Feature Story
The Vegan Vixens
Making the Vegan Lifestyle SEXY
by Andrea Verdin
When pop divas are falling off their pedestals for performing atrocious acts, and movie stars who little girls are idolizing are not much better than beautiful trash, it’s hard to tell your children that there’s someone in Hollywood they can look up to.
But what if there were a group of women who aren’t just promoting animals’ rights, but also were vegan?
What if that same group advocated rescuing pit bulls from being abused at dogfights?
What if they were also anti-fur and pro-environment?
Meet the Vegan Vixens, who five years ago, were created by Sky Valencia, a vegan who was tired of seeing young girls’ role models behaving in ways that were not exemplary.
“I think it’s important that young women and girls see women doing positive things; who really do care about over-breeding dogs and abusing animals at the slaughterhouse and fur factories, which all of these other [role-model] women seem to be contributing to without thinking. For example, when they buy their little puppies from a pet store they might not realize that it could have come from a puppy mill.”
So Valencia, who has been vegan for five years and a vegetarian for 13 years before that, started thinking of ways that she could really get the issue of animal rights out there and promote the vegan lifestyle, while still being a role model.
“I wanted to spread the word in a big way, so I thought, ‘Why not get a TV show, or a rock band, and make it really exciting so that they can’t ignore us? I wanted to get a team of girls together, because people will notice five girls. I came up with the Vegan Vixens because vixens, which are female foxes, are foxy, sexy, adorable, and very witty (if you’re the human version). And since we are vegan, I thought that ‘Vegan Vixens’ was a nice name for us.”
It seems that this Vixen was right. People working in the entertainment world have noticed these women who aren’t just beautiful; they have a message.
One of the founding Vixens, Kim Somer, remembers learning that being a vegan and being beautiful could go hand in hand with the message she wanted to share with the world.
Says Somer, “It was something different and innovative. There was a casting call, and out of 80 girls trying out, they picked 15. It was a dream come true for me because before that, I didn’t know anyone else who was vegan. I thought I was the only one. So I was like, ‘Wow, finally people I can talk to!’ Plus, it was fun grabbing attention for being sexy.”
Stevie McKinley, another Vixen, was on PlayBoy Radio and was excited to enjoy her place with the Vixens as they spread the word to those people who might not normally listen.
“People are really interested in what we have to say, and in our image and what we are doing, so that makes me feel good!” she said.
“We spent an hour talking on PlayBoy Radio about being vegan. I get to be who I am, and have a voice for how I feel about the world and what I see.”
McKinley acknowledges the fact that men might listen to them just for their looks, but this is something she has come to embrace, and use for the betterment of her cause.
“The fact that all these beautiful women are coming together makes the message stronger. Maybe if just one more person would listen because we’re beautiful, that’s more animals saved.”
Somer agrees, and feels that people who are concerned with the predicament of the environment should really take a look at the vegan lifestyle as an alternative.
“Being vegan totally helps the environment; that’s the number one way to help stop global warming,” she says.
“Factory farms, where all the cows are housed, have fumes of methane released into the atmosphere and this is the biggest contributor to global warming. If those stopped, global warming would stop. That’s an even better way to stop global warming than having a veggie powered or electric car.”
But becoming a vegan, or even a vegetarian, can be trying, if one has been accustomed to eating meat.
Somer has a suggestion for anyone who is willing to give the vegan lifestyle a chance.
“The best way to begin being a vegan is to start slowly. Try two days a week to eat vegetarian, and even if you go to your regular fast food places, try to find the alternatives there. Get a bean and cheese burrito without the cheese. Start slowly, and you’ll see you’re going to start feeling a little better, and you’ll get addicted to the feeling.
“For me, it was always about the animals, yet health is the biggest bonus. I don’t see it as meat, I see it as an animal’s life. With cheese and milk, it’s also an animal’s life because those animals also end up getting killed. And I always have a perfect physical when I go to the doctor, so that helps,” she adds.
Sunny Subramanian, Somer’s fellow Vixen, thinks that because of the amount of alternatives available for people who want to become vegan, it can be an easier step, as it was for her.
Subramanian says, “For milk, there’s soy milk; they make vegan cream cheese, ice cream, sour cream, everything dairy. And as far as meat goes, you can find soy chicken nuggets; they even make soy ribs in the shape of ribs, and Tofurkey, so we really aren’t missing out. If you’re craving chicken, go for the fake version. Some of them taste scarily like the real thing. As time goes on, those products keep getting perfected, which is good!”
Currently, the Vixens support the St. Martin’s Animal Foundation, which is also a group that Valencia created.
Says Somer, “We also work with Fashion with Compassion, while incorporating St. Martin’s, cruelty-free clothing and the vegan lifestyle. It’s kind of one and the same. We’re working to help rescue animals, while raising money to help these animals, while not killing animals for what we eat and wear.”
Valencia is very excited about the Vixens and the fact that they live the message they preach.
“We walk the walk and talk the talk. We eat healthy; what we clean our houses with doesn’t hurt the environment, and it’s a lot of fun because we can do it as a team.
“Plus, we do it all! We design our clothes, we sing and perform, we do dog and animal rescue, we put on fashion shows, we’re public speakers who talk about the environment, how to lose weight and eat healthier, and we’re involved in the community. That’s why I love this group of girls: they dance, they model, they sing and they speak really well.”
And the Vixens aren’t just animal activists in the limelight; they are also working in their daily lives to make sure animals are being treated properly.
For example, Vixen Jenae Noonan works as a substitute teacher at a privately funded school, and she has encountered an animal that needs to be rescued immediately.
Noonan explains, “The private school needs to raise funds any way they can, and they’re holding an auction for 90 pounds of pork, but the pig isn’t dead yet. They’re planning to auction it off so it can be slaughtered! We want to buy the pig, and teach children about the pig. That’s our goal: save the pig, and take it back to the school and teach the children with a real, live pig.”
While it is a lot of fun being a Vixen and being able to freely speak what you believe, Valencia knows there’s a price to pay, and there is a lot of pain involved with the work they do.
She explains, “You have to educate yourself by watching videos on abuse and you have to get involved in a lot of the legislation taking place. You have to see the photographs of the animals in their situations, and it’s hard to get those images out of your head.
“It’s also difficult when you see people who don’t care about the environment and animals, and they’re just hard nuts to crack. It’s disillusioning. Luckily, there seem to be more people who do care than who don’t.”
Subramanian, who has been with the Vixens for two and a half years, says:
“The whole sex appeal aspect is a draw and a smart way to go, and I’m a really girly, feminine kind of girl! So I always saw that the concept of the group was amazing. I believe that people view the group like they do the PussyCat Dolls, but with a message as well.
People who are opposed to our way of getting out the message usually have a negative body image of their own, but we think any way to push the message is a good way.
The people who are watching us are watching us for a reason, and if they want to see some sexy hot ladies, just turn on the TV. That’s as simple as it gets. Sex does sell; that’s a proven fact. So we’re just working it to our advantage.”
“We also try to give vegans a different image, because a lot of people think they are just granola-eating, hippie dippy stinkies! We want to show people that sexy and athletic people can be vegans.”
Noonan agrees, saying, “It’s a good way to get the message out there. I’m really proud of being a part of a group doing something with an important cause. I used to be a boxer, and I know that we have a Vixen who is a belly dancer. You don’t have to fit a certain stereotype; there is a full range of people who can be vegan, fun and look hot.”
And all the hard work and sacrifice is paying off. With the Vixens appearing on different TV stations like F/X and the Discovery Channel, more people are hearing their message.
“It’s hard to come up with an approximate figure because we’ve been on the radio and television shows for five years now,” says Valencia, “and we have no idea how many people we’ve touched that way, but it’s in the millions. The St. Martin’s Animal Foundation, hands on, has rescued numerous pit bulls from dogfights and right now there are 65 animals in our sanctuary and foster homes that we are caring for. We do so much education and we’ve touched so many people.”
But Valencia doesn’t believe the Vixens are anywhere near to being done, and she hopes to keep inspiring more people, all the time.
“I want to see the world changing. It’s time that we don’t just put a Band-Aid on the planet, but really heal it once and for all.”
Andrea Verdin loves working at Vision Magazine because she gets to meet amazing people like the Vegan Vixens. For more information on the Vixens, check out their website at VeganVixens.com or contact their manager Mark at
biz@veganvixens.com.