Eco-Feminism 101

Hunger was the fisherman

who said dolphins are like women,

we took them from the sea

and had our way with them.

Ecofeminism is a movement that seeks and exposes the connection between the repression of women and the environment; views it as interlinked and rooted in patriarchal structures. The term was coined by Francoise d’Eubonne in 1974 and encompasses a variety of feminist perspectives. Also understood as an essentialist thought process, ecofeminism attempts to equate women with nature. The oppression of women and the destruction of the natural environment as well as the masculine capitalizing of both is an expressive concern of ecofeminism. Finding solutions to the violation of women and nature is another concern under ecofeminist theory. Thus, ecofeminism approaches the different understandings of the condition of women and nature, largely under the hands of masculine forces owing to historical phenomenons such as capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy.

Broadly there are three claims on which the connection of women and nature is based — an empirical, conceptual, and epistemological claim. The empirical claim shows that in the name of the development of science and technology the firsthand victim of the impact of environmental deterioration is woman because of her close association and dependency on nature. The conceptual claim describes the construction of society “hierarchical” and “dualist”, this reveals patriarchal ideologies as both the root causes of domination of women and the exploitation of nature. The epistemological claim centers on knowledge of nature, according to which women have historically favored sustainable and renewable agriculture, and are saviors of nature.

Like all other schools of thought, diversity in thought and challenges in philosophizing the concept prevails in ecofeminism, too. Radical, liberal, psychoanalytic, socialist, post-structuralist are some of its strands. However, despite the differences, all ecofeminists agree that the destruction of the natural environment is politically analogous to the continued domination of women as the culture-nature duality exhibits itself in the male-female polarity.

I will gaze on where your shaman eyes

blur all passages to my view

and in their cunning secret dark

erect a wall around that world

There are different scopes of ecological schools of thought that have encompassed the general discourse like that of feminism, sexuality, philosophy, and spirituality. Scopes such as ecosexuality, ecosophy, and eco spirituality focus on the relationship between nature and different aspects of human species. Ecosexuality or sexecology urges people to explore our natural environment, our planet as a lover rather than an object to exploit. It invites people to manifest their activism and care towards the planet in a sexy and diverse manner, ranging from natural fetishism to sexual gratification from the planet’s natural bounties. The planet becomes a lover, contrasting the general understanding of the planet as mother. Ecosophy is a portmanteau between ecology and philosophy.The thought paradigms underlining the relationship between nature and human species is the foremost concern in ecosophy. Ecospirituality connects ecology with spirituality and focuses on developing a spiritual connection with the planet. Many ancient cultures are known for worshipping the planet as divine; this has got lost and buried with the advancement of technology and the mechanical approach towards the planet’s resources. The recognition of the essential and the inherent value of biotic things has been a key characterization of this school. That no natural inanimate thing is without energy or life is basic to ecospirituality. It involves intuition and awareness in cultivating a spiritual connection to the Earth.

There are some tenets of human relationship with ecology which are not as positive or desirable. If you’ve ever felt a choking grip of anxiety and worry about your future and that of your loved ones, at the sight of news of melting glaciers, coral reef death, wildlife disappearance, landscape alteration, climate change on your tv screens or local dailies, you have experienced eco-grief. This sense of profound loss is a result of the global environment changing at a warp speed. Millions of people are affected every year due to climate change, their lives are drastically altered, their livelihoods are uprooted, and the socio-economic and environmental systems that they depended on are continually being degraded. However, this burden of keeping up with changing lives is marked by gross inequity. Women have been proved to suffer more as mostly, the weight of providing means of consumption (food through agriculture, water etc.) and care-work falls on women. Most of them are subject to severe mental health implications like PTSD, ecological anxiety (wrt. the future of their children and safety of their family along with the ecosystem) and grief associated with anticipated future losses.

As we successfully push our planet into a new geological era called Anthropocene, we must realise that our actions not only impact the environment in isolation, instead each of us is affected, and some more than others. The dystopia of eco-apartheid, the systemic separation of humans from nature, lurks around the corner. Gender, race, class, caste differences are key drivers of this insecurity.

Women have been viewed as ‘closer to nature’ by eco-feminists and essentialists, as Rosemary Fonseca argues, ‘the female tendency to be a giver and gentle is echoed in nature’s qualities to provide everything necessary for survival’. While we do not endorse this argument, it is imperative to point out that studies have demonstrated that climate change and ecological degradation affect different social identities unequally, often disadvantaging women.

Countless mass movements aimed at saving the ecosystem from degradation have stemmed from women’s collective resolution. The Bishnoi movement led by Amrita Devi and about 363 others from her community, in the early 1700s, led to their deaths but also set a precedent with the legislation designating the area as protected. In 1973, the women of Advani Village in Uttrakhand hugged trees while facing police firings and birthed the Chipko movement. The Save Silent Valley of Kerala, Jungle Bachao Andolan of Bihar, the Appiko Movement of Uttar
Kannada and Narmada Bachao Andolan have all witnessed countless women breaking the confines of their domestic life to robustly protest for the future of their families. Contemporarily, Save Dehing-Patkai, Save Aarey, Save the Sundarbans and Climate Action Strike movements also demonstrate this collective will. Women all over the world stand on the shoulders of feminists before them and their movements echo the concerns in place for years.

How often did you visit this fair tree,

Which seeming joyful in receiving thee,

Would like a palm tree spread his arms abroad,

Desirous that you there should make abode;

Whose fair green leaves much like a comely veil.

Like every other theory, ecofeminism is not immune to criticism. One of the main critiques of ecofeminism is the label of ‘essentialism’ it tags women and their relationship with nature with. It is due to essentialism that patriarchy and misogyny have for so long dominated over both women and nature. When we describe ecofeminism as an essential characteristic defining women, we do not do justice to the claims of homogeneity it brings women fighting for liberation and personal choice. Further, it links women with nature on the aspect of procreation that is considered ‘essential’ and ‘natural’ to both. However, it is important to understand that different women are aligned to the concept of procreation differently. The patriarchal system has tried its best to make women ‘naturally’ align with reproducing babies for vested interests and in some ways, ecofeminism does the same.

Ecofeminism has also been criticised for its over-emphasis on the mystical connection between nature and women, as opposed to the actual, real-time conditions of women, rendering the movement defenceless against stagnation. Instead, as the intersectional strands of the feminist movement acquire representation and popularity, a parallel movement called Intersectional Environmentalism also emerges. Intersectional Environmentalism was born from colliding social and green movements — namely, Black Lives Matter and the youth climate strikes in 2019 and 2020. While the former exposes the repression of women and the environment rooted in patriarchy, the latter seeks the connections between injustices against marginalised communities and the Earth. Intersectional Environmentalism expands and accommodates the discourse against all social injustices sprouting from all identities -indigenous, minority, socio-economically disadvantaged classes etc.- within its purview making it more representational and true to the changing realities of the world. Hence, it becomes mandatory to reflect and question the basis of ecofeminism, and pave the way for intersectional feminism that celebrates all relationships between women and nature.

We see that the path leading us towards understanding our planet and our ecology is adorned with fields helping us perceive new thoughts in our journey. Our duty now becomes to explore and rever such fields in a hope to make a sustainable and an eco-friendly tomorrow!

“You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise” (3–4)

“You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise” (23–24)

About The Authors

Jahanavi Sharma is a student of Political Science at Hindu College. She is an intersectional feminist and enthusiastic about promoting human rights. She is an avid reader, occasional writer and an art enthusiast who loves to travel. She admires all things beautiful in this world and determined to do her bit for an equitable and a dignified world for all.

Mridu Kapoor is a social change maker involved in fights against various social injustices. She is particularly passionate about environmental equity and gender rights. She is a philosophy student, passionate about questioning and knowing. She hopes to do her bit by embracing life. When we embrace life, we become alive. Doing her bit through small steps helps her become alive. She finds the beauty of life in being compassionate and sensitive to others. She wants to spend her time giving it back to nature.