ECOFEMINISM
Ecofeminists believe in the central belief of the essential convergence between women and nature because:
Ecofeminism schools of thought:
1) Cultural/Radical feminism (aka ecofeminist spirituality or essentialist ecofeminism) | Women have a special relationship with nature by virtue of their biological role |
| going back to Earth goddess worshipping, non-hierarchical matriarchies |
| idea of female/women’s culture drawing on ancient myths, concerned with the body, flesh, the material, natural processes, emotions and subjective feelings |
| this is in contrast to a male culture |
| nature is to be liberated from the repressive male ethos |
| women need to discover their authentic natures and celebrate them, needing to exclude men from this process |
| women are part of the eternal cycle of birth, growth, maturation and death which flows through them following phases of the moon, rhythm of seasons (reproductive technology developed by men is a continuation of dual domination) |
| connections between women and nature lie in sex – biological characteristics of women |
Criticisms
| it is apolitical, anti-rational, home and nature worshipping |
| portrays women as passive reproductive animals |
| men are involving themselves in nurturing children |
| women are not the only oppressed group |
| difficult to prove that patriarchy is responsible for exploiting both women and nature, i.e. domination may not be for same reason or from same source |
| neglects male stereotypes which it depicts |
| suffers from essentialism, a form of which is biological reductionism – e.g. logic of oppression lies in biological differences between women and men and thus impossible to rid society of patriarchy, or there exists a universal principal |
| from Marxists, constraints on human development and creativity are socially constructed (essentialism versus social construction debate similar to nature/nurture, determinism/free will) |
| difference between feminine and feminist not recognized, and what are feminine characteristics |
2) Materialist Social Ecofeminism or socialist/anarchist ecofeminism
| exploitation of nature relates to exploitation in society emphasizing social and political rather than personal aspects of domination of women and nature |
| women’s and men’s nature is held to be a political/ideological category |
| women’s oppression interwoven with class, race and species oppression, women’s oppression is not merely a special case of exploitation of the proletariat and that to establish socialism would end nature and women’s oppression |
| the way we organize ourselves to get material subsistence (relations of production, means of production – material world of production) plays a key role in shaping society so must way we organized ourselves materially to continue as a species (relations of reproduction, means of procreation- material world of motherhood) |
| women and men will have different standpoints, different lived experiences in the capitalist relations of Western societies – men mainly produce goods and services to be exchanged as commodities in the market for profit, women’s value is in domesticity, sensuous activity not profit, and former dominates |
| connections between women and nature lie in gender – social constructions of practices, characteristics and roles based on sex |
| what unites women and nature, is fact both are exploited and oppressed by male, sexist culture, its institutions, values and practices |
3) Idealist social ecofeminism
| argues that a particular approach to knowledge – a set of ideas rather and economic and social arrangements are responsible for actions detrimental to nature |
| underlying values of society must be reshaped, the prevailing ideas which are held to stem from the hierarchical organization and domination |
4) Resistance Ecofeminism
| focus on women in developing world |
| focus on practical political concerns |
| women are on forefront of environmental activism |
| rejects modernization |
Liberal feminism does not comprise part of Ecofeminism since it does not see the need for a dissolution of patriarchal society, following doctrine that humans are superior to and different from nonhumans because of their reason.
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