Ecofeminism deals with ecological and feminist analyses and movements. It shows the relationship between women and nature in the view of historically, human-earth, patriarchal social structures and world views interconnected with oppression of women and nature. Feminist analysis mainly focused on Liberal, Marxist or Socialist, Cultural, Radical, Post-colonialist and Post-modernist approaches. Political ideology of feminism makes an effort to make women a self-conscious category, and it gives a power to generate a rational sensible attitude towards women, an approach to view the women in their own positions as well as own perspectives. Eco-feminist movements look for non-violent solutions to world problems. They always consider that feminine …show more content…
Ortner is an American cultural anthropologist whose famous essay: Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture? (1974) has made lot of popularity in the 1970’s, as it shows the notion of male dominance in the universal. Orter’s writings were influenced by Levi-Strauss’ the binary opposition of nature and culture in her structural analysis of male dominance and used as her platform to suggest political changes which would enhance equality between men and women. In this article she made a famous argument that culture is associated with men, and although women are important role in culture, they are more aligned closely with nature. Ortner states that a woman body and its functions keep her closer to nature more than a man’s psychology, which allows men to work freely in cultural point of view. The purpose of culture, in one sense, is to rise above nature; therefore, women getting aligned with nature and they become below the men, socially and culturally. Ultimately, “both a woman’s body as well as her social position creates a different kind position” (Offerman …show more content…
The ancient tradition and the idea of ‘Mother Earth’(Merchant 4) was coined by these indigenous peoples from pre-Hellenic times and Mesopotamian people named their goddess as ‘Ur-goddess Tiamat’(Merchant 4), Greek people named their goddess as ‘Gaia’(Merchant 5), Cerridwen named their goddess as ‘Celtic’(Merchant 4), Egyptian named their goddess as ‘Isis’(Merchant xvi). Their worship and image may vary from one tradition to another tradition but their only believe was Earth as nurturing mother. Carolyn Merchant wrote about the Historical connection between women and nature as “beneficent female who provided for the needs of mankind in an ordered, planned universe” (Merchant
The roots of ecofeminism are credited to a rising interest in both the environment and women’s rights. These topics became hotly debated after the Victorian era but many scholars say “ecofeminism is a new term for an ancient wisdom” (Diamond & Orenstein). Ecofeminism combines ecological and feminist rights to generate a very virtuous cause. It aims to change human’s relationships with each other and also with the environment, but it of course encompasses much more than that. Ecofeminism can best be defined as an attempt to show that all life is interconnected (Baker). That humans and nature share a common bond and that bond is what each depends upon to ensure the other survives.
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).
Feminist theory is derived from feminism, a complex doctrine that has been defined in many different ways (Chodorow, 1978). Hooks (2000) believes that without a consensus regarding a definition, that the foundation on which feminism was built is not fully clear. Nonetheless, several individuals have stepped forward to offer their ideologies and principles regarding feminist theory.
The author looks at men and women on an individual scale: “We can eat lower on the food chain, consuming a primarily vegetarian diet…whether you are a man or a woman, if you plan to have children one day, do an intense sauna detoxification at least 6 months before conceiving” (Kaur, 2003, 45). In this sense, it focuses on the daily choices both men and women make, although it still puts a heavier emphasis on women’s responsibilities to ‘save’ the environment. There is no mention of the socially constructed roles of women and men, but only the biological differences being the cause for the dependency on women to preserve the health of mother earth. It is not illustrated that gender influences roles, nor do roles influence what it means to be of a certain gender. Kaur (2003) believes it to be a biological responsibility to protect the planet.
Feminist Theory is an aspect of considering feminism as having been based on socio-phenomenon issues rather than biological or scientific. It appreciates gender inequality, analyzes the societal roles played by feminists in a bid to promote the interests, issues and rights of women in the society. It is also based on the assumption that women play subsidiary roles in the society. The whole idea of feminism has however experienced hurdles in the form of stereotyping by the wider society. This paper tries to examine some of the effects of stereotypes that feminism goes through, what other philosophers say and the way forward towards ending stereotyping.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author who has received numerous awards and distinctions. Her main argument is that everyone should be a feminist not because of our gender, but because it is what is right. Adichie has been featured in Beyonce’s song, “Flawless”, spreading awareness to the idea of feminism. “We Should All Be Feminists” is a book about her experiences in Nigeria, where men are more powerful than women. The intended audience of the passage is each and every person residing in heavily patriarchal societies. Hesr thesis is “we should all be feminists”.
For a holistic understanding, the review also highlighted the criticism of Agarwal (1992 & 2010) on Ecofeminist School in general and on the Indian variant of ecofeminism by Shiva (1988 & 1993) and on Mies (1993) about the economic critique of development paradigm in particular. Agarwal (1992) critiques ecofeminism for stressing ideology as the main cause for twin domination of women and nature. She argues that
Mellor, M. (2008 ). Review essay: Ecofeminism in theory and practice. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 10(2), 257-265.
After reading the three essays and a poem in the “Bodies and Affects” section of the Feminist Theory Reader, I felt I just left an intense therapy section. I am thinking which essay to highlight, each author describes the affect of the body whether biological or psychological through a feminist lens. For example, Alison Jaggar’s “Love and Knowledge: Emotion in Feminist Epistemology” questions, ‘What Are Emotions?’ and gives historical references of emotion associated with men as mental and emotion with women as irrational (511). I like the term Jaggar calls, ‘outlaw emotions,’ where she explains how subordinated individuals pay a higher price to maintain the status quo in social situations (520). Most of the time I find myself the only Black
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.
abortion, I have no intentions of letting my personal outlooks stand as a barrier between myself
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional or philosophical dissertation. It helps to explain the main nature of gender inequality. It further explains the social roles of women in the society such as education, communication, philosophy, sociology and so on (Chodrow, Nancy 1991).
Though in theory, ecological feminism has been around for a number of years, it emerged as a political movement in the 1970s. Francoise d’Eaubonne, a French feminist philosopher, coined the term “Ecofeminism” in 1974. Ecofeminism is a feminist approach to environmental ethics. Karen Warren, in her book Ecofeminist Philosophy, claims that feminist theorists question the source of the oppression of women, and seek to eliminate this oppression. Ecofeminists consider the oppression of women, (sexism) the oppression of other humans (racism, classism, ageism, colonialism), and the domination of nature (naturism) to be interconnected. In her book New Woman/New Earth, Rosemary Radford Reuther wrote, “Women must see that there can be no liberation for them and no solution to the ecological crisis within a society whose fundamental model of relationships continues to be one of domination. They must unite the demands of the women’s movement with those of the ecological movement to envision a radical reshaping of the basic socioeconomic relations and the underlying values of this society (204).”
Feminism is defined clinically as the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. By a less medical definition, feminism is a philosophy in which women and their contributions are respected. It is based on political, social, and economical equality for women ,and men in a few instances. Feminists can be anyone in the population regardless of sex, gender, or ethnicity.
Therefore, ecofeminists encourage the deconstruction of patriarchal and capitalistic systems which create inequity among the society in order to free women and save the planet.