Are you an ecofeminist?
Are you an ecofeminist? Do you favour an environmental justice approach? What does one approach offer that the other doesn’t? Or, do you believe that Indigenous feminisms have the most potential to transform human and non-human relations? Reflecting on where you sit can help you consider the differences between these theoretical approaches.
Women and girls are at the forefront of the movement to protect the planet. Greta Thunberg and Mari Copeny (aka Little Miss Flint) have galvanized international movements. Mari Copeny organized for water justice in Flint, Michigan, writing:
“When the water crisis began, all I wanted to do was to fight for my younger siblings, especially my little sister, who would get such bad rashes from the water that she would need to be covered in a special ointment and wrapped in plastic wrap to try to help heal her skin. I wanted to fight for all the kids here that were scared and confused. I wanted to fight for the adults that had to teach the kids that the water was poison.”
Mari Copeny aka Little Miss Flint
Ecofeminists argue that women and girls like Mari Copeny and Greta Thunberg engage in environmental activism out of an ethic of care for the natural world and people, for whom women and girls often take on care responsibilities. Ecofeminists argue that:
“women, more than men are concerned about the elements: air, water, earth, fire. To be able to bear and rear healthy children and to provide their families with nourishing food, adequate clothing, and sturdy housing, women need fertile soil, lush plant life, fresh water, and clean air.”
Rosemarie Tong, “Ecofeminism” (278)
Do you think women and girls have a unique “ethic of care” for other humans and nature? If so, is this the result of socialization or some innate connection to nature? In their emphasis on gender, do ecofeminists pay adequate attention to the relationship between environmental racism and colonialism? Does an environmental justice approach offer a more robust framework? What do you think?
Test Yourself
Discussion Questions
Your task for this module is to work together to identify the differences between ecofeminist, Indigenous feminist, and environmental justice approaches and apply those lenses to a discussion of this article by Sharon J. Reilly in The Narwhal about federal funding for cleanup of oil and gas wells. What kinds of questions would an ecofeminist raise about funding for the cleanup of oil and gas wells? Next, what kinds of questions arise from an Indigenous feminist perspective? Finally, what kinds of questions emerge when we analyze the issue from an environmental justice perspective? If you want, you can offer your perspective on which lens is the most important or valuable for understanding the issue of coal mining in Alberta.
Remember, you are working together on this, so it is not up to you as an individual to answer all of the questions presented here. Your job is to contribute by offering examples from lessons and readings to help your team answer the questions. If you arrive at the conversation after your teammates have provided most of the answers, you can weigh in by: a) summarizing the discussion so far, in your own words; and/or b) explaining why each perspective is important or necessary.
Remember to check into eClass to submit upcoming activities and assignments, participate in the discussion board, and communicate with your instructor.
References
“Canada’s Toxic Chemical Valley (part 1/2)”. 2013. Produced by VICE, August 14, 2013. Youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd_QgMc5B_s
“Canada’s Toxic Chemical Valley (part 2/2)”. 2013. Produced by VICE, August 15, 2013. Youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvQk0lolpz0
Copeny, Mari. 2019. “The Flint Water Crisis Began 5 Years Ago. This 11-Year-Old Activist Knows It’s Still Not Over.” Elle, April 24, 2019. https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a27253797/little-miss-flint-water-crisis-five-years/
“Is Ecofeminism Still Relevant?” 2019. Produced by Our Changing Climate, April 26, 2019. Youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBP0-XUe6bU
Konsmo, Erin Marie, and Pacheco, A.M. Kahealani. 2016. “When Relatives are Violenced.” In Violence on the Land, Violence on Our Bodies, Building an Indigenous Response to Environmental Violence, 20-35. Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA) and Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN). http://landbodydefense.org/uploads/files/VLVBReportToolkit2016.pdf
Riley, Sharon. 2021. “$100 Million in Federal Funding for Cleanup of Alberta Oil and Gas Wells Went to Sites Licensed to CNRL.” The Narwhal, May 7, 2021. https://thenarwhal.ca/cnrl-alberta-oil-gas-wells-cleanup/
Taylor, Dorceta E. 1997. “Women of Color, Environmental Justice, and Ecofeminism.” In Ecofeminism: Women, Culture, Nature, edited by K. Warren, 38–81. Indiana: Indiana University Press.
Tong, Rosemarie. 2018. Feminist Thought, Student Economy Edition: A More Comprehensive Introduction, Fourth Edition. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429493836.
Warren, Karen J. 1990. “The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism.” Environmental Ethics 12 (2):125-146.
Wiebe, Sarah M. 2017. “Toxic Matters: Vital and Material Struggles for Environmental Reproductive Justice.” In Abortion: History, Politics, and Reproductive Justice after Morgentaler, edited by S. Stettner, K. Burnett and T. Hay, 313-33. Vancouver: UBC Press.