Professor of Law at Cornell Law school, Sherry Colb argues that being vegan is so gay and that vegans should learn from the Gay rights movement. She points out that veganism is a life choice, you may be born vegan but it is possible (albeit probably unhappily) decide to live a non-vegan life in a similar way to celibate homosexuals in the Christian church or straight acting homosexual prominant polititians.
"Like a gay man or a lesbian, a vegan can choose from a variety of ways of being a vegan. Some stay in the closet. One woman I know, for example, purchases only vegan foods for her home, but when she is out and about, she either eats what others are eating or claims that she is not hungry, so that people will not know her true identity. She explains that once she knows someone well, she will confide in him or her that she is a vegan.
This "closeted" approach mirrors the way in which many gay men and lesbians once conducted their lives. Rather than have people judge them or hurt them more tangibly, they selected carefully the people who would know their true selves. Though such a decision was understandable, for gay people, it seemed only to entrench the false and destructive notion on the part of many that – as Justice Powell put it once – "I don't think I've ever met a homosexual."
Other ethical vegans are "out" in the sense of letting people know that they are vegans, but otherwise attempt to play down the differences between their own and non-vegans' consumption choices. These vegans resemble gay men and lesbians who "cover" (by not acting too "gay" in mixed company), to use a word the subtle meaning of which has been explained and developed beautifully by Kenji Yoshino."
World Vegan Day - Vegan News
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