Ecofeminism is an ideology that emphasizes the connection between women and nature through their mutual unfair treatment by the patriarchal society. Its practitioners advocate an alternative worldview that values the Earth as sacred and recognizes humanity’s dependence on the natural world.
Women make up roughly half of the global population and play a significant role in promoting ecological wellbeing. However, problems arise when society does not allow or grant appropriate platforms to women and other marginalized groups to help our earth. Ecofeminism unites environmentalism with feminism, creating a holistic approach to sustainability and justice. Ecofeminists believe that the oppression of women and the destruction of the environment are deeply interconnected. This means that for eco-feminism, both environmental and gender justice are essential for any potential improvement.
(https://polcompball.miraheze.org/wiki/Ecofeminism#/media/File:Ecofem_flag.svg)
There is also a growing influence of ecofeminism on everyday life because of the increasing recognition of the interconnectedness of social and environmental issues. Key battlegrounds are intimacy, the body, and sexuality: young women are attempting to “depatriarchalize” intimate relationships. Environmental movements led by women in South America seem to be the most enduring, even if they do not consider themselves ecofeminists.
Another movement to conserve forests was started in India by indigenous women who were affected by deforestation. A similar movement was started in Kenya by Wangari Maathai to address the needs of rural women. These are just a few examples that highlight the importance of including and working with women in the movement to create a better future through sustainable development.
Force of the Patriarchy
When considering the role of patriarchy in regard to the ecological crisis one must consider how it has contributed and become the foundation of the crisis through its ideology. Patriarchy is a form of assumed superiority and dominance which directly relates to the acceleration of the climate crisis as humans claim dominion over the natural world. Patriarchy also propels the ecological crisis as it is a source of overconsumption and greed in society.
The patriarchy drives overconsumption because it puts forth unreasonable expectations and pressures on women. This then propels trend cycles convincing individuals to purchase new items or become obsolete. In turn, individuals fall into constant cycles of overconsumption from fashion to seasonal decor. Often people feel the need to try to keep up and keep purchases to fit patriarchal expectations, but in the process, this overconsumption degrades our ecological world through pollution and combustion.
Women are considered to be inferior to men under the patriarchy. One way this persists is that women are often associated with nature. Through the patriarchal lens, people transfer this destructive attitudes towards nature and further assert their unwelcome dominance, claiming it is unworthy of human respect as misogyny has displayed throughout history towards women. The irony here is that women tend to the environment far greater than men through activities like agriculture, which exemplifies one way that the patriarchy exploits women’s labor and knowledge.
Patriarchy grows off of greed and extractivism. Extracting and exploiting women is transferred to extracting and exploiting nature. This can be seen in capitalism and its impacts on the population’s consumption levels. However, it also is prevalent when considering the foundation of resource extraction including coal and oil by means of constant expansion of the economy.
“Ecofeminists assert that human emancipation from historical patriarchal attitudes cannot be achieved without the liberation of all ‘othered’ beings.” (Terreblanche 2019, 163)
By taking a feminist stance toward the ecological crisis, humans can be more holistic and inclusive to account for interconnected aspects of the system. By incorporating many facets of ecology, alternatives for extractivism can be found. In solving systemic issues, the earth’s systems can be healed based on connections. Additionally, this change will permit stability for future generations, which can relate back to the traditional perspective of maternalism and the building of the future via reproduction. By stepping away from the misogynistic perspective of reproduction and a woman’s role, which wrongfully assumes a woman’s only purpose is to reproduce and focusing on empowering women in such a process, will allow the future generations to be raised with the ideologies of ecofeminism to create a future of progress in social issues with a basis of empowerment. This further support and education will also have beneficial ecological impacts as women’s empowerment coincides with population control and social justice activism.
Furthermore, when looking at the progress the feminist movement has made, the tactics employed can be transferred to fighting the ecological crisis.
(https://byotogo.org/ecofeminism/)
“Internationally, women do 65 percent of ll work for 10 percent of wages while in the global south, women produce 60 to 80 percent of all food consumed” (Terreblanche 2019, 164)
Historical Presence
Throughout history there have been many environmental movements led by women. For instance, in the 1970s in India, women in rural villages started the Chipko Movement, which was a non-violent fight for the protection of the forests from governmental logging to preserve ecological balance and tradition. These women needed to protect the trees because in these rural villages they were the most at risk of feeling the hardships of ecological tragedies. They were in charge of agriculture, family organization, and livestock care, which made them more impacted by such landslides . Logging made landslides increase in severity causing grave destruction to each of the aspects of life. They needed to stand up against the government for means of survival. The Chipko Movement not only was an early form of ecofeminism because the movement was run by mostly women, but the values aligned by using female empowerment to force ecological protection (Petruzzello 2019. Ecofeminism is the idea of environmentalism on the foundation of solving social inequities that silence groups through the values and actions of affected groups. Via the women providing support through non-violent protest, their environment was protected and tradition was ensured. Moreover, this movement was a stance against capitalism and colonialism. To improve and protect local ecology, the group targeted aspects of social inequalities.
(https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chipko-movement)
Why Should We Care About Ecofeminism?
Eco-feminism is often seen as a critique of traditional environmentalism, which is frequently thought of as a primarily male-dominated movement. Eco-feminists argue that traditional environmentalism has often focused on the conservation of “nature” without acknowledging the ways our planet’s diverse population is affected by environmental degradation. Ecofeminists believe that in order to create a truly sustainable society, we must consider all aspects of oppression; gender, race, and class.
According to the United Nations, women are responsible for up to 80% of the food production in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Around the world, women are key players in preserving biodiversity and natural resources. Their knowledge of traditional land management is also essential for sustainable development, as well as often being superior in using readily available resources and having a better understanding of local communities and contexts. The United nations website states:
“Only 29% of featured speakers at international ocean science conferences are women.” (Gender Equity in Oceanography)
In order to reach our 2030 sustainable development initiatives, it is vital that women be included in decision-making processes. Women’s inclusion in decision-making leads to increased participation in sustainable development initiatives. This can help to ensure that the needs of all members of the community are taken into account. This can make development initiatives more effective and successful.
Women are key actors in agriculture: Women make up a significant proportion of the agricultural workforce worldwide and are often the primary caretakers of crops and livestock. By adopting sustainable farming practices, such as organic agriculture and agroforestry, women farmers can reduce environmental degradation and improve soil health.
“Women are finding solutions for our ailing planet but are not given the platforms they deserve” (UN Women, 2022)
(https://www.greenmatters.com/environmental-justice/what-is-ecofeminism)
Unfortunately some individuals dispute that ecofeminism is an effective way to create a sustainable and equitable society, and argue that it relies too heavily on emotion and personal relationships while failing to take into account the economic and political realities of the world. While ecofeminism does partially rely on emotion and personal relationships, it more importantly provides a powerful framework for understanding the interconnectedness of social issues and environmental issues. It highlights the fact that current economic and political systems are heavily biased against women, and that the planet’s health and well-being are dependent on the well-being of all of its inhabitants.
By focusing on the shared experiences of oppression for both humans and the environment, ecofeminism can provide an effective way to create a just and sustainable society. This is similar to trying to fix a leaky boat while still on board – the underlying causes of the issue need to be addressed before any real progress can be made. Ecofeminism is a way to look at the interconnectedness between people and the environment in order to create a more equitable society.
Sources:
“Gender Equity in Oceanography.” Annual Review of Marine Science, vol. 14, 2022, doi:
10.1146/ https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-marine-032322-100357.
Ojeda, Diana, Padini Nirmal, Dianne Rocheleau, and Jody Emel. 2022. “Feminist ecologies.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources 47:149–71.
Petruzzello, Melissa. “Chipko Movement | History, Causes, Leaders, Outcomes, & Facts.”
Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Chipko-movement.
“Picture of Three Hands in Front of the Earth Representing the Term ‘Ecofeminism.’” Byotogo,
BYOtogo, 27 Mar. 2021, byotogo.org/ecofeminism.
Terreblanche, Christelle. “Ecofeminism” PLURIVERSE : A Post-Development Dictionary.
Edited by Ashish Kothari, Ariel Salleh, Arturo Escobar, Federico Demaria, Alberto Acosta, S.L., Tulika Book, 2019, pp.56-59.
“Women and the Sustainable Development Goals (Sdgs).” UN Women – Headquarters, www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs.