ASSIGNMENT

Topic: Eco – Feminism

INTRODUCTION

Ecofeminism is an ideology and movement that sees climate change, gender equality, and social injustice
more broadly as intrinsically related issues, all tied to masculine dominance in society. Specifically,
ecofeminism holds that most environmental issues can be traced back to the global prioritization of
qualities deemed masculine (particularly the ones some would regard as toxic, like aggression and
domination) and those in power who embody those attributes.

Ecofeminism also calls attention to the fact that women are disproportionately affected by environmental
issues. According to one report from the United Nations, because women worldwide typically hold less
monetary wealth and rely on the natural environment more, they are more likely to be displaced by
climate change and have to travel farther for resources, like water, as dry seasons extend. Research shows
women are also more greatly affected by radiation than men. One study has even suggested some men
may have internalized aversions toward environmentalism, as it could be perceived as feminine.

ECO FEMINISM

It is a new term for an ancient wisdom grew out of variety social movements – the feminist, peace and
the ecology movements—in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though the term was first used by Francoise
D’Eaubonne it became popular only in the context of numerous protests and activities against
environmental destruction, sparked-off initially by recurring ecological disasters.

Eco feminism is a branch of feminism that sees environmentalism, and the relationship between women
and the earth as foundational to it’s analysis and practice. Ecofeminist thinkers draw on the concept of
gender to analyse the relationship between humans and the natural world.

According to Francoise D'Eaubonne,ecofeminism relates the oppression and domination of all

marginalized groups (women, people of color, children, the poor) to the oppression and domination of
nature (animals, land, water, air, etc.). In the book, the author argues that oppression, domination,
exploitation, and colonization from the Western patriarchal society has directly caused irreversible
environmental damage.

HISTORY

Feminism, in all its waves, has experienced evolutions and resurgences since it formally began in the mid-
1800s. As climate change awareness and subsequent activism rose in recent decades, feminists began to
identify the ways in which the movement for gender equality and the movement for environmental
protection are related. The term “ecofeminism” was coined by French feminist Françoise d’Eaubonne in
1974. According to her, the disenfranchisement and oppression of women, people of color, and the poor
are intrinsically linked to the degradation of the natural world, as both arose as a result of patriarchal
dominance.

Over the years, many more have explored the sentiment behind ecofeminism—and begun advocating for
it. Women such as Vandana Shiva, founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and
Ecology, and Carolyn Merchant, author of Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution,
are just two prominent names within this movement since its inception. Some other names of note
include Val Blumwood, Greta Gaard, and Susan Griffin, just to name a few.

It’s been nearly 50 years since ecofeminism was formally introduced. Nowadays, even where the word
itself is not used, the principles of ecofeminism are interwoven into the modern-day climate change
movement among those who actively advocate for equitable change for people and the environment.

SUB BRANCHES OF ECO- FEMINISM

There are several sub-branches of this movement, including vegetarian ecofeminism, spiritual
ecofeminism, and materialist ecofeminism. But at their root, they all assert that masculine dominance has
led to a disconnect between nature and culture, which has adversely affected marginalized groups as well
as nature itself.

1. Vegetarian Eco feminism

Vegetarian ecofeminism is a niche academic and activist movement arguing that the oppression of
animals and women are closely linked; that eating meat makes one complicit in the exploitation and
violence against animals, and women.

“Meat-eating is a form of patriarchal domination . . . that suggests a link between male violence and a
meat based diet” – Gaard Greta, Vegetarian Ecofeminism: A Review Essay.

So as it is hypocritical for feminists to buy clothes from sweatshops as they are made by a woman who is
having her human rights denied in Cambodia, vegetarian ecofeminists argue it is hypocritical for feminists
to eat meat, as it is a direct support to sweatshops, factory farming, feeds into the larger patriarchal
system at play.

2. Spiritual Eco feminism

Spiritual ecofeminism is another branch of ecofeminism, and it is popular among ecofeminist authors such
as Starhawk, Riane Eisler, Carol J. Adams, and more. Starhawk calls this an earth-based spirituality, which
recognizes that the Earth is alive, that we are interconnected, as well as a community. Spiritual
ecofeminism is not linked to one specific religion, but is centered around values of caring, compassion,
and non-violence. Often, ecofeminists refer to more ancient traditions, such as the worship of Gaia, the
Goddess of nature and spirituality (also known as Mother Earth). Wicca and Paganism are particularly
influential to spiritual ecofeminism. Most Wicca covens demonstrate a deep respect for nature, a feminine
outlook, and an aim to establish strong community values.

3. Materialist Eco feminism

Ecofeminism as materialist is another common dimension ecofeminism. A materialist view connects some
institutions such as labor, power, and property as the source of domination over women and nature.
There are connections made between these subjects because of the values of production and
reproduction. This dimension of ecofeminism may also be referred to as “social feminism,” “socialist
ecofeminism,” or “Marxist ecofeminism.” According to Carolyn Merchant, “Social ecofeminism advocates
the liberation of women through overturning economic and social hierarchies that turn all aspects of life
into a market society that today even invades the womb”. Ecofeminism in this sense seeks to eliminate
social hierarchies which favor the production of commodities (dominated by men) over biological and
social reproduction.

Five main ecofeminist principles are there :

1.Both the oppression of marginalized groups and the oppression of nature are connected by cause.

Patriarchal dominance, which presupposes masculine attributes are more valuable, has led to the
degradation of nature (land and animals), along with the marginalization of groups, including but not
limited to women, children, and people of color. Capitalism further propels this oppression, as it places
value on productivity by any means, and subsequently does not value many attributes considered
feminine, including nature itself.

2.We must replace our culture of domination with an ethic of care.

“Carolyn Merchant basically says ecofeminism is calling for an ethic of care and an ethic where decisions
are made equitably,” professor and ecofeminist scholar Heidi Hutner, Ph.D., explains to mbg. “When we
poison the Earth, we are poisoned, and it all comes from this history of patriarchal domination where
whoever holds the most power has this right to dominate, control, and exploit everyone else.”

Ecofeminism advocates for overhauling this entire masculine system of domination and exploitation—and
replacing it with an ethic of care, an approach to morality grounded in feminine characteristics of care
and nurturing. This approach focuses on human benevolence and acting in a way that prioritizes care for
others.

3. All forms of oppression are unacceptable—and interconnected.

Under ecofeminism, all forms of oppression are not acceptable. For environmentalism to be all-
encompassing, it has to consider all people. Women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community all face
particular issues—and when these issues overlap, their effects become compounded.

“If you are a person, a community, a family, or even a country that’s already facing many threats, whether
that’s around health, inequity, whatever the case may be, climate change layers on and makes all of those
threats more intense,” Katharine Wilkinson, author and vice president of Project Drawdown, tells mbg.
“In a patriarchal system, women and girls—particularly women and girls who are poor, women and girls
of color, indigenous women and girls—are already on uneven footing. Layer on climate change, and those
existing vulnerabilities become heightened.”

Hutner adds, “With all environmental injustice, ultimately, POC suffer the most. Particularly women of
color.”

4. Understanding these connections is necessary for equitable change.

In order to make a real, positive impact in both the cases of environmental degradation and the
oppression of marginalized groups, ecofeminism says we have to understand their links to patriarchal
society. Feminism must consider ecological concerns and vice versa. “It is really critical that we understand
the gender dynamics around climate impacts,” Wilkinson adds, “because we need to have strategies and
approaches through adaptation and resilience that respond to those inequities.”
 5. The people most affected by environmental destruction must be the ones to lead the movement.

As ecofeminists push for an inclusive care ethic, there’s also an emphasis on the importance of
having diverse leadership at the forefront of the movement. In particular, the people who are
most affected by environmental destruction—women, particularly indigenous women and other
women of color—are the ones who are best equipped to address it and identify the right solutions.

CRITICS

The biggest criticism of ecofeminism comes back to the idea of essentialism, or “a belief that things have
set characteristics.” Some people believe equating women with nature reinforces the dichotomy of
gender norms that feminism sought to avoid.

“Val Plumwood writes about this idea of binary structures and talks about how they’re problematic—and
part of this patriarchal structure that’s not working,” Hutner adds. “It’s the idea that we need to break
down all these binaries: man/woman; black/white, etc.”

Nowadays, as more people begin to assert that we each have our own combination of feminine and
masculine qualities, whether we are male or female, this criticism has lost some of its steam.

Ecofeminism demonstrates an adherence to the strict dichotomy, among others, between men and
women. Some ecofeminist critiques note that the dichotomy between women and men and nature and
culture creates a dualism that is too stringent and focused on the differences of women and men. In this
sense, ecofeminism too strongly correlates the social status of women with the social status of nature,
rather than the non-essentialist view that women along with nature both have masculine and feminine
qualities, and that just like feminine qualities have often been seen as less worthy, nature is also seen as
having lesser value than culture.

A divergent view regarding participation in oppressive structures. As opposed to radical and liberation-
based feminist movements, mainstream feminism which is most tightly bound with hegemonic social
status strives to promote equality within the existing social and political structure, such as making it
possible for women to occupy positions of power in business, industry and politics, using direct
involvement as the main tactic for achieving pay equity and influence. In contrast, many ecofeminists
oppose active engagement in these areas, as these are the very structures that the movement intends to
dismantle.

CONCLUSION

Ecofeminism aims to both empower the disenfranchised and restore the health of nature on this planet.
In the 1970s, Indian villagers had founded the Chipko movement, a protest against deforestation, a copy
of an ecofeminist action before the letter. Another important date is that of a conference entitled
“Ecofeminism and Life on Earth” in the United States in March 1980 after the Three Mile Island Nuclear
Accident in 1979. Those present had adopted a report manifesto. Between the ecological movements and
the women’s movements, between the destruction of nature, militarism, the discriminations and
domination undergone by women.
 Ecofeminism is a philosophy, an ethic and a movement born of the conjunction and union of feminist and
ecological currents of thought. According to this movement, notably championed by Vandana Shiva, who
founded a sanctuary of wild and agro-biodiversity in India, where women have an essential place, there
are similarities and common causes of domination and women’s oppression and non-respect of nature,
which contribute to environmental destruction.

REFERENCE

1. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0094431
2. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/ecofeminism-history-and-principles
3. Maria, M., & Vandana, S. (1993). Ecofeminism. Halifax: Fernwood.