Sam Fetler: Ecofeminism

A few weeks back, I decided to focus my ecofeminist action on planting a vegetable garden. I landed on this idea after I was continuously brought back to my sense of place, being actively involved in nature, and planting vegetables with my mother as a child. I believe that the tranquility that nature provides brings someone back to themself. Kingsolver states from Knowing Our Place that “people need wild places. Whether or not they think they do, they do. They need to experience a landscape that is timeless, whose agenda moves at the pace of speciation and ice ages (Kingsolver 2).  Every morning while watering the plants I am reminded of where I come from, the kind of person I want to be, and the love I have for the Earth.  

In my last blog posting, I discussed how I used old biodegradable egg cartons to start the vegetable garden in. I planted broccoli, onion, tomato, cucumber, and hot peppers. Since then, the vegetables have grown exponentially. I decided on putting the plants in our mudroom where it would get the best light as well as using a grow light so that the plants can truly thrive.

Below are some updated images of my vegetable garden.

The Herbs and Vegetables Under a Grow Light

As mentioned in my last blog as well, when my roommate came home from work and realized that a vegetable garden was being created, he instantly wanted to get involved by planting an herb garden. 

Below is a picture of my roommate’s herb garden and the progress it has made so far. 

There were, however, a few issues that I ran into. The first issue was that my landlord and friend did not want a vegetable garden planted directly into the earth in our backyard. At first, he asked, “why do you even want to plant a vegetable garden in the first place?” He also stated that he did not want a garden in general, and that he did not want to deal with the “upkeep” even though he would have no involvement with the gardening process itself or keeping the garden healthy, weeded, and thriving. Although he understood that he would not be involved with the garden in any way, shape or form, he still did not want one in backyard. Therefore, I negotiated with him until we came to a mutual agreement. I would build a raised garden bed so that it would not ruin the grass, it would keep all parties happy, and I could transport the garden elsewhere if necessary. 

Below are a few ideas as to what I want the raised garden to look like. My roommate just finished building a deck, and my boyfriend is in the process of renovating his bike shop, therefore there is a lot of wood and building supplies that can be repurposed for the creation of a raised garden. 

Here is a photo of my roommate and boyfriend organizing the wood for building.

After the conversation I felt invigorated and proud that I stood up for what I believed in. Ultimately, I hope that he comes to appreciate the garden and realize the meaning behind what it holds. Maybe one day he will even create a garden of his own and have a hand in reinventing our current food system and have a newfound vigor for nature and life. The conversation with my landlord reminded me of the article Gender Equality and State Environmentalism by Kari Norggard and Richard York in regard to the difference between men and women when it comes to the environment. Women are the first to see disparities within the natural surroundings around them as well as being more environmentally aware then men and boys (Noorgard, York 508). Women across the world are also more likely to become involved with organizations that help protect our environment (Noorgard, York 509). Through these statistics, it can be stated that through socialization women are more often than not looked at as nurturers, caretakers and family oriented, therefore environmental concerns and nature are more associated and connected with women than men (Noorgaard, York 508). As someone who has had discussions with my landlord about environmental responsibilities such as recycling and single use plastics before and have discussed why it is beneficial for our earth and people’s livelihood, I couldn’t help but think about how many other people are out there who aren’t educated on these topics or do but just don’t care because they think that what they do won’t make a difference. It made me more determined than ever to stand together with the people in my life who are just as connected to nature as I am to fight for environmental justice and work towards equality within this patriarchal and capitalist world we live in. 

After reading about different means of activism from the article 13 Simple Ways to Support feminist Activism on International Women’s Day I realized that just by having a conversation it can make all the difference. Sam Smethers, an equality campaigner states, “Campaigning for women’s rights isn’t just about protesting on the streets. Often the most empowering activities involve educating yourself about women’s issues, and standing in solidarity with women and communities whose voices are more marginalized than your own” (Devaney 2020).  Throughout this class I have been educated on what ecofeminism is and all the forms that comes with it. I have learned about intersectionality and the association that women have to nature. I have learned about the atrocities of the meat and commercial industry. And I have learned about myself, what I am passionate about, and how to use my own voice to stand up for what I believe is right. Through the act of gardening, I was able to influence those around me and inspire them to do the same. I was able to influence my roommate and boyfriend to get involved in the process which led to them discussing the gardening process with other people. Just by planting fresh produce, I was able to bring people together, get them more connected to nature, practice a more sustainable action, and help benefit my own health as well as the people in my life, all from one blog posting.

 

Works Cited:

Devaney, S; Crocket, M. (2020). 13 Simple Ways to Support Feminist Activism on International Women’s Day. Stylist. https://www.stylist.co.uk/visible-women/feminist-activism-uk-examples-ideas-intersectional-feminism-activists-international-womens-day/194468

Kingsolver, Barbra. Knowing Our Place. 1-2.

Norgaard, Kari., & York, Richard. Gender Equality and State Environmentalism. Gender & Society. August. 2005. https://pages.uoregon.edu/norgaard/pdf/Gender-Equality-Norgaard-York-2005.pdf

After mulling over a plethora of different ecofeminist activist actions to focus on, my mind continuously was pulled back to my childhood backyard where I helped my mother raise chickens and plant vegetables in the garden. I was drawn back to Bell Hooks statement that “when we love the Earth, we are able to love ourselves more fully” (Hooks 363). Therefore, I thought what better way to connect the knowledge I have obtained this semester and the roots of my own place, than to create a garden myself. 

By using old biodegradable egg cartons my roommates and I had used, I planted various vegetables including broccoli, onion, tomato, cucumber, and hot peppers. After only a week, the broccoli and tomato plants are already sprouting. My boyfriend was thrilled with the idea and is excited to be able to use the fresh produce we eventually harvest to cook with. To my pleasant surprise, once my roommate got home and saw that we were starting a vegetable garden, he was ecstatic and decided that he wanted to help contribute to the process by growing a herb garden. 

I realized that one small action of starting a vegetable garden inspired others to do the same thing. Having conversations can have great influence, but getting actively involved can help to create an even greater change. I hope that by starting a garden, discussing it with my three roommates, and having them get involved, helps to influence other people to do the same thing. Eventually, once the garden is fully flourishing, I hope to spread the wealth by sharing the produce with my friends and family. Although it won’t be the largest garden, I thought about the impact that community gardens and urban gardens have on the community itself. By planting fresh produce, it has the ability to bring people together as well as benefit the overall health of the community. 

Having fresh produce is also a luxury that not many people are able to have, whether they live in a food desert or they simply cannot afford it. Low-income women are more vulnerable to food insecurity (Smith 23). It was stated by Margaret Smith in a Fact Sheet called Gender and Food Insecurity: The Burden on Poor Women that in the United States, “Women living in areas likely to be food deserts are living at a crossroads of disadvantage, as they are more likely to be women of color and living in poverty” (Smith 24). Creating something as simple as a garden, can become a catalyst for change. By implementing urban gardens and community gardens it could help to create jobs as well as benefit the health of community members. In a TedTalk that I will link below, a man named Ron Finley from South Central LA started a vegetable garden that had a massive influence on the community. Finley describes planting your own food to “printing your own money” since one plant will produce hundreds of seeds to continue the cycle of planting and harvesting (Finley 2013). 

Gardening can also help change the lives of women and help them become more connected to the earth. The Wen’s Soil Sisters program in the United Kingdom does just that. Women who have seeked refuge from domestic violence joined the program which helps to support them “on their journey to recovery, by connecting them to nature through gardening, food growing and environmental activities, often referred to as social and therapeutic horticulture” (Rasmussen 2019). Ultimately gardens have the ability to help heal, to help become a feminist leader, and to be once again connected to nature. 

 

Link to the TedTalk: A Guerrilla Gardener in South Central LA

https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerrilla_gardener_in_south_central_la?languag

Works Cited:

Finley, R. (2013). Ron Finley: A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA. [TedTalk]. https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerrilla_gardener_in_south_central_la?languag

Hooks, Bell. Touching the Earth. 363-368.

Rasmuseen, S. (2019). Soil Sisters – Ecofeminism in Practice. Wen. https://www.wen.org.uk/2019/12/09/ecofeminism-in-practice/

Smith, M. (2012). Fact Sheet. Gender and Food Insecurity: The Burden on Poor Women. 23-29. https://socwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Fact-Sheet-Gender-and-Food-Insec..pdf

There is a definitive link between the oppression of women and the oppression of nature which is shown all around the globe in different ways. 

Ivone Gebara, a “liberation theologist” and author of Ecofeminism: A Latin American Perspective, discusses ecofeminism in a new way. Gebara believes that in order to understand the different trials and tribulations that occur in someone’s daily life and how to understand or solve them, we have to first reflect on which type of daily life we are looking at. Wherever someone resides in the world, there are a multitude of caveats that come along with it. For example, solutions for marginalized women who suffer daily under a patriarchal society and a “capitalist dominion of nature” would differ for someone from a middle-class family living in the United States (Gebara 95). Gebara compares daily life for poor women to being in jail due to the patriarchal, capitalist system (Gebara 95). Women are seen as providers, providers of food, a clean-living environment, healers for loved ones (Gebara 95). These marginalized women are aware of their difficulties they inevitably face in life however they “have no real means to search for and experiment with new alternatives” (Gebara 95). When young women are becoming pregnant in their early teenage years, this limits their life choices as well as educational advancements (Gebara 95). It is a continuous cycle that helps to create both poverty and inconstancy (Gebara 96). Within the patriarchal structure there is no equality, no egalitarian social structure to help overcome poverty, environmental problems, social inequalities and the oppression of women (Gebara 96). 

 In Recife, Brazil people who are living along a canal are being subjected to immense amounts of garbage (Gebara 96). Instead of helping to take the garbage out of the canal, more trash is added while the canal waits to be cleaned by workers sent by city officials, however to no avail since the canal becomes littered once again the next day (Gebara 96). A ten-year-old child named Larissa Silva who lives in a cardboard house with her family asked the interviewer, Talia Correa, to answer the question “Do you think I like living here?” Correa responded with no, however Larissa stated “But I do. It’s the only life I know” (Correa 2014). In Recife, there was a photo of a child, who was only nine-years old, trying to find cans to sell by wading and swimming in the canal filled with garbage (Correa 2014). There are thousands of children that are living in slums in neighborhoods in Recife (Correa 2014). After the photo of the child, named Paulo, was gaining traction and was put in the press, then both international authorities and the local government took action, the government helping Paulo’s family by placing him and his family on welfare (Correa 2014). However, this doesn’t help the thousands of other children and families who collect aluminum to sell for money to provide for their families and are subjected to bathing and playing in garbage filled rivers (Correa).  

“You can help some people, but you can’t change a hierarchical structure that reproduces unfair solutions” -Ivone Gebara

There are also links to violence towards the land and violence towards indigenous women (Gendered Impacts 2015). During environmental assessments, the question of who is going to be impacted and how, is not asked, there is only a statement that money and jobs will be abundant (Gendered Impacts 2015). When the Baker Lake in Canada was subjected to environmental degradation from mining, the Inuit women who rely on the land for a multitude of ways were also subjected to an increase in violence at home, at the mining site as well as in the community (Gendered Impacts 2015). Indigenous women have a deep relationship to the land, as it sources their identity and song (Gendered Impacts 2015). By mining the Inuit’s land, it not only caused important animals to change their migration routes but was a deep violation of the women’s livelihood and created a loss of cultural practice and traditional knowledge (Gendered Impacts 2015).

It can be stated that female poverty and the destruction of ecosystems are linked. In many parts of the world, Africa included, women solely hold the responsibility of caring for the harvest which includes tilling fields, picking out the produce to plant and making sure the crops are cared for (Maathai 2000). Since women are the nurturers and caretakers of the plants, looking after the children and fetching the water, if there is environmental damage, a dry well or agricultural contamination from pollution, pesticides or herbicides, then they are the first to notice any abnormalities (Maathai 2000). Back in 1977, environmentalist and women’s right activist from Kenya, Wangari Maathai, became the founder of the Green Belt Movement (Maathai 2000). This movement helped encourage farmers, who are mostly women, “to plant “Green Belts” to stop soil erosion, provide shade, and create a source of lumber and firewood” (Maathai 2000). Since then, over fifteen million trees have been planted as well as creating income for eighty thousand people (Maathai 2000). The Green Belt Movement was created because women were being affected by environmental degradation in both rural and urban areas (Maathai 2000). There was no firewood or fruit to help children that were malnourished, drinking water had been contaminated due to pollution, pesticides and herbicides used to grow “cash crops” and women and their families became weak, unable to fight off diseases due to the impoverishment from the degraded environment (Maathai 2000). Within the Green Belt Movement came influence for neighbors to start planting trees on their farms which ultimately drew so much attention that parliament and the president said the environment needs to be protected (Maathai 2000). What started with women empowerment resulted in forests being saved from environmental degradation, and spaces and forests not being privatized or used for economic gain (Maathai 2000). 

“Environmental protection is not just about talking. It is also about taking action.” – Wangari Maathai

Like the Green Belt Movement in 1977 in Kenya, Africa, in India in the 1970’s another movement was on the rise, known as the Chipko movement which involved villagers embracing trees so that they would not be felled by contractors’ (The Chipko Movement). Ultimately thousands of trees were saved from being felled due to village women hugging the trees (The Chipko Movement). This movement paved the way for future successes. In the 1980s, Chipko protestors were able to help achieve a fifteen-year ban in the Himalayan forests for felling (The Chipko Movement). After this movement, felling in other states in the country ceased and it “generated pressure for a natural resource policy that is more sensitive to people’s needs and ecological requirements” (The Chipko Movement). 

These movements could not have been as successful as they were without first empowering women. Ordinary people have the power to make a difference, put pressure where pressure is needed, and create change. There are all different types of misinformation that can be obtained through the internet or by dictatorial government ideology such as in Kenya after the Cold War when information was strictly controlled, and people became oppressed and full of fear (Maathai 2000). The people who live in the forests and along rivers are the ones who are living through environmental degradation and therefore should be the ones that share their stories, speak out, and highlight the true narrative, the root of the problem, on a local as well as national level. 

 

Works Cited:

Correa, Talita. “The Brazilian Slum Children Who Are Literally Swimming in Garbage.” VICE, 30 Jan. 2014, https://www.vice.com/en/article/kwpwja/the-brazilian-slum-children-who-are-literally-swimming-in-garbage-0000197-v21n1. 

Gebara, Ivone. “Ecofeminism: A Latin American Perspective.” Crosscurrents. 2003. 95-102. 

Maathai, Wangari. “Speak Truth to Power.” The Green Belt Movement, 4 May 2000, http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/wangari-maathai/key-speeches-and-articles/speak-truth-to-power. 

“The Chipko Movement.” EduGreen, Teri, 2007, http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/forestry/chipko.htm.

“2015 Gendered Impacts series (4): Land is Identity (2:28).” YouTube, KAIROS Canada, 14, March 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LopcPrSvDBw

“2015 Gendered Impacts series (5): Violence Against The Land (3:02).” YouTube, KAIROS Canada, 21, March 2016. ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlbc2dD0gP0&t=28s

Intersectionality is a term that was used by Kimberle Crenshaw who believed there was no “single-axis framework” that encapsulated the “lived experiences of black women” who face both sexism and racism (Kings 2017). Black women face various types of oppression in a multitude of complex ways (Kings 2017). Although the term intersectionality was used to help describe the experiences black women were having, intersectionality became a tool for feminists to analyze the parallels between women and their experiences (Kings 2017). Due to the diversity that intersectionality brings, it can be used in a variety of different fields (Kings 2017). In regard to ecofeminist intersectionality and feminist intersectionality, there are different types of women in a variety of circumstances, which leads to a plethora of varying experiences (Kings 2017). Therefore “by using the tools of intersectionality” it helps to “illuminate the interconnectedness of race, class, gender, disability, sexuality, caste, religion, age and the effects which these have… on the discrimination, oppression, and identity of women and the natural environment” (Kings 2017). 

In order to become socially aware of the sexist, racist, homophobic imagery, text or occurrences that plague our society, Mari J. Matsuda states in an article from the Stanford Law Review in 1991 about the importance of ‘asking the other question’ (Kings 2017). ‘Asking the other question’ means that discrimination and prejudice that could have been concealed or masked, are now revealed and different “disadvantages and privileges which make up the lived experiences and complex identities of every individual” are now exposed (Kings 2017). 

Intersectionality can be compared to a “web” as Kings states in Intersectionality and the Changing Face of Ecofeminism. The strings that make up the web can represent different categories like “gender, sexuality, race or class; while encircling spirals depict individual identities” which shows how vast and complex intersectionality can be. A spider’s web is typically sticky and can be compared to how different people can become stuck in different “cultural categories” or “conflicting social categories” (Kings 2017). 

Looking at ecofeminism and intersectionality in India, women have been advocating for the environment for hundreds of years, dating back as far as three hundred years ago according to Vandana Shiva in Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Survival in India who is an academic, writer and activist (Kings 2017). In one example that shows ‘Indian ecofeminism’ or ‘Indian environmentalism,’ Kings discusses the Chipko movement, which involved women in Rajasthan who sacrificed their lives in order to protect sacred trees called khejri trees (Kings 2017). In the Global South, nature has an intimate relationship with women and therefore there is a great “attempt to protect and preserve local resources” (Kings 2017). However, something that Shiva ignores that Agarwal and Sowmya Dechamma have pointed out is “pre-existing inequalities such as “caste, class, power, privilege, and property relations which predate colonialism” which are important aspects to look at when discussing ecofeminist intersectionality (Kings 2017).

In The Difference Between Ecofeminism & Intersectional Environmentalism by Leah Thomas, Thomas states that social justice and environmental justice are what both intersectional environmentalism and ecofeminism work towards (Thomas 2020). Intersectional environmentalism looks at sexism as well as other social injustices such as “Black Lives Matter and youth climate strikes in 2019 and 2020” (Thomas 2020). In regard to ecofeminism, both women and nature are exploited, and women cannot be liberated without nature also being free from the exploitation and the patriarchal grasp. Ecofeminist intersectionality looks at the oppression of women and nature and acknowledges that women are more likely to be affected by ecological deterioration (Kings 2017). By looking at ecofeminism through an intersectionality lens, then the association and connection of women, humans and nature can be assessed and understood in a way that can improve both nature and the livelihood of women (Kings 2017). In order for women and nature to be liberated, intersectionality can be used to look at the connection of women and nature as well as a combination of age, gender, race, religion, sexuality and class while seeing how all of these categories are interlinked and influenced by one another (Kings 2017). 

 

Works Cited:

Ferrara, E. (2014). Rachel Carson – Undersea. Visions for Sustainability 3:62-67. DOI: 10.7401/visions.03.06

Kings, A.E. “Intersectionality and the Changing Face of Ecofeminism.” Ethics & the Environment, vol. 22 no. 1, 2017, p. 63-87. Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/article/660551.

If women are in positions of political power, then there is a greater chance that there will be more support towards environmental protection. In Gender Equality and State Environmentalism by Kari Norggard and Richard York, they found that with more women in Parliament, then environmental treaties are more likely to be ratified (Norgaard, York 506). Through various studies, they show a contrast between men’s and women’s views for “environmental concern, values and perceptions of environmental risks” (Noorgard, York 508). Across the world, women and girls have more environmental awareness than boys and men. Regarding environmental values and beliefs between genders, it was concluded that “German and Russian girls had higher levels of environmental awareness than boys; in Australia, girls exhibited greater environmental responsibility than did boys when socioeconomic levels were held constant and in Norway…” it was found that “boys and girls were equally concerned about the environment” but “…girls were more likely to join environmental organizations” (Norgaard, York 509). It could be stated that through socialization, women are typically looked at as caretakers, providing a nurturing, family-oriented nature (Norgaard, York 508). Therefore, the connection between women, nature, and overall environmental concerns are more interconnected than that of man (Noorgard, York 508). Since women are more connected to nature, they are more likely to support the protection of our environment. Whether it is toxic substances poisoning our planet, or nuclear power, women are more likely to take a stand and consider the risks that threaten our people and earth (Noorgard, York 508). 

Women make up the majority of both grassroots movements and environmental organizations which could be linked to the “gendered divisions of labor, land and other resources,” which means that “women have been uniquely and disproportionately affected by ecological destruction” (Noorgard, York 507). Due to the sexism, as well as poverty and racism that plagues our country and around the globe, high-powered, dominant groups and individuals subject the people below them to the destruction of the environment and its hazardous effects (Noorgard, York 510). It has been shown that the patriarchy and capitalism are both suppressive, ecologically unsustainable and exploit both women and the environment. 

After reading about how women are the majority of grassroots efforts and environmental organizations, I looked into women in positions of political power and their influence on the environment. I came across an organization called Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA). The WEA is led by women, and they use grassroots solutions to help protect the environment as well as strengthen communities. The WEA recognizes that women are pivotal in rising against climate change. One woman from Central Kalimantan, Palangka Raya, Indonesia, helps educate and raise awareness on plastic pollution, climate action, forestry problems and helps to coordinate events of Dayak traditions and culture in order to help cultivate pride (WEA). Her name is Sumarni Laman and she is the manager at Ranu Welum for communications and public relations, a youth coordinator for Ranu Welum, a Field Coordinator of the Heartland Project and Guardian of Kalimantan Rainforest (WEA). Within The Heartland Project, Laman was able to bring in over a thousand people to help plant more than 2,500 trees (WEA). The trees are planted on land that was previously forest but was destroyed from burning or it was mined (WEA). Below is an image of Sumarni Laman.

Another woman from the Women’s Earth Alliance is Rose Wamalwa who is the East African program director where she is a Fellow for the Global Women’s Water Initiative (WEA). To this day, Wamalwa works for climate justice for women in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya (WEA). Wamalwa also founded an organization called Women in Water and Natural Resources Conservation (WEA). This organization helps to uplift and improve the lives of women, girls and vulnerable children in East Africa by helping them gain access to health care, education and “capacity building for economic empowerment” (WEA). Wamalwa is deeply interested and invested in women’s empowerment, leadership, community and social entrepreneurship (WEA).

Below is an image of Rose Wamalwa. 

 

 As stated above from Gender Equality and State Environmentalism by Kari Norggard and Richard York, women are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, and “make up 80% of the world’s climate refugees and are 14 times more likely to die in a climate-related disaster than men” (WEA). The imagery above shows a representation of the interconnection of women across the world. The web indicates that women are standing together and are connected to each other as well as nature, fighting for environmental justice and working towards equality within the patriarchal and capitalist world we live in. 

 

Works Cited: 

Norgaard, Kari., & York, Richard. Gender Equality and State Environmentalism. Gender & Society. August. 2005. https://pages.uoregon.edu/norgaard/pdf/Gender-Equality-Norgaard-York-2005.pdf

Women’s Earth Alliance. Womens Earth Alliance, Earth Island Institute, 24 Jan. 2023, https://womensearthalliance.org/.

Over the course of my life, I have heard the term “sex sells” in movies, tv shows, and everyday conversation between peers. However, at what cost? In today’s patriarchal society, women, people of color and nonhuman animals are looked at as something to be “consumed” by the white male who is the “consumer” (Kemmerer). 

Carol J. Adams is a feminist, advocate for animal rights, and an author.  In an interview with Adams by Annie Potts, Adam’s discusses nine feminist-vegan points, one of which states that “Women are animalized, and animals are sexualized and feminized” (Potts 13). In today’s food advertising culture, companies use sexual imagery and “objectification/fragmentation/consumption” to appeal to the male gaze and desires in order to sell their products and sexually exploit woman (Potts 13). As stated in last week’s blog post, the consumption of meat is seen as “manly” and “masculine”, therefore advertisements will target the male’s eye by including sexual imagery for the consumer. In the image below, it shows a man with chicken wings on a table below him. Looking at the man, in his right hand he is holding a woman’s calf and in the left hand it is assumed that he is pouring salt onto her calf. The woman’s leg is held close to the man’s mouth looking as if he is about to take a bite out of her.  By depicting the woman’s leg as a “piece of meat” it highlights the inequality, sexism, sexual violence that occurs in Western society. This image is one example of the “consumed” and the “consumer”. 

In the two images below, one depicts a company called “Buns N’ Thighs” and a picture of a chicken winking at the onlooker, standing in a flirtatious way. The other image shows only the legs of a woman in fishnet leggings and red high heels, while the top of the woman is a burger and a thought bubble that states “Eat Me”. This can be related to Adam’s term ‘anthropornography’, coined from Amie Hamlin, in The Pornography of Meat, where images of domesticated animals are shown in a way that is “sexually inviting… so that the body wanting to be consumed” is “explicitly represented” (Potts 14). 

“The sexualization of animals and the sexual objectification of women thus overlap and reinforce one another” -Carol J. Adam’s

After seeing all of the sexist ads on Carol Adam’s site, I started to look for other ads that are out there, exploiting woman and nature. I stumbled upon a post called “11 Depressingly Real Examples of Sexism in Meat Marketing” on the PlenteousVeg website. Diane Vukovic, the author of the article, who also references The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams, posted this image below from a Burger King ad.  The text stating, “It’ll blow your mind away” has sexual implications along with the photo of a white woman opening her mouth to the sandwich. This image shows not only the women being sexually exploited but is presented by the artist as “sexually consumable” (Potts 14). 

We live in a world where privilege protects privilege and “even if the world of slavery ended, the conceptual world that co-existed with slavery and allowed slavery to exist, lives on” (Potts 19). Humans look at the enslaved live animals as consumable items and we will butcher them for meat knowing that how we treat animals will not be the fate of humans (Potts 19). Women are weighed down by their gender, and the same could be stated for female nonhuman animals. Female nonhuman animals are looked at to reproduce, produce dairy products and eggs and continue the “objectification/fragmentation/consumption” cycle (Potts 13). Therefore, it can be stated that “if animals are burdened by gender, by gendered associations, by the oppression that is gender, then clearly they can’t be liberated through representations that demean women” such as all the images shown above (Potts 20). One way that Adams believes that we could stop this inequality ravaging the nation is for the United States government to stop “subsidizing meat eating and dairy products” making it more expensive and potentially deterring customers from buying (Potts 21). We can survive without eating meat and instead adopt a vegan lifestyle. Humans are connected to nonhuman animals whether they would like to admit it or not. Therefore, highlighting these means of oppression, sexual inequalities and species inequalities will help to liberate both women and animals in this patriarchal society that we live in.

 

Works Cited: 

Kemmerer, Lisa. The Pornography of Meat by Carol Adams. Philosophy Now. 2006.

Potts, Annie. The Politics of Carol J. Adams. Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture. 12-24.

Vukovic, Diane. 11 Depressingly Real Examples of Sexism in Meat Marketing. PlanteousVeg. 2021.

 

For some, this image shown above could be seen as innocent. At first glance, I saw an animation of a figure wearing a chef’s hat cutting up what looks to be a ham. However, as I continued to stare, I noticed the size of the chef in the photo and how it compared to the size of the meat. He also has his foot proudly standing on the chopping board as if he’s claiming something. Continuing to break down the photo, I started thinking about the tools the chef was using. A nice, wooden chopping board with a steak knife holding down the meat, while the chef used another steak knife to cut the slices. It reminded me of kitchen utensils found in a modern Western kitchen and the meat looked as if it was bought in a grocery store, opposed to people in different countries and cultures who, when killing an animal, will use all parts of the animal, not just one piece. I also thought of the knife going through the meat as being “stuck” which can be compared to the continuous cycle of the meat production cycle. Reproducing the animals, feeding them different kinds of antibiotics and estrogen, bringing them to the slaughter and then selling them in our stores. In the image, the meat is being sliced thinly, which I compared to the mass production of cattle, pigs, ducks, sheep, fish, shellfish, chickens and turkeys that are killed per year for food. It made me think of sandwich meat, something that can be found in hundreds of kid’s lunch boxes or a ham and cheese sandwich readily available in the sandwich section of a grocery store, being bought without a second thought of where it came from or the treatment that the animals were subjected to in order to create that sandwich.

Even though the chef in the image seems to be ambiguous regarding its sex, when I saw the chef cutting the meat, I immediately thought of the chef being a male. Perhaps that is because of the gender stereotypes that come along with dietary choices. In Meat Heads: New Study Focuses on How Meat Consumption Alters Men’s Self-Perceived Levels of Masculinity by Zoe Eisenberg, Eisenberg states that with the consumption of meat, comes being perceived as more “manly” (Eisenberg). Eisenberg also compares what a woman eats when going out to a restaurant to what a man eats, which is typically some kind of meat, like a steak, for a man and salad for a woman (Eisenberg). A vegan blog creator named Ayinde Howell, compared the consumption of meat to smoking cigarettes (Eisenberg). Both have been looked at as being “manly” in society, the more you consume, the more of a man you become (Eisenberg). In today’s society, “women in patriarchal cultures are especially valuable because women, more than men, experience the effects of culturally sanctioned oppressive attitudes toward the appropriate shape of the body” (Curtin). There is so much social pressure put on women to act a certain way, have a certain body type, follow specific diets, wear certain clothing and put on make-up every day or else someone will ask, “are you tired?” From these ideologies that women have to look and act a certain way, what they eat also comes into factor. As stated above regarding women eating salads on a night out opposed to a man eating a steak, there are other foods that would follow this pattern. For example, regarding gendered eating practices, women are looked at to consume fresh fruits and vegetables, make healthy smoothies and follow the latest trends and extreme diets such as drinking apple cider vinegar to get “skinnier,” whereas a man can eat a plethora of meat products such as chicken, steaks, burgers, ribs, wings and hot dogs without adding the weight of societal expectations and constraints. After looking at gendered foods and what was socially acceptable for men to say, eat or do compared to women, it reminded me that “feminists and ecofeminists alike have noted the ways that animal pejoratives are used to dehumanize women, point to the linguistic (and thus conceptual) linkage of women and animals in such derogatory terms for women as “sow,” “bitch,” “pussy,” “chick,” “cow,” “beaver,” “old bat,” and “bird-brain” (Gaard 20). I remember when I first learned where the term “bitch” came from. After figuring out the origin of the word, I was stunned at how popular of a term it was, and how people could stand to use it in their everyday lingo so loosely. 

“To be a pet is to have all one’s life decisions controlled by someone else: when and what to eat, how to act, whom to socialize with, whether or not to reproduce. If the situation were offered to humans, we’d call it slavery” -Greta Gaard

Looking at non-human animals from an ecofeminist perspective, they are constrained by our human sense of time and schedules, doing what we tell them to do when we want them to do it; the “suffering of animals” and the “care for animals” can be linked between “sexism and speciesism, between the oppression of women and the oppression of animals” (Gaard 20).  In this patriarchal world that we live in, choosing the food we put in our bodies pushes back against conformity and “resist ideological pressures to conform to patriarchal standards” and become once again, wild (Curtin).

 

 

Works Cited:

Curtin, Deane. Toward an Ecological Ethic of Care. Contextual Moral Vegetarianism. Hypathia. 1991. 68-71. http://www.animal-rights-library.com/texts-m/curtin01.htm

Eisenberg, Zoe. The Lusty Vegan. Meatheads: New Study Focuses on How Meat Consumption Alters Men’s Self-Perceived Levels of Masculinity. HuffPost. 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/meat-heads-new-study-focuses_b_8964048

Gaard, Greta. Ecofeminism on the Wing: Perspectives on Human-Animal Relations. Women & Environments. 2001. 19-22. https://www.academia.edu/2489929/Ecofeminism_on_the_Wing_Perspectives_on_Human-Animal_Relations

As Terry Williams states in Home Work, “each of us belongs to a particular landscape, one that informs who we are, a place that carries our history, our dreams, holds us to a moral line of behavior that transcends thought,” and my childhood backyard is mine (Williams 19). This is where I played until dark as a kid on summer days, where I climbed trees and made fairy houses using only what I could find in nature. It is where I helped my mother raise chickens and create vegetable gardens. It is where my love for nature and being in nature first began. Behind the fence and our clothesline lies a corn and vegetable field and beyond that, a forest. In the field there is all sorts of wildlife, from turkeys and deer, to foxes, fisher cats, and coyotes. I would explore for hours in the thick of the corn, making my way to the trails in the woods. On my way home, I would take squash that was forgotten after the harvest, or pumpkins to carve in the October months. It is where I would ride my bike through the trails and during summer nights. If I rode my bike at night during the peak of firefly season, I would be surrounded with hundreds of fireflies that would light up the sky in a truly magical way. Down the road is a pond, and in the winter months it was a place to ice skate on the rugged terrain or to just look through the ice and see another world in the cold water below. This is the place where I fell in love with a Mourning Doves song and fall asleep to the sound of crickets. Bell Hooks stated in Touching the Earth that “when we love the Earth, we are able to love ourselves more fully” and I couldn’t agree more. Growing up in a home with open spaces and trees right in my backyard made me the person I am today. It made me someone who needs a walk in nature in order to decompress and feel like myself again. It made me someone who appreciates the softness of moss, and the smell of eucalyptus trees, someone who wants to preserve the nature around me. I feel privileged to be someone who grew up with people in my life who were also connected to nature and who were always outside exploring. Although some people are comforted by the sound of cars and construction in the city, I feel suffocated and restless. The towering skyscrapers, the smell of gas and waste, the materialistic shops, the people always rushing from place to place. 

Barbra Kingsolver states in Knowing Our Place that “people will need wild places. Whether or not they think they do, they do. They need to experience a landscape that is timeless, whose agenda moves at the pace of speciation and ice ages” (Kingsolver 2). 

“Once strengthened by our association with the wild, we can return to family and community” -Terry Williams

I remember one year in particular when our new neighbors arrived. Lining our property from theirs was a row of tall cedar trees. It made me feel as though our house was secluded in nature. Due to the trees’ close proximity to each other, if you were to crawl through the low hanging branches it created a little hideout inside the trees. It was somewhere where you could be surrounded by nature. It’s somewhere where I felt at peace. However, my neighbors wanted to cut them down, and since the trees technically laid on their side of the property, there was nothing I could do about it. I told my parents I would tie myself to the trees or leave them a note saying how much it meant to me that those trees were still standing, but to no avail. A few years later, after a distressed thirteen-year-old me was still upset by the falling of my cedar trees, they ended up planting new ones. Although this instance is a smaller scale as to what’s happening out in the world in mass occurrences, I believe it can be related on a much smaller scale regarding preservation and the bedrock democracy as William states. 

I always wondered if people could just get out of the city and see the natural wonders of the world and listen to stories of the importance of nature to the health of the planet and the people that rely on it, if it would change humanity as a whole. I believe everyone needs nature, to be outside or just have fresh air pour through a window, to listen to the birds, see the constellations and feel the wind press against their skin. The tranquility that nature provides brings someone back to themself. Williams states that “place + people = politics” and although it is defined as a “simple equation” there are aspects that are anything but simple (Williams 3). There are people in this world that look at land and use it as their trash can, or in the West for example there is “increasing off-road vehicle use, threats of oil and gas drilling, and State Institutional Trust Lands being sold to the highest bidder, leading to the escalation of trophy homes, gated communities, and luxury resorts often near the boundaries of national parks and wilderness areas (Williams 14). People take for granted the ground on which we walk, we can’t do anything we want with it. 

 

Works Cited:

Hooks, Bell. Touching the Earth. 363-368.

Kingsolver, Barbra. Knowing Our Place. 1-2. 

Williams, Terry. Home Work. Red. 3-19. 

Environmental Degradation in the Global South

In the Global South, women have suffered due to environmental degradation. Women in tribes and villages, as well as women who are poor or impoverished, are the ones who gather fodder, fuel, food, fiber, manure, bamboo, medicinal herbs, oils, materials for building houses, resin, gum, honey, spices, and handicrafts, and therefore, are most impacted by environmental degradation (Agarwal 126). The women are also the ones who have an abundance of knowledge pertaining to nature, which was passed down from their mothers for generations (Agarwal 126). This knowledge includes knowing which plants are nutritional and medicinal, and different roots and trees that would help save populations who rely on plants, especially in the wake of climate catastrophes (Agarwal 142). By depleting Third World women’s resources in nature, it takes away what they need to stay alive (Agarwal 124). 

A quote from the tribal people of Orissa: “earlier women would rely on their neighbors in times of need. Today this has been replaced with a sense of alienation and helplessness” – (Agarwal 142)

Over half of the land in India was on the decline because of the damage India’s environment was facing, “especially water and wind erosion” (Agarwal 130). The degradation comes in forms of disappearing forests, water sources being exhausted, and the soil conditions deteriorating (Agarwal 130). 

Soil conditions are deteriorating due to the use of chemical fertilizers (Agarwal 130). Chemical fertilizers and the use of pesticides runoff into different water sources, causing massive damage to fish life as well as polluting water that humans use (Agarwal 130). Drinkable water has also become problematic because they have become dry as well as become unusable in general (Agarwal 130). This is because in several regions, the groundwater levels have dropped without the ability to make them rise again (Agarwal 130). 

Forests produce a livelihood for the people who are dependent, which in India, is about thirty million people (Agarwal 129). Back in the 1980’s, it was shown from satellite imaging that the forests were “declining at an estimated rate of 1.3 million hectares a year” (Agarwal 130). The clearing of trees is the result of expansion of coffee and tea plantations, which results in an increase of the “government’s land revenue base” (Agarwal 142). By clearing trees, this causes resources for local people to be lost, as well as pit local populations and forestry officials against each other (Agarwal 142). Because of deforestation, it erodes “a whole way of living and thinking” (Agarwal 142). 

Vandana Shiva, a physicist, philosopher and the director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy in Dehra Dun, saw the effects that deforestation had in the Himalayan Forest where she grew up (London). Shiva recalls in an interview that streams and forests were being depleted which led to Shiva joining the Chipko movement head on (London). Shiva worked with the “peasant women” to learn what the forest meant to them and the uses the earth provided for them such as medicinal plants, fodder and firewood (London). Shiva’s father was a “scientifically trained forester” however the local woman still knew more about the ecosystem and forest than him as well as any other trained forester (London). 

The photo below is of Vandana Shiva.

Image Credits: ​​​​Dr. Vandana Shiva’s Decades-Long Environmental Activism is Rooted in Health of All Beings | UC Global Health Institute (universityofcalifornia.edu)

Within the Chipko movement, women were successful on multiple occasions regarding saving forests. When it comes to defending the trees and forests, gender plays a role in what men versus women want to protect. For example, during the Chipko movement, a potato-seed farm wanted to be implemented, however that would mean cutting down an oak forest in Dongri Paintoli village (Agarwal 148). It would also mean that fuel and fodder collection from women would be gone, as well adding more travel to get these resources by five kilometers (Agarwal 148). Men wanted the potato-seed farm because it would make them money, whereas women wanted to protect trees because it provided for the community (Agarwal 148). Men also are more likely to protect the trees that would make them more money, whereas women prioritized trees that would provide for their livelihood (Agarwal 148). 

The photo below is of women in India protecting a forest. 

Image Credit: ​​​Chipko movement – Wikipedia

Ecofeminism is a range of different perspectives. Although both perspectives look at the oppression of women and the oppression of the environment, within the Western perspective as looked at by Laura Hobgood-Oster in Ecofeminism: Historic and International Evolution, ecofeminism challenges social and political structures rather than the individuals (Hobgood-Oster 2). By liberating women from androcentric thinking and from the patriarchy, then both woman and nature are free.

Regarding Western and non-Western perspectives of thinking, there are commonalities and differences between the two. Within both perspectives, they are still shifting and evolving. Non-Western environmentalism, as seen from above, looks more at the relationship between nature and humanity and that there are “important connections between the combination and oppression of women and the domination and exploitation of nature” (Agarwal 120). Women specifically, are symbolically linked to nature and are closer to nature than men who identify more with culture as stated by Sherry Ortner (Agarwal 120). Of the two perspectives, Bina Agarwal’s perspective of ecofeminism has had a greater impact on how I think of ecofeminism, feminism, and the environment, as well as intrigues me to learn more about the connection of women to earth. 

 

Works Cited:

Agarwal, B. (1992). The Gender and Environment Debate: Lessons from India. Feminist Studies, 18(1), 119–158. https://doi.org/10.2307/3178217

Hobgood-Oster, Laura. (2002). Ecofeminism: Historic and International Developments. Southwestern University. 1-18.

London, S. (2016). In the Footsteps of Gandhi: An Interview with Vandana Shiva. Global Research. other, Global Research. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.globalresearch.ca/in-the-footsteps-of-gandhi-an-interview-with-vandana-shiva/5505135.

Many of us have probably heard of the term “mother-earth” to describe our planet that lies in the milky way galaxy, located in the vastness that is outer space. Over the course of history, women and nature have been entangled in intimate ways. Women and earth are caregivers, providing the essential building blocks for life. Women were also more likely known as healers and gatherers throughout history, using plants to heal in medicinal ways. In regard to ecofeminism, the image below is of a mountain range in Huahine, Tahiti, which resembles a pregnant woman. The Tahitian word for woman is vahine which the word Huahine is a variation of. Huahine, Tahiti is described as a fertile land full of life, which the Huahine mountain range encapsulates. The preservation of this land is imperative, not only to the local population that resides there, but the history that is connected to the Tahitians original ancestors and a pivotal place of French Polynesian culture.  

Just as a tree’s rings resemble the fingerprints taken from a human finger, we as people who walk this earth are deeply connected to nature and can find connections everywhere we look. 

Image credits: https://xdaysiny.com/huahine-travel-guide-french-polynesia/page/2/?viewfull=1

What is Ecofeminism?

Within the term “ecofeminism” there is not a single, definite theory. As Laura Hobgood-Oster describes ecofeminism in an essay called Ecofeminism: Historic and International Evolution, it is “multi-faceted and multi-located, challenging structures rather than individuals” (Hobgood-Oster 2).  Ecofeminism started to come to light during the 1970s-1980s and is a cultivation of activism, environmentalism and feminism (Hobgood-Oster 2).  Throughout time, our environment has become oppressed by mankind, as well as oppressing the woman who walk this earth. Ecofeminism looks to change this by looking at how woman can be liberated from the patriarchal oppression and androcentric thinking. Therefore, it could be stated that with the liberation of woman means nature too is liberated and when nature is free, so is woman. Ecofeminism will continue to grow in different ways and aspects, focusing on more current and prominent issues as time ticks on (Hobgood-Oster 15). 

Back in 1975, right when Ecofeminism was being introduced to the world, a women’s group was formed due to woman speaking out about their own history and experiences which was shared with other woman and people at the “first Pacific Women’s Conference” that was held in Suva, Fiji (Danielson). Although Tahiti is brimming with life, due to immigrants coming to the island looking for work, as well as military development such as nuclear testing, the population increased rapidly causing harm to the environment and the people living there (Danielson). The construction caused the coastal regions and once pristine lagoons in Tahiti to become filled with pesticides as well as sewage (Danielson). Health problems began to increase within the local population including miscarriages, leukemia, tumors were found more frequently in patients’ brains and thyroid infections increased (Danielson).  Looking at animal rights activism is another part of ecofeminism (Hobgood-Oster 14). The wildlife in Tahiti was being poisoned and algal bloom started occurring (Danielson). This caused ciguatera fish poisoning which six hundred residents on Mangareva Island passed away from (Danielson).

Regarding Polynesian women, they were looked at as “unclean” and “inferior”, and they don’t have a say when it comes to politics or the economy (Danielson). Therefore, by women participating in Pacific Women’s conference their voices were heard and their history and knowledge was shared to other people suffering their same fate. Ultimately, their movement helped spread information about nuclear testing and the impact it had on their livelihood, resulting in their movement gaining traction to provide a better future for themselves and the environment (Danielson).

“Gender is also fundamental in understanding human interaction with the environment and with respect to natural resources”

                                               – Sarah Mvududu 

Below is a photo of the 13th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women

Image credits:  UN Women/Terri O’Q

 

Work Cited:

Danielson M. T. (1993). Problems in paradise: the case of Tahiti. INSTRAW news: women and development, (19), 47–52.

Hobgood-Oster, Laura. (2002). Ecofeminism: Historic and International Developments. Southwestern University. 1-18.

Huahine. Tahiti. (2023).  https://www.tahiti.com/island/huahine