An Application of Ecofeminism
In our contemporary society, Feminism activity has been perpetually linked to being a form of activism. Although, the word feminism has often been applied to activities that promotes social change thru political activity such as boycotts and demonstrations, feminism is not absent from environmental issues. Gender roles have created a difference in the way that men and women act in relation to the environment. Gender issues play a part in every aspect of human production and experience, including the production and experience of how the world develops in terms of environmental ethics and issues, whether we are consciously aware of these issues or not. The design of this essay is to illustrate the Karen J. Warren
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essay, The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism, and the embedded conceptual framework it critiques by addressing how by fostering Ecological feminism in third world countries such as Zimbabwe, could create positive effects in the face of these oppressive forces to be discussed. Specifically, by explicitly arguing how in every domain where patriarchy reigns, women and nature are the other, and usually through exploitation, marginalization, and objectification. In her essay, Karen J.
Warren, illustrates her rationalization that, “...ecological feminism is the position that there are important connections-historical, experiential, symbolic, theoretical- between the domination of women and the domination of nature…(281)”. Warren justifies her argument of using this ecofeminist framework through the discussion of the essence or “recipe” in which domination and oppression has historically worked to disenfranchise not only women but nature. In understanding how the ecological feminism may be applied to the exploitation, marginalization, and objectification of poaching elephants in Zimbabwe, it’s important to be formally cognizant of concepts included in feminism addressed in Warren’s argument. Through this work, it is important to remember that every ideology has its own points of illogic self-contradiction that allows us to understand its operation and decrease its …show more content…
influence. To begin with in her introduction of fostering the connection between environmental issues and feminism, Warren says, “Environmental degradation and exploitation are feminist issues because an understanding of them contributes to an understanding of the oppression of women (282)”. Warren references how drastically changing aspects of an environment not only affects the ecosystem but the humans that live and are the caretakers of the land. Example are drawn from those of people of rural and underdeveloped areas where lack of agency already exists for women. The addition of environmental degradation to those women marginalized and objectified in society explicit makes this a feminist issue as Warren refers to. As introduced in the thesis, the proposed oppressive conceptual framework argued for by the author is, “one that explains, justifies, and maintains relationships of domination and subordination.
When oppressive conceptual framework is patriarchal, it explains, justifies, and maintains the subordination of women by men (282)”. An example that Warren discusses within her essay is how the patriarchal ideology influences this connection, the identity and experiences that are so strong it is often difficult to wonder if this feminist ideology concerning conservation the environmental ideology can overcome it. When Warren addresses ways to overcome the conceptual issues which are a fundamental prospect in the ecofeminist perspective, Warren writes, “By making visible the interconnection among the denominations of women and nature, ecofeminism shows that both feminist issues and that explicit acknowledgement of both is vital to any responsible environmental ethic (288)”. By including this in her work, I think Warren touches on the important abstract that this inclusion of ecofeminism is not just a notion to be maintained by men working towards equity with women, but also the feminist whose ideology may be seen as radicalized. That work that is inclusive in its nature, such as the environment and the earth that belongs to everyone should involve everyone in creating plans of
action. The author then goes on to critique the essence of the implications of not including a conflicting perspective to the patriarchy can entail “Failure to make visible these interconnected, twin dominations result in an inaccurate account of how it is that nature has been and continues to be dominated and exploited and produces an environmental ethic that lacks the depth necessary to be truly inclusive of the realities of persons who at least in dominant western culture have been intimately tied with that exploitation, viz., women(288)”. The reliance on traditional western philosophy and culture has created a representation of thinking that is male oriented in its vocabulary, rules of logic, and criteria for what is appropriate in creating alleviation to environmental exploitation and marginalization. Next, after demonstrating the implications of the failure of acknowledging the oppressive conceptual framework entailed within patriarchal western ideology, Warren illustrates three significant features of this framework. In her writing, the author suggest that these features as ‘logic of domination, value-hierarchical thinking, and value dualism(282)”. Warren describes that logic of domination is the most oppressive in its nature and how it pragmatically works in these ecofeminist situations. She describes this as being the “bottom line in ecofeminist discussions of oppression”(283), and allows for a more permissive behavior towards non humans in our world. The word permissive is way of saying that we have given superiority and inferiority based on the habits, customs, and prejudice to behave however man deems necessary, as Warren eludes to. That men have been somehow granted moral superiority to nature and women based on these long held assumptions of historically underdeveloped characteristic of patriarchy. As Karen J. Warren writes in her essay, The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism, Warren has maintained that feminist ethic which is important to ecofeminism concepts must involve a commitment to critique male bias and work towards the elimination of that bias in all forms. The author does this when she introduces what she refers to as “boundary conditions”, which are useful in illustrating Warren’s conditions of feminist ethics which are advantageous in connecting these complimentary illustrations to ecofeminist ideology. First, Warren begins with the main point that any form of domination is not permissive, whether that domination is connected to sexism, racism, or any relation to social domination, while the author has included acknowledging the cultural relativism and diversity of our world.
He delves into the history of the word “environmental” as well as the history of environmental activism. He pinpoints the beginning of the movement to Rachel Carson. According to Quammen, she began the revolution by publishing her book Silent Spring. He says the negative connotations of the word began with her book, pairing “environment” and “the survival of humankind” as if they go hand in hand. This played a major role in the distortion of the word and the intentions of environmentalists.
It amazes me how a few decades ago can seem like a whole different world. A course of time can impact our lives more than we know it. In the article, A Day Without Feminism by Jennifer Boumgoidnei and Amy Richntds, both of these authors created this piece to inform their audience that although women have gained more rights over time, there was still more progress to be made. These authors gave many examples of how life for women had been, the obstacles they had to overcome, and the laws women had to break for equality.
"Women, just like nature or the land, have been seen as something to be used,' says Smiley.'Feminists insist that women have intrinsic value, just as environmentalists believe that nature has its own worth, independent of its use to man'" (Duffy 92). Larry Cook, the senile, old power holder and father in Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres, is a prime example of a man who believes that women and land are nothing more than objects that exist on this earth only so that he can control them.
The Conservation movement was a driving force at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was a time during which Americans were coming to terms with their wasteful ways, and learning to conserve what they quickly realized to be limited resources. In the article from the Ladies’ Home Journal, the author points out that in times past, Americans took advantage of what they thought of as inexhaustible resources. For example, "if they wanted lumber for their houses, rails for their fences, fuel for their stoves, they would cut down half a forest at a time; and whatever they could not use or sell they would leave to rot on the ground. They never bothered their heads to inquire where more wood was coming from when this was gone" (33). The twentieth century opened with a vision towards the future, towards preserving the land that had previously been taken for granted. The Conservation movement came along around the same time as one of the first major waves of the feminist movement. With the two struggles going on: one for the freedom of nature and the other for the freedom of women, it stands to follow that they coincided. As homemakers, activists, and citizens of the United States of America, women have had an important role in Conservation.
In Belmont’s article “Ecofeminism and the Natural Disaster Heroine” she notes that the definition of ecofeminism stems from the “theory that the ideologies which authorize injustices based on gender, race, and class are related to the ideologies which sanction the exploitation and degradation of the environment” (351). In Jurassic Park, the film makes clear distinction of gender boundaries. For instance, when the group first meets th...
There are many, different oppressions throughout human society that are intricately woven together and interconnected. Many of these oppressions are formed within a patriarchal, Christian theology and involve the body: the body of Earth, the bodies of women, the body of animals. Sallie McFague sets up a model of bodies to help break these connected oppressions. McFague’s work emphasizes that the body and its oppressions are what connects Christian theology, feminism, and ecology. Her model focuses on the metaphorical idea that the body of the earth is the body of God (McFague, 1993).
Mary Anne Warren rejects the claim, that the mother’s body is her property and that therefore she may expel any intruder from it, when she gives an example that ownership of property does not justify anyone killing innocent beings found on her property. Even more, the owner of the property is actually found responsible for those whom are found hurt on her property. Warren goes even further and states that “it is probably inappropriate to describe a woman’s body as her property since it seems natural to hold that a person is something distinct from her property, but not from her body” (Warren, 248). In other words, Warren rejects the claim that a mother’s body is her property by using an example of breaking a body part. For instance, when a
...action with others… especially men. This supplies final substantiation of the authors' argument, that women continue to be oppressed by their male-dominated societies. It is a bold undertaking for women to ally and promote a world movement to abandon sexist traditions. Although I have never lived in a third world or non-Westernized country, I have studied the conditions women suffer as "inferior" to men. In National Geographic and various courses I have taken, these terrible conditions are depicted in full color. Gender inequality is a terrible trait of our global society, and unfortunately, a trait that might not be ready to change. In America we see gender bias towards women in voters' unwillingness to elect more females into high office, and while this is not nearly as severe as the rest of the world, it indicates the lingering practice of gender inequality.
Hawken writes that the movement, a collective gathering of nonconformists, is focused on three basic ambitions: environmental activism, social justice initiatives, and indigenous culture’s resistance to globalization. The principles of environmental activism being closely intertwined with social justice rallies. Hawken states how the fate of each individual on this planet depends on how we understand and treat what is left of the planet’s lands, oceans, species diversity, and people; and that the reason that there is a split between people and nature is because the social justice and environmental arms of the movement hav...
Feminism forces females to depend on their male counterparts to live decent lives and can be shamed for being raped by men that are not their husbands. Both countries suffer from polluted airs and waterways that could eventually lead to the weakening of their public health and decreasing resources. Yet, the most important commonality that the countries have is their public awareness of these issues. Although the countries have different ways of combating public protest, the fact that the public is becoming increasingly aware and concerned about these issues is important for the road to
Women and gender studies contribute greatly to our understanding of the social and cultural world we inhabit. Studying the complex issues of this field has instituted many key insights. Two major insights that positively affected our society are the awareness through learning and through this awareness activism that can ensue.
Bandura's words epitomize the spirit of environmental education and its challenges of community cooperation, trans-generational communication and sustainable development. The success of these challenges depends on the ability to pass on knowledge about the environment to future generations in order for them to better understand how to maintain a sustainable relationship with nature. In this era of globalization and neo-liberalist policies, maintaining a sustainable relationship with the environment needs to be examined not just from an ecological perspective, but also from political and social angles. Since environmental issues are often connected to social and political concerns, a theoretical framework that encompasses a wider ideology may facilitate an understanding of the interconnectedness of ecological issues. Deep ecology, institutional environmentalism, green political theory, and possibly other schools of thought forge connections between environmental, political and social concerns. Ecofeminism emerges as an alternative theory for framing the issues and answers of sustainable development. An ecofeminist perspective more fully describes the connections between environmental degradation and the social inequalities that plague the poverty-stricken victims of pollution, urbanization, deforestation, and other by-products of over-development. Finally, it is important to include ecofeminist theory in a discussion of sustainable development, because "in a patriarchal society, failure to recognize the int...
In just a few decades The Women’s Liberation Movement has changed typical gender roles that once were never challenged or questioned. As women, those of us who identified as feminist have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at...
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had been so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives.
Today, we live in a world interwoven with women’s oppression, ecological degradation, and the exploitation of workers, race, and class. In the midst of these troubles, a movement known as ecofeminism appears to be gaining recognition. In the following, I hope to illustrate this revitalization movement . I will begin by characterizing a definition of ecofeminism; I will then bring to the forefront the ethical issues that Ecofeminism is involved with, then distinguish primary ideas and criticisms.