Month: February 2023

This land we have lived on for the last ten years has made us who we are. It has cultivated in me an appreciation for nature and all that it instills in us that I never had before. You see, growing up, my natural habitat can be described perfectly in the words of Barbara Kingsolver, “the natural habitat of our species, then, officially is steel, pavement, streetlights, architecture and enterprise”

I grew up in an suburb outside of Charleston, SC where development and expansion is and was first priority. My parents lived a fast paced life and I did not know what nature was besides the local county park where we went a few times on a school field trip.

But back in 2014 I inherited this land where we live now. I remember periodically coming out here as a child and roasting marshmallows and hotdogs by the fire with my grandfather. This land isn’t much but it is filled with nature, memories and opportunity to grow as a human. My children ride dirt bikes, scooters, and walk through the woods. We all have developed a love for being outside where the air feels lighter and cleaner than if we drive 30 minutes into the city.

In her essay Kingsolver states that “People will need wild places. Whether or not they think they do, they do.” And I will be one of the first to stay that this is absolutely true. Why? Because I used to say that if I had it my way I would live in the heart of  New York City, where there are skyscrapers, bustling people and shops, and so much city that you could never see it all. I used to say that this is what dreams were made of. That was until I saw how my children flourished in nature. And also until I saw how I benefitted from nature as well. When I saw how being outside among the trees and trails that you can find out here benefitted my mental health and calmed my anxiety, that was when I became a believer that nature is fundamental to human existence and health. I am also exploring the idea of beginning to homestead as well because I am learning a lot from my neighbor that grows the majority of her family’s food and all of their egg supply.

Not only do we need to experience and be in nature in order realize how important we are as human beings, but to also remember how important conservation and preservation. I feel that in the hustle and bustle of life, we can easily forget that the most simple things are the ones that matter, because they are the ones that keep us here and alive on the Earth. With over half of humans living in urban areas (Kingsolver, page 2) it is so easy to forget that we breathe in what trees breathe out and that the more we develop and build the less natural resources we have.

Williams states that, “story bypasses rhetoric and pierces the heart. Story offers a wash of images and emotion that returns us to our highest and deepest selves, where we remember what it means to be human.” That is what our home in the country has done for me. It reminded me that grounding yourself in nature is part of what it means to be human. And that is so much of my story, the evolution of changing where I saw my biggest opportunity for growth as a person. I used to see it as the human centered advancement in the city life, but now I see growth in breathing fresh air and meditating in my backyard surrounded by my cats chasing each other. Because humans were in nature long before we were in cities and skyscrapers.  I believe growing a connection with nature will not only connect us to the earth but will connect us as the human race. It will enable us to see that we are more alike than we are different.

Williams states that the hope of bedrock democracy is “standing our ground in places we love, together” My home functions as a part of bedrock democracy because I am here in a place I love with the people I love. And I intend to continue to cultivate my family here, teaching my children that nature is not just here for us, but more importantly we are here for it. That everything comes from the earth and if we continue on the path we are on, by not taking care of it, we will return to it much quicker than we anticipate. That the earth will do much more for us, than we could ever do for it and therefore we must devote ourselves to caring for it.

Hobgood-Oster defined ecofeminism as  “multi faceted and multi located” that challenges structures, such as the patriarchy, and not individuals. It is also described as very fluid, as it changes with time and political climate. While there is no one strict definition of ecofeminism, we do see a difference (and similarities) in terms of Western Feminism and Non-Western ecofeminism.

Before I touch on the differences between Western and Non Western ecofeminism, let’s look at the big similarity. Both Western and Non Western ecofeminism value intersectionality and do not look at problems through just one lens.

Western feminism focuses on incorporating feminist theory and an ecological perspective as well as incorporating feminist theory into solution for ecological problems. When looking at the oppression of women through a western lens of ecofeminism, Hobgood-Oster states that “Oppression of the natural world and of women by patriarchal power structures must me examined together or neither can be confronted fully.” (Hobgood-Oster, page 1). The western idea of the earth is that it is here for human use and conception, and this idea is stemmed from the Judeo-Christian story of creation. Keeping that in mind the western definition of ecofeminism is very similar to the of environmentalism. Which is defined as an ideology that aims to make the planet suitable for long term use, even though environmentalism focus is conservation it is still focused on the earth being of benefit to humans. Non Western ecofeminist Bina Agarwal defined western feminism as it “conceptualizes the link between gender and the environment primarily in ideological terms” (Agarwal, page 1).

Some examples of western ecofeminism can be seen in our society through the fight for reproductive rights and through efforts to produce more clean and renewable energy in the United States. What does reproductive healthcare access have to do with ecofeminism? I touched on this in my previous blog post, reproductive healthcare access is an ecofeminist issue in terms of population control. But how does it tie into the definition of western feminism? It is an aim of western feminism because population control is being tied together with the feminist theory that all women and people with uteruses should have safe and legal abortion access and having this access will help solve the problem of overpopulation.

When discussing the effort for clean and renewable energy in the US, while the purpose to consolidate on the coal and fossil fuel industry to develop healthier ways for energy consumption, it isn’t without its “for human use” goal. Clean and renewable energy is marketed to Americans as a way for them to have more affordable utility bills. So therefore, the rhetoric is – if we take care of the planet you won’t spend so much financially on utilities.

On the other hand, Agarwal is a non-western feminist and she looks at ecofeminism through the lens of its real life effects on living human beings and this is directed towards women in the Global South because the effects they feel because of environmental degradation is completely different than women from the Global North

Women of the Global South experience environmental degradation in a much more tangible way than women on the Global North because the Global North has expendable resources that the Global South does not have access to. One of those resources being clean water and sanitation, which the United Nations explicitly recognized access to clean water and sanitation as a human right.

There are several ways in which women of the Global South are effected by environmental degradation and it is not just what is tangible. It goes a lot deeper than that. For instance the article “Water and Gender” states that without access to clean water and sanitation women and girls are more vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. This is because frequently in the Global South there are shared toilets and wash spaces between genders, and sharing facilities with men and boys puts women and girls at risk for physical and sexual violence. Another way women and girls are at risk in the Global South is because of lack resources the specific hygiene needs of women and girls is disregarded in terms of having safe and clean facilities with access to period products and proper disposal of those products. (https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/water-and-gender).

Of the two perspectives of ecofeminism I found that the non western focus on ecofeminism was most interesting to me. This is because it is not something that women of the Global North think of very often. Far too often we turn our faucet on and let it run for the entirety of brushing our teeth or take hot showers everyday that we find ourselves taking for granted the resources we have by not consciously thinking about the women and girls that do not have access to something as humane as water. Through studying non western feminism this week, I will definitely be more conscious moving forward of the resources that I have at my disposal and the advantage that gives me in life.

What is ecofeminism? How does it effect me? And why should I care?

Ecofeminism is a word that is fairly new to me upon beginning my spring semester classes. Although I call myself a progressive feminist, I have never done a deep dive into the connection between the feminist movement and the environment. So am looking forward to exploring that insight and growing while  incorporating ecofeminism more into my viewpoints.

Ecofeminism, according to Hobgood-Oster, “asserts that all forms of oppression are connected… Oppression of the natural world and of women by patriarchal power structures must be examined together or neither can be confronted fully.” (Hobgood-Oster page 1) One thing I love about ecofeminism is that it does not fit one mold – it works to abolish labels. As the feminist movement has advanced it has began to recognize that oppression is not clear cut for all women and that all every woman’s experience of oppression varies because of other groups they may be a part of. For example a heterosexual white woman’s experience with oppression is not going to be the same as a woman of color who is a part of the LGBTQUIA+ community because people of color and the LGBTQUIA+ community experience systemic oppression based on those identifying factors outside of solely being a woman. On the other hand, the fact that a woman who is white and straight, at times, will have those identifying factors work in her favor. Much like the feminist movement, as we know it, has placed importance in intersectionality, and so does ecofeminism. Hobgood-Oster moves to say that, “Ecofeminism is multi-faceted and multi-located, challenging structures rather than individuals” and that “ecofeminism simultaneously challenges patriarchies from different angles” (Hobgood-Oster, page 2).

While ecofeminism is fluid in its definition it also claims that the patriarchal structures justify their dominance through categorical dualistic hierarchies; such as heaven and earth, man and woman, culture and nature, and white versus non white (Hobgood-Oster, page 2). Following, I am going to touch on two of these hierarchies when comparing women and nature: the dualistic hierarchy of man and women and heaven and earth.

In her essay Hobgood-Ostar sites Rosemary Ruether’s tenet of ecofeminism as, “earth and the other-than-human experience the tyranny of patriarchy along with women. Classism, racism, sexism, heterosexism, naturism and speciesism are all intertwined.” (page 2) One connection between women and nature and how it coincides with ecofeminism is the reproductive justice movement. Following my first blog post the access to reproductive health care is also seen as a ecofeminism issue because population control is vital to the survival of the planet, especially with how far the United States is behind in climate change initiatives and actions. When thinking about this connection I am immediately reminded of Ruether’s statement that the “earth and the other than human experience the tyranny of patriarchy along with women”. When looking at the experience of women with the reproductive justice movement and how it connects with nature, both and nature and women are seen as for human, and in this case patriarchal, use. This is called instrumentalism. And with an attack on reproductive healthcare access the patriarchal society is dialing women back decades in order to use them for its benefit. The patriarchy depends on women being redacted for its survival. This viewpoint has its foundation in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the story of creation. In Genesis chapter one, the Bible states the God gave Adam (the man) dominion over the earth – and this was before woman was created (womaqqqqnhjmn was created in Genesis chapter two). Furthermore, because woman was said to be created following this “God-given” dominion over the earth, the Christian patriarchal society that we experience in our country today has inadvertly grouped women with the earth.

So why is the reproductive justice movement important to ecofeminism?

We have already stated that the lack of access to reproductive healthcare could cause a climate crisis due to overpopulation. This is because we are using up our natural resources at an exponential rate and overpopulation could cause a complete depletion in those natural resources as well as economical resources if we are not continuously making efforts to expand renewable energy sources. So let’s take a look back at Hobgood-Oster’s definition of ecofeminism. She states that, “Oppression of the natural world and of women by patriarchal power structures must be examined together or neither can be confronted fully.” (page 1). If women are seen as for the consumption of the patriarchy, just like nature, we must examine how women are to become free from oppression in order for nature to become free of oppression. Afterall, ecofeminists believe that feminist theory must have ecological perspective, and that the solutions to ecological problems must have a feminist perspective.