Ecofeminism

French writer Françoise d'Eaubonne coined the term in a 1974 book

Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism and political ecology. Ecofeminist thinkers draw on the concept of gender to analyse the relationships between humans and the natural world.[1] The term was coined by the French writer Françoise d'Eaubonne in her book Le Féminisme ou la Mort (1974).[2][3] Ecofeminist theory asserts a feminist perspective on Green politics that calls for an egalitarian, collaborative society in which there is no one dominant group.[4] Today, there are several branches of ecofeminism, with varying approaches and analyses, including liberal ecofeminism, spiritual/cultural ecofeminism, and social/socialist ecofeminism (or materialist ecofeminism).[4] Interpretations of ecofeminism and how it might be applied to social thought include ecofeminist art, social justice and political philosophy, religion, contemporary feminism, and poetry.

Ecofeminist analysis explores the connections between women and nature in culture, economy, religion, politics, literature and iconography, and addresses the culturally constructed parallels between the oppression of nature and the oppression of women. These parallels include, but are not limited to, seeing women and nature as property, seeing men as the curators of culture and women as the curators of nature, and how men dominate women and humans dominate nature. Ecofeminism emphasizes that both women and nature must be respected.[5]

Though the scope of ecofeminist analysis is dynamic,[6] American author and ecofeminist Charlene Spretnak has offered one way of categorizing ecofeminist work: 1) through the study of political theory as well as history; 2) through the belief and study of nature-based religions; 3) through environmentalism.[7]

  1. ^ MacGregor, Sherilyn (2006). Beyond mothering earth: ecological citizenship and the politics of care. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-7748-1201-6.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Merchant was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Glazebrook, Trish (September 2002). "Karen Warren's Ecofeminism". Ethics & the Environment. 7 (2): 12–26. doi:10.2979/ETE.2002.7.2.12. S2CID 144641656.
  4. ^ a b Merchant, Carolyn (2005). "Ecofeminism". Radical Ecology. Routledge. pp. 193–221.
  5. ^ Adams, Carol (2007). Ecofeminism and the Sacred. Continuum. pp. 1–8.
  6. ^ "Ecofeminist Movements" (PDF).
  7. ^ Spretnak, Charlene (1990). "Ecofeminism: Our Roots and Flowering". In Diamond, Irene; Ornstein, Gloria (eds.). Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Feminism. Sierra Club Books. pp. 3–14.

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