All images by Gloria Nuzzi.

This article contains discussion of animal cruelty & animal suffering, speciesism, and bodily autonomy. Reader discretion is advised.

“People are often more shocked by public nudity than by animal exploitation,” says UK-based activist Gloria Nuzzi, aged 29.

Gloria’s unconventional forms of protest – including bondage imagery, partial nudity, and lingerie – have attracted both attention and criticism, challenging public attitudes towards animal exploitation. Her activism targets sectors ranging from fur to zoos, animal testing to farming culture.

“Sexuality captures attention,” she explains. A vegan for ten years and a public activist since 2024, she says: “People often react more strongly to a partially naked body than to the normalisation of industrialised animal abuse. Rather than ignore that, I chose to use it.”

Alongside fellow activists, Gloria is unafraid to use her own body to make a political point.

“The message isn’t about sex” says Gloria. “We’re using our bodies as a political tool, redirecting attention towards the animals whose bodies are exploited every day.”

Her project, ‘F*ck Exploitation’, features provocative slogans such as “Stripping by choice? They never had one,” “Milk? Only from consenting tits,” and “Cum by choice, not by force. Don’t jerk off bulls, end artificial insemination.”

“There’s something incredibly powerful about pairing soft, vulnerable aesthetics with an uncompromising message about violence and animal exploitation,” she says. “It forces people to confront both realities at once.”

By using bodily autonomy as a form of protest, activists aim to highlight what they describe as a consent gap in speciesism. “In the dairy industry, for example, cows are raped, their babies are taken away, and their bodies are treated as human resources rather than their own,” says Gloria. “I choose what I do with my own body, animals don’t get that choice.

“Some people might accuse me of attention-seeking as if it’s an insult,” she adds. “But yes, I’m absolutely seeking attention – to defend those who cannot speak for themselves. I want that attention redirected towards the animals whose bodies are controlled, exploited, and commodified every day.”

Gloria argues that industries including zoos, food production, clothing, and cosmetics are built on the bodies of beings who cannot give consent, a reality she believes is obscured by advertising and social norms. She says marketing presents animals as existing solely for human use, rather than as individual, sentient beings.

“Society has normalised animal abuse but is still shocked by nudity,” she emphasises. “That disconnect shows how conditioned we are to accept one form of discomfort while rejecting another. If nudity in protest is more offensive than the suffering of animals, then the issue is not the protest but the values we’ve been taught to prioritise. Animals should never be treated as property.”

As well as her own project, Gloria supports and collaborates with a range of animal rights campaigns, including “I Only Fuck Vegans.” The movement involves vegan activists posing in sexually suggestive ways while wearing badges stating they will only sleep with vegans, aiming to attract attention and spark public discussion.

For Gloria, however, IOFV is not simply a joke or campaign tool. “It’s a personal expression of how deeply animal liberation shapes my life, including my relationships and the people I choose to be close to.”

Gloria’s work often elicits strong reactions. While some passers-by engage positively with the message, others challenge it. Nevertheless, she says she would welcome anything that encourages reflection and open conversation.

“Many people who would never stop to watch slaughterhouse footage will stop for something provocative. That doesn’t automatically change their minds, but it creates an opportunity for a conversation that otherwise wouldn’t happen,” she says. “What matters to me is not immediate agreement, but reflection. Even negative reactions can create a moment where someone is forced to engage with the issue, and that can stay with them afterwards.”

At its core, Gloria’s activism challenges the assumption that humans are entitled to control the bodies of other sentient beings simply because they belong to a different species. 

“If my activism creates discomfort, that discomfort is insignificant compared to what animals experience every day within systems that are still considered normal.”