Eco-feminism

“Women have long been associated with nature.”

In the following essay Judith Plant sets out the main principles (in regards to ecofeminism): the closeness of women to nature; the belief that the domination of women and the destruction of nature have the same root cause; patriarchy; and the need to re-establish for nature the organic metaphor over the machine metaphor.

Judith Plant believes that women have long been associated with nature and that historically, women have had no real power in the outside world, no place in decision-making. Other things such as the intellectual life, the work of the mind, have traditionally not been accessible to women for many reasons. Some of these reasons have included society’s mentality. According to Judith, today, ecology speaks for the earth, and feminism speaks for the ‘other’ in female/male relations. As for ecofeminism, she believes that by speaking for the original ‘others’, it seeks to understand the interconnected roots of all domination, and ways to resist the change.

Historically, people were more connected with the earth years ago, mainly because of the fact that many of these people were involved with the earth in some way in their daily lives, through being peasants and living a ordinary existence. But now the earth has become more mechanized and industrialized. Before that, the earth, the giver and supporter of life, was viewed as female, and symbolized by woman, as was the image of disorder, with her storms, droughts, and other natural disasters.

Judith Plant states that because of the view humans used to hold of the earth, they would in a way serve as constraints. ‘Mother Earth’ was seen to be alive and sensitive, and no one would consider destroying her in any way. A good example of this strong belief and view towards the earth could be seen in miners. In order to not prevent one of these rules, or in other words to not act ‘”improperly” towards ‘Mother Earth’ rituals were carried out. Miners would give offerings to the gods of the soil and the subterranean world, perform ceremonial sacrifices, and observe sexual abstinence and fasting before violating what was considered to be the sacred earth.

The change that resulted from the growth in the mechanized and industrialized world was very different. Unlike the visions of the earth before, the new images were of controlling and dominating or having power of nature.