For next
weeks reading it covers how the environment impacts women in a different way
than men. We have not discussed this in class yet, so if any of my ideas and
points are incorrect, please correct me! There are several main points that I got
from the reading. First, is that many people see women as ‘managers’ of the
environment. After all, we do call it ‘Mother Nature’ and ‘Mother Earth’. Women
are seen to be more concerned about environmental issues but tend to be less
active on these issues. The article also talks about how the environment adds
on to the long list of women’s caring roles which are often cheap,
unappreciated, and unrewarded work. The main issues the article proposes for
women is access to water and firewood, effects of natural disasters, and
climate change. Access to natural resources is becoming a women’s problem.
The first
outside resource I would like to bring in is this YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM524nIzQdQ
. This is a short 7-minute clip that covers ecofeminism is a few different aspects.
The first thing they mentioned that I found interesting is that the environment
is a new intersection for women. Environmental exploitation and gender oppression
overlap each other to create this intersectionality. This is essentially what
ecofeminism is all about. Capitalist patriarchy is a term that is also
mentioned in this video which is not something that was immediately brought to
my attention. Capitalist society gives the patriarchal society control over
means of production and the end result. Nature as resources and women as
workers serve as a mean to an end, which is profit. This type of system reinforces
the hierarchy that exists in our society. I found this video to nicely sum up
what our reading was about for next week and highly recommend watching it!
https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/sustainable-development-goals/why-do-sustainable-development-goals-matter/goal-5
This is the next website I would like to talk about. This is the United Nations
Environmental Program website which has so many resources on it. It talks about
gender and what they are doing to try and fix issues that surround the environment.
“Enhancing property rights and access to land and natural resources to women
can contribute to reduce gender inequalities, improve their livelihood options
and poverty status.” In the YouTube video it talks about how women have to walk
about 6 hours a day to find water and firewood. If we can give women access to
natural resources, this would help reduce the labor involved in this. I think
that we take for granted our natural resources. For now, they are plentiful.
However, we know that if we keep going the way that we are, they will soon be
non-existent to an extent. I think that we need to put the focus back into saving
our natural resources but also giving women access to what they need to
survive. No one should benefit off women’s labor, except the women themselves.
Ecofeminism was not something that I ever considered when discussing feminism. But now that it is brought to my attention, I understand why it is such an important topic and want to learn more about it. Of course, I always thought about how the environment, such as location and societal factors, but thinking about how the destruction and lack of protection of the environment never came to thought. You brought up the concept of this new (or what appears to be more prevalent) intersection for women. Not everyone is affected as directly or as drastically by the change and poisoning of the planet and understanding this intersection is something that people need to start considering when discussing the intersectionality. Watching the video, it really clarified the impact of patriarchal capitalism. Again, although I understood the impact at a larger scale, I never took it into consideration with ecofeminism and the environment in general. Basically, the discussion in class and your blog really opened my eyes and I am grateful! The environment is something I am passionate about, and tying it into another very important issue at hand makes me want to explore the topic even more.
ReplyDelete- Maire Simpson
I hadn't heard about ecofeminism until this class, but I'm glad we discussed it because I am already concerned about the environment and this concept brings more awareness to the impacts of the destruction of the earth. I thought the concept of capitalist patriarchy was interesting because capitalism can lead to unfair business practices, globalization that makes the poor poorer while the rich get richer, the draining of important natural resources that women use to care for their families, and the destruction of the environment around people's homes. This also to relates to your quote, "No one should benefit off women’s labor, except the women themselves" since big companies, whose main goal is often to make money without worrying too much about the harmful impacts their practices have, are one of the leading causes of global warming. These negative effects are felt more by women since they are often already impacted more than men in the same society by things like poverty or limited access to education. Since women are affected more, they are more concerned about environmental issues, as stated in the Gender and Environment class reading.
ReplyDelete-Reese Campbell
Recognizing underlying power structures that allow such oppression to occur is important. That's why I really like the term "capitalist patriarchy." Not only does our current system of capitalism place profits over people, it also places profits over the environment. Understanding where they overlap, such as with women and the environment is the first step in dismantling such power structures.
ReplyDeleteStructures like this are often interwoven into the everyday lives of individuals. From a liberal ecofeminist's perspective, working within the system to change laws and regulations surrounding environmental and women's issues would be the best way for change to occur. However, there are many who would argue that for any substantial overhaul of our current economic system and environmental outlook to occur would require those with power in the system to give that power up. Either this, or a complete revolution to restructure our social systems, and I don't really see either of these options happening anytime soon until the general public has a better knowledge of these ideas. Until then, working within the system to not only strengthen women's empowerment, but to also bolster our environmental efforts seems to be the best option.
Thanks for sharing! I had not heard of the term ecofeminism before this class, and now I have a better understanding of what the term means. Gender and the environment has been one of my favorite topics to discuss so far in this course. I personally feel uneducated and take turning on the faucet to retrieve water for granted. Multiple articles we read for class discuss why women are “more” associated with nature just because they are suppose to be the caregivers, they are seen as life giving, and give birth is ridiculous. Reading these articles made me angry! Women everyday are the ones suffering because their hard work is benefiting others besides themselves. The website you attached had a lot of interesting information. It is important to understand when discussing ecofeminism it is not just about gendered environmental activism but human rights activism! Women deserve to be treated just as equally as men. When I clicked on tap #4 Quality Education I was excited to read about the different targets that they are working towards They are not just working towards educating women but they are working towards building and upgrading educational facilities. They want to make sure that these facilities are child, disability, and gender sensitive and that they provide safe, non-violent inclusive and effective learning environments for all!
ReplyDelete-Molly Doyle
Before covering gender and the environment in class, I was completely unfamiliar with the concept of ecofeminism, although I once read an interesting 2016 Vice article that talked about ecosexuality (https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wdbgyq/ecosexuals-believe-having-sex-with-the-earth-could-save-it).
ReplyDeleteI watched the video that you included with your blog post and found it very informative because it covered some things that we didn’t discuss in class. For example, I really liked when the video-maker discussed how the fashion industry has an adverse impact on the environment and women. Like she said in the video, the expansion of the worldwide fashion has immense human and environmental costs. She gave the statistics that 97 percent of garments worn are produced overseas, where 85 percent of garment makers are women. She gave the even more shocking statistic that the average American generates 82 pounds of textile waste a year. I knew that the fashion industry was one of the most polluting in the world, but I had no idea that much pollution was generated on average per person.
When you think about the fashion industry, generally, the individuals who are at the head of large companies are men. With 85 percent of their clothing producers being female, men are exploiting women for profit. With 82 pounds of textile waste generated a year because of the industry, it also means that men are exploiting the environment for profit.
I believe that the fashion industry example in particular brought all of the topics we discussed in class full circle. Because of the capitalist patriarchy, women and the environment are exploited for profit, and it’s unfair. In fashion, one of the things we could do to help the problem is support ethically-sourced clothing companies, especially those run by non-cis-male individuals. Another thing we can do is recycle textiles by donating our old clothing instead of throwing it away. Ultimately, though, the exploitation of the environment and women will never cease unless the powerful lose their power, and who knows when that will actually happen.