists ‘male chauvinist,’” Piggy noted. “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.”
Lastly, she shared her future for feminism, writing that it “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.”