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39 Ecofem and Radical Green Thinking
39 Ecofem and Radical Green Thinking
Power is embedded in specific social relations, which allows domination & exploitation
Nature is an object of human desire, rather than a subject of our respect This may be the result of material factors or ideological ones The result is that nature is exploited & ultimately destroyed Second contradiction of capitalism
Radical green philosophies see such domination in human-nature relations, in particular, as a threat & injustice
Thus, the environmental crisis arises out of the class and competitive elements of capitalism, the domination of human by human, and the domination of nature by "man"
Does this, therefore, imply that nature will eventually rise up and overthrow human domination?
Eco-feminism comes out of this philosophical vein, but in several varieties: The domination of women & nature are linked due to
Valuing of both as providing free resources Deep institutionalization of patriarchal relations & property rights of men Emphasis on rationality, which prizes calculation & demeans emotion Naturalizes inferiority of both
Peterson
Motherhood is a social, not just biological, fact Boys reject their relationship with their mother; girls do not Conviction of separateness is a male illusion Knowledge is contextual and embodied/bodily Women measure themselves through relationships & an ethic of care This should be the basis of an ecological ethic
Mellor
Mellor focuses on the gendering of economic systems & effects on the natural world Most economies are dualist & gendered, & devalue womens work ($15-45 trillion/yr.) This is concerned with the human body & basic needs Link of humanity with natural being is thereby diminished Both nature and women are diminished and degraded Provisioning offers an alternative
Dobson
Dobson is contrasting ecologism with ecofeminism Identifies different forms of ecofeminism:
Difference feminism Deconstructive feminism Materialist feminism
Central argument or concern Mother-child relationship = "natural caring" Indigenous women are closer to nature Goddess worship was/is ecofriendly Patriarchy is psychosocially reproduced in individuals Unequal representation of women Unequal distribution of resources to women & children Sex/gendered division of labor subordinates women and nature Science sees nature as female & women as natural Ecofeminisms must be deconstructed so as to not be essentialist
Primary goal Replacement of male-dominated ethical systems Establishing a closer bond with nature Recreate pagan pantheist feminism Eliminate binary socialization of boys & girls Equal political and economic power for women and men Just distribution of resources and power Eliminate domination of women & nature by men Eliminate dominance of rationalism in analysis & action Denaturalize all categories so that power is exposed
Means of achieving goal A society with "mothers of both sexes" Learning beliefs & practices of indigenous women Practice Celtic, Wiccan religions Non-gendered environment in home & elsewhere Affirmative action, political access, economic success Greater access for women to economic resources United struggle to end male domination; womens decolonization Restore holism & organicism to life & action Relentless critique of ideological positions
Critique Only addresses close relationships Tends towards essentialism Anti-rationalist magical thinking Fails to address societys role in reproduction Individualistic; does not address structural issues Distributive justice offers weak structural critique Why should movement coalitions be Green? Here there be dragons! No political program, only critique
Romantic
Joanna Macy
Cultural-religious Psycho-social
Liberal
Karen Warren
Distributionist
Vandana Shiva
Materialist
Mary Mellor
Post-modern
Carolyn Merchant
Post-structural
Nol Sturgeon