I have been meaning to do a post about ecofeminism for a while, but I never got around to it. However, since today is Earth Day (yay Earth!), I thought now would be a good time to talk (very) briefly about what ecofeminism means, and how it can be a productive means of fighting patriarchal oppression. (Disclaimer: I am no expert in this field–but I do think it’s something important to bring up in discussion. If I get anything wrong, please don’t hesitate to correct me!)
In particular, ecofeminism concentrates on undermining the dualistic notions that exist in society (man vs. woman; humans vs. nature; culture vs. the earth). By transforming such competitive relationships into cooperative and caring relationships, ecofeminism hopes to erase the hierarchical structure that values aggressive over nurturing behaviors. In this way, those characteristics that make nature vulnerable to aggressive industrialism will be treasured, valued, and preserved. At the same time, these characteristics (caring, nurturing, cooperation, etc.) in women will be valued as well.
This is where the biggest criticism of ecofeminism comes into play. Doesn’t such an association between women and “nurturing” behaviors essentialize women and make it more difficult for them to participate equally in our society? There are definitely problems with ecofeminism, and this is the biggest.
However, ecofeminists counter that the major problem in society is that positive, nurturing behaviors are restricted to women because of oppressive socialization. Ideally, they say, everybody would be equally encouraged to act in a caring way.
So, here is the lesson: Fight class oppression. Fight racial oppression. Fight sexual oppression. Fight environmental oppression. We must do all four if we are to create a world in which all people can be empowered . . . and have food to eat, water to drink, and air to breathe.
Filed under: What is feminism?
Dashaway
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ooo! I’m glad you did a post on ecofeminism. i don’t know much about it either, but it intrigues me and from this brief overview of it, I really like the sound of it. Random, but connected–anyone ever read Margaret Atwood’s_Surfacing_?
Also, Happy Earth Day everyone.
There’s also an interesting critical angle to ecofeminism having to do with which the way in which the natural world is anthropomorphized in a particularly feminine way. It’s “mother” nature. The environment can be “raped”. Territory is “penetrated”. Unspoiled land is “virginal”. Etc. One recurring theme in ecofeminist literature is the way in which people tend to first think of the environment as a woman, and then brutalize “her”. In this way, stewardship of the environment becomes directly linked to anti-patriarchal political practice.
Neat, huh?
That is a fascinating element of the discussion, wwf! Thanks for the input, and keep it coming!
I remember reading about ecofeminism in anthropology, and while I agree that there are some connections that you can make between the language surrounding environmental degradation and the language applying to women/misogyny, I think its important to remember that not every form of oppression is connected to every other form of oppression. For instance, in Scandinavia there are brutally racist people who are, at the same time, avid environmentalists. While all oppression is bad, I don’t think its necessarily a productive thing to try to link all the types of oppression together. Every sort of oppression needs to be fought in ways tailored to that form of oppression.