Eco-feminism

"No political movement on the contemporary scene has achieved the astonishing range of feminism . . . the movement has generously grown to embrace issues of race, poverty, sexual preference, child abuse, war, the Third World, religion, endangered cultures, endangered species, the global environment." (Theodore Roszak, The Voice of the Earth: An Exploration of Ecopsychology, p. 238.)

The term "ecofeminisme" was first used in 1974 by a French literary [critic] who encouraged women to develop their potential at preserving the ecological balance of the earth. Francoise d'Eaubonne considered this potential to be realized in an ecological revolution. As such, present ecofeminism is considered a social movement on the leading edge, and includes peace, feminist, and ecological concerns, as well as drawing content from ancient traditions. Ecofeminism identifies patriarchal dominations: sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, plus naturism. It is the union of radical or cultural feminism with radical ecology. Ecofeminism's approach further develops feminism in relation to the natural environment. Its tenets include diversity through relationship, mutuality rather than use, and rejection of the either/or approach that encourages exclusion. The idea is to identify patriarchal culture in its forms of domination: industrial, mechanistic, militaristic and hierarchical.

"The domination of nature originates in society and therefore must be resolved in society . . . it is the embodied woman as social historical agent, rather than as a product of natural law, who is the subject of ecofeminism . . . . In ecofeminism, nature is the central category of analysis. An analysis of the interrelated dominations of nature - psyche and sexuality, human oppression, and nonhuman nature - and the historic position of women in relation to those forms of domination, is the starting point of ecofeminist theory." (Ynestra King, "Healing the Wounds" in Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism, p. 117.)

Other compatible movements are deep ecology, Green Politics, bioregionalism, creation-centered spirituality and animal rights.

To open any gate one's brain must first receive the message. The physical action through body follows. Direct experience of our environment is required to perceive the "nature of the wild." Nature is a whole system. Earth's circulatory system is complex and alive. Water is a common thread for life's continuance. The weather is another indicator of the health of the planet. "By changing the weather we make every spot on earth manmade [sic] and artificial. We have deprived nature of its independence, and that is fatal to its meaning.