Ecofeminism Blog

I am so happy to say we have made it to the last blog of the semester. I want to congratulate everyone on their achievements. We have all worked so hard.

I hope everyone was able to stick with their plans for their praxis. My plans included eliminating the amount of single-use plastic I was using and wasting. I wanted to do this in order to relieve the pressures faced by women when it comes to environmental degradation. The impacts on plastic being in the oceans and polluting our land are insane and some real change needs to happen. I worked really hard to try to reduce my ecological footprint when it comes to plastic use and wanted to share my results with you all.

The Results

Amazon has been my best friend for the past two weeks while working to stop using plastic. A problem I realized I had and likely where the most of my plastic use comes from is by placing leftovers in Ziploc bags. To get myself out of this habit I order thick locking containers that will likely last me a lifetime. While these containers are plastic, they are very different than the flimsy plastic containers you might receive from a restaurant. I find that those plastic containers only survive a few uses and I have had many get destroyed in the dishwasher. These containers are made from polypropylene and tritan and are very durable. In having these containers, I also have managed to stay away from the beloved press and seal that can be used one time and one time only-such a waste, I now know.

As most of you might know, I have a turtle. While he is not a sea turtle, just the thought of turtles made me buy rubber and metal straws. Both straws are durable and easy to clean. The package I bought from Amazon came with so many of each and I have been able to carry them with me on the go. Since take-out is our only option, I have brought them with me in the car and switched out the plastic straw for the metal or rubber one. I did however take the straw the restaurant gave me and I cut it into smaller pieces when I got home. I have seen far too many videos where turtles have had whole straws become lodged into their nose. I cut the straw and disposed of it into its proper recycling container. When restaurants reopen after all of this is, I plan to take my straws with me and use those as opposed to the plastic ones they give you.

I have not gone to any grocery stores lately, so I have not acquired any plastic bags from there. I am honestly kind of glad I have not gone because with the COVID-19 situation, stores are asking that you do not bring in reusable bags. I understand this is for the safety of customers but if I went along with this I would feel as if I were ruining my whole plan.

As far as getting my family on board, I have my younger siblings using the rubber straws. They are younger so they do not quite understand the environmental impacts plastic can have on the environment, so I do think they mostly use them because they are pretty colors. However, if thinking that my rubber straws are pretty keeps a plastic straw out of the ocean, then so be it. The containers have been a huge hit in my house. We have all found it to be so much more pleasant to remove spaghetti from a container than from a plastic bag.

While I am no ecofeminist or at least not to the extent of some, I have decided that I still can help bring about change for women and for the environment in some way. That way, I have mentioned below.

THE IDEA:

An issue we know ecofeminists want to tackle is the oppression faced by women from environmental degradation. Environmental degradation can come from the pollution of air and water, deforestation, and climate change in general. While it might be hard to stop the oppression of women through movements or speaking to the people about the pressure women face every day, I could instead take action to help decrease the levels of environmental degradation we see today. After all, a lot of the climate problems we have today stem from human action. Examples include tearing down trees for more industrial buildings, tossing cigarettes on the ground, throwing trash on the ground, and one I find extremely important is how much humans use single-use plastic and dispose of it improperly.

THE PLAN:

The best place to start the implementation of my plan would be to start with myself. I could think about the amount of plastic I use whether its daily, weekly, monthly. When I think about it, I’ve used Ziploc bags for food and tossed them as soon as the food was gone. Anytime I go out to eat or order take out I use a plastic lid with a plastic straw on the cup. And who can forget the number of plastic bags I throw away after taking multiple trips to Walmart in a week. In stopping myself from wasting single use-plastic I will already be helping limit the environmental impacts plastic wrecks on our planet and the women on our planet. Plastic waste takes up to 1000 years to completely decompose WHEN PROPERLY Disposed Of in landfills after throwing them away. While one might not think that’s how you should properly dispose of them, not all plastic can be recycled. By properly dispose of, I just mean that it hasn’t made its way to our water systems. After changing my habits, my hope would be to change the habits of the rest of my family. Change can’t happen overnight, but small steps can lead us to bigger and better things and hopefully, those things are good for our environment.

In this assignment, it was mentioned that “the personal is political.” While I cannot go vegan for a week due to my own ignorance and love for certain foods, in working to eliminate plastic waste, not only am I taking small steps towards saving animals, but also relieving some of the pressures women face by feeling “environmentally responsible.” From reading studies such as the Norgaard and York study and hearing the achievements catered by women, I felt it was my own personal duty to start being more conscious of my actions and how it affects the environment. After all, from the statistics in the study, when women are left in charge of environmental policy, real change can occur. While I know I won’t be starting another movement such as the Green Belt Movement, I hope to stir up some changes in my own home.

Remember, the world can only hold so much waste. Try not to let single use plastics take over our beautiful planet.

Let me say, I am sitting outside as I type this, and 61 degrees feels so great. Anyways, in this week’s blog, I want to discuss the interconnected web of ecofeminism.

I believe it is only appropriate to define intersectionality for those who may be confused or don’t know what it truly means. Intersectionality is a way of connecting social categories of people or nature and it typically results in some sort of discrimination when people are placed into these different categories. This web or frame could include one’s race, gender, class, etc. Feminists have taken this intersectionality web from it being primarily for “the experience of black women” (Kings 2) and are now using it to examine differences and oppression amongst all women. Ecofeminists, in contrast, are “concerned with understanding the interconnected relationship between the domination of women and the domination of nature” (Kings 16). This makes sense because of the name ECO-Feminists. Within this web, different forms of oppression collide and connect with one another and that is why it could be called a web. As we know from previous readings both women and nature experience oppression and ecofeminists want to view and understand the connections between the two on this web that lead to the oppression. For example, back to the Global South. If something happens and say river water or a water source for families becomes polluted, women now face oppression because they are not able to provide clean and safe water for their family. To also understand why women and nature are oppressed and the connections amongst things, ecofeminists look at class and location. Rather those women are poor, whether they live in the Global South versus the North.

Now taken from another article, some argue that even ecofeminism lacks intersectionality and only focuses on the treatment of white and middle-class people. A need for a movement for black women who face oppression from some of the same environmental problems is needed in order to complete this web of connections between women’s and nature’s oppression. In an ecofeminist web, race should have connections with women and nature and oppression. Without including black women or women of color in this web, we are back to what feels like a hierarchy. Where one’s oppression is more than another’s, or one’s problems come before someone else. That goes against feminism in general. Women are supposed to stick up for each other no matter their race, age, etc.

Now I want to talk about the importance of ecology when it comes to the ecofeminist web of connectivity. In order to disprove a hierarchy, one must start with the nonhuman things. Taken from the class notes “ecofeminist theory seeks to show the connections between all forms of domination, including the domination of nonhuman nature, and ecofeminist practice is necessarily antihierarchical.” Ecology has been said to be a feminist issue. Amongst ecosystems comes another connected web and then those things are connected to humans, specifically women who face some of the same oppressions as nature and ecosystems. Ecofeminists must start with the roots of nature and then connect those to the roots of women to then understand how the connections lead to the oppression of both.

We are one day closer to completing this semester and I absolutely cannot wait. While I have enjoyed my classes thoroughly, this online stuff is not for me. But another day, another blog.

This week I want to talk on the topic of Activism. Activism, as we know, is “policy or action using campaigning to bring about some change.” An example of a type of campaign would first be The Chipko Movement. This movement looked to prevent tearing down of trees in forests. This movement was successful and spread to other parts of the country. What I found that was interesting is that women were the ones in the movement hugging the trees to prevent them from being taken down. I made the connection to the Norgaard and York study in which they said women were the ones expressing the concern for the environment and were more likely to take action if given a stance in environmental policy.

Now that I have talked about activism, I want to talk about the oppression of women and nature. In a few previous blogs, I mentioned women in the Global South experiencing oppression from environmental degradation. In the article Speak Truth to Power, the first sentence states “throughout Africa women hold primary responsibility for tilling the fields, deciding what to plant, nurturing the crops, and harvesting the food” (Maathai 1). Maathai is an activist for women’s rights as well as an environmentalist. Maathai starts this article by showing how women hold high levels of responsibility when it comes to caring and providing for the family. When you look up oppression, oppression is not just unjust or cruel treatment, it is also mental pressure as well as distress. The amount of pressure and distress felt by women to care for their families and hope nothing goes wrong along the way is unreal. Not only in Africa but in countries all over the world. Another example of the oppression of women is noted in Maathai’s article when she speaks about a forester laughing at women wanting to plant trees and not believing that they could accomplish such a task. Towards the end of the article, Maathai mentions how women tried to declare a “freedom corner” in a park that they did not want to be taken away from the people. They were arrested, beaten. Though they did not give up, they were still pressed to leave by authorities. This clearly shows the oppression of women and Maathai makes that clear when she says, “you know, when they attack me, I say this is violence against women” (Maathai 32).

Women are fighters, especially when it comes to environmental degradation and caring for themselves and their loved ones. Through all of the oppression and hate that they experience daily, they never give up and this is shown in the article by Maathai.

Another article written by Ivone Gebara talks about ecofeminism from the views of Latin Americans. She starts by mentioning how hard it is to be a feminist in this society because it is a patriarchal society. This feeds into the oppression of women and is what some ecofeminists work to rid society of. Gebara states that while we are “discussing theories,” different acts of environmental degradation are occurring. Trees are being taken down; rivers are polluted. She speaks of daily life for marginalized and poor women and discusses how life for them is like a prison when faced with the problems they are faced with regarding caring for their families and they don’t have time to formulate a concrete solution to the problems most ecofeminists are trying to target. In a society where all are viewed as equal, nature included, I believe we could see improvement for all. In making women the weak and the responsible, no one is able to focus on problems such as environmental degradation.

Hopefully, everyone is settling into their online courses and continue to have the motivation to get through the semester. I know I am lacking a little bit of that.

In this week’s blog, I wanted to talk about a study analysis conducted by Norgaard and York on state environmentalism and the connection with gender politics and inequality. Norgaard and York based their study analysis on the following question: “Does the degree of gender equality in the political realm within a nation have an impact on state environmental policy? (Norgaard, York 507). When reading the study, it’s so hard not to think about Women in the global south and what we know from previous readings about how they face oppression due to environmental degradation. This comes from the idea mentioned in the study analysis about how nations with more equality for both men and women are to be more prone to protecting the environment. The support for this idea comes from two categories. The first being that women are more likely to look out for the environment when compared to men. The second category states that sexism and environmental degradation are “interconnected.” In different studies completed in different nations, girls were shown to “exhibit more environmental awareness and responsibility than boys” (Norgaard, York 509). If women are put into higher positions in politics, from these studies, it is said that more could be done to improve the environmental policies. Sexism and environmental degradation are two things tied together making it hard for states lacking gender equality to gather and promote better environmental policies. Once again, as shown in some of these studies mentioned by Norgaard and York, with gender equality and women in politics, states and nations would have more support for environmental protection policies.

An important statistic mentioned in the Data and Methods section of the study comes from the rankings of nations. The nations are ranked by level of gender equality and then by state environmentalism. What was found was those states showing the most equality towards women had the highest ranking for state environmentalism. An example mentioned in the results and discussion section of the study regarding Norway. “Norway both had one of the highest percentages of women in parliament in the world at 36.4% and ratified 13 of the 16 treaties” (Norgaard, York 515). Norway gives great life quality for its citizens and puts an end to the patriarchy and capitalism that we might see somewhere like Kuwait for example which is ranked -56.0 for state environmentalism and 0.0 for gender equality. In allowing born nurturers to have a stance in protecting our environment, improvement can and will be seen.

Before I sign off for this week, I wanted to include two examples that also support the stance of Norgaard and York with the connection between women in politics and state environmentalism.

The first example is another study called Bread and Roses: A Gender Perspective on Environmental Justice and Public Health. In this study, evidence is brought up showing that women are typically given the burden to carry when it comes to environmental degradation, but don’t have a say in what happens with environmental policies in nations lacking gender equality. From our section in this course on Women and the Environment, we know that women and environmental degradation are shown to be interconnected in nations lacking equality. Women face oppression and blame when it comes to not being able to gather clean water for their family for an example. This study falls hand in hand with that of Norgaard and York because it works to give evidence that when women are given a say in environmental policy, change can occur for the better state of the environment.

Example 1 Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5086744/

The last example I found is an entire article asking different questions about women and the environment and explains why women in politics work better for implementing environmental policies. It mentions a study on environmental awareness being a more feminine trait. In the study, it talks about who was more likely to use reusable bags as opposed to plastic.

Example 2 Link: https://www.ecowatch.com/why-we-need-more-women-involved-in-creating-environmental-policy-2593948717.html

So, I am back to the blogs and this week I wanted to discuss a touchy topic, that topic being abortion. I want to first talk about ecofeminists who might be antiabortion. I want to talk about them first because it helps set the stage for Ronnie Zoe Hawkins’ ecofeminist view one would say falls in favor of pro-choice. Ecofeminists who are against abortion believe that getting an abortion or favoring abortion rights “increases a woman’s subordination.” What does this mean? Well, for example, if I were to get pregnant and my boyfriend or husband or whoever said I needed to have an abortion and I did, I would be taking orders from him and would then be considered inferior to him, or he would be superior to me. With this all in mind, Hawkins in her essay on ecofeminists and their accounts on abortion, Hawkins mentions the problems ecofeminists see when it comes to prolife vs prochoice. Hawkins states in her essay “abortion has recently been viewed as a “masculine” response to unwanted pregnancy” (Hawkins 693). What this means, or how I interpreted this is that the male has the say in the pregnancy and he decides what is wanted or what is unwanted. Hawkins goes on to say that abortion “doesn’t respect the interconnectedness of life.” This means we are to live amongst one another and care for each other rather than kill or harm one another. However, within the interconnectedness of life, we must also consider the other life on our planet. This includes our environment, its plants, its animals. What Hawkins is saying in her essay is that without abortion as a form of contraceptive, we would see huge spikes in population growth and eventually reach our cap for what our planet can withstand to hold. With more people also comes more harm to the environment. From reading Hawkins’s accounts on abortion, I must say I see where she is coming from. As a biology student, in one of my classes, we discussed how the Earth can hold roughly 10 billion people before it just can’t hold out anymore. It’s crazy to think it could possibly hold that many people. When you look up how many people the Earth can support it says 1.5 billion, however, we find ourselves creeping towards 6-7-8 billion people. With abortion as a form of contraceptive, those numbers could remain concrete and not put us at risk of overpopulating our overpopulations. When it comes to overpopulation we have to look at when we will run out of food resources and other essentials to life. With more people also comes more man-made damage to the Earth. It puts more cars on the road and pollution in the air and ultimately all our beautiful land becomes overrun with houses and industrial buildings. I want to include this as I wrap things up on this blog. I believe every woman has the right to do with her body as she pleases, she can be for or against abortion and I will respect their decision either way. I wanted to write this blog to mention my reasoning for understanding Hawkins’s accounts on the abortion debate.

Welcome back to my blog!

I wanted to pick up on where I left off last week. Last week I spoke of vegetarian ecofeminism. This week I wanted to look at the objectification of women and animals and how this can lead to oppression. To do this I am going to analyze three images of my choice from a slideshow presented by Carol Adams. I chose this first image seen below for many reasons. Not only does it speak of the objectification and sexualization of women, but also the objectification of animals. Clearly an advertisement for ham, but has it been taken too far? If you look closely, you’ll notice the pig has eyelashes and rather plump lips. These are both features typically drawn out to represent women. Though, from a first glance, one would likely only notice the huge butt depicted on the pig. This is a feature that gives off the goal of satisfying two types of hunger. The first being male hunger. I mean come on; you’ve seen a male checking out a woman’s butt before. The second hunger the image is trying to satisfy is actual hunger. The advertiser is trying to say that their company sells “thick” hams, with an extra emphasis on thick. Another detail of this image I am now able to see due to the Adams reading is the color of the skin of the pig. It’s very fair. In the interview with Adams, she specifically speaks on advertisements of pigs depicted as “white trash” females and she mentions that “black women are often depicted as wild animals and have to be captured” (Adams 16). This shows that on top of the sexualization of women and animals these advertisements can also be racist. The main audience for this advertisement would be males. Males would be the ones to fall into this trap of the sexualization of women.

The second image I have chosen is an advertisement for Avalia which looks like it is supposed to promote healthy skin, however, they are really reaching with this advertisement. The chicken appears to be a woman “raising her skirt” or in the case of the chicken its feathers acting as the skirt. You might notice next how clear the leg of the chicken is. Beneath the cartoon image says “Healthy skin, less scratches and cellulitis.” This image objectifies women by projecting this image of clear skin and lack of cellulite. Cellulite is completely natural however and this advertisement looks to hide that. Men and women both will see the clear skin and men will think that this skin is natural and beautiful and could come to expect it from women. Women would end up being the consumer in the case of this advertisement. They could seek this treatment or medicine in order to erase those natural marks that come with being a woman or being a human in general. I want to speak more about the use of a chicken for the advertisement. Typically, when eating chicken, everyone seems to want the drumstick and thinks it’s the best part of the chicken. This could follow over to the sexualization of women and their thighs and legs being some of the best parts to men.

The last image I have taken from the slideshow of Carol Adams is this image showing a man delivering a burger from a woman. As weird as that sounds its exactly what you see. However, does this image have multiple meanings? If you asked me, I would say that the delivery standpoint could mean two things. It could represent delivery in the sense of delivering a baby. Or because it is a burger, which is meat, it could stand for a man “delivering his meat.” Notice how the delivery doctor is also a man. I am pretty sure you get what I’m saying with this. With the last meaning I have brought up I also want to mention the use of the word urge in the title of the advertisement. Urge is something I hear a lot in terms of sexual urge. The burger delivery or meat delivery could satisfy hunger urges or sexual urges depending on how you look at the advertisement. This picture could represent women making food for men as well. Because women are supposed to provide for men and cook for them in a woman “delivering the burger” to a man one might see this. All and all I feel like this image speaks a lot about the sexualization of women and women satisfying the needs of men. An argument can be made for who is the consumer and who is consumed. Women could be the consumers, looking to please men or be pleased by men in both providing food or pleasure.

I have been tasked with finding my own image similar to the ones posted by Carol Adams. I found this advertisement for Burger King. This advertisement came out in Singapore and raised controversy for using the model’s image without consent as well as being sexually suggestive. This image is a prime example of how women and animals are being sexualized and objectified for the purpose of profit. In the image, a woman looks like she will be performing an oral sex act on a “seven incher.” We typically hear terms of size like this when hearing men talk of their parts. The meat on the sandwich was once an animal that has now been objectified to represent a penis. In the article, The Pornography of Meat Lisa Kemmerer writes on Carol Adams and how she agrees with Adams on why advertisements are set up in the ways they are set up. One of the first quotes mentioned in this article is “She goes on to state that some readers “may feel aroused” while others “will feel distaste” (Adams). This is a perfect example of the feelings one might gather from examining this image. I for one feel it’s distasteful and disrespectful to women and animals. However, some men might look at this image and its sexual connotation and feel aroused and might be more likely to buy the product.

Article Links:

Burger King Ad: https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/model-calls-for-a-burger-king-boycott-after-she-was-featured-in-a-sexually-suggestive-ad

Adams Interview: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54792ff7e4b0674c74cb719d/t/55dc8dace4b0ad76d7277cb7/1440517548517/ANTENNAE+ISSUE+14.pdf

Kemmerer Article: https://philosophynow.org/issues/56/The_Pornography_of_Meat_by_Carol_Adams

What is it like to be a vegetarian ecofeminist? I for one cannot call myself a vegetarian ecofeminist, but I would like to try to see from their perspective.

Seen in this photo is a person slicing what appears to be some type of meat. I was unable to make distinct connections or develop any sort of thoughts from viewing this photo at first. However, my mind then took a different approach. At first, I thought what if the figure was made to represent how Men provided for their families in the early days and how Women were not given the option but instead had to stay at home with the children and clean. My second thought came from my love of animals. I had to ask myself if it was worth the life of a precious animal just because something is said to “taste” good. I have taken several philosophy classes in the past and we speak of Utilitarian ethics. This is when you promote happiness and well being of all things that can feel emotion or pain. Animals can feel pain and can feel emotion and from seeing this photo I can feel that pain. Humans have lost their ability to not be selfish when it comes to food. There are plenty of other options for food that don’t involve taking the life of a living, breathing, emotional animal.

Not even food can escape the labels placed on them by society. This brings me to look at gendered foods. I found an article I want to link at the bottom of the blog about food decision research. Men are said to be able to eat steak, meats, and other foods that are unhealthy. Women, however, should eat healthy, organic foods such as salads. (Zhu) I would be lying if I said I didn’t think of the movie White Chicks when they are on a date and Terry Crews orders chicken and says, “for the lady perhaps a salad.” I’m sure you have all seen the movie, so you understand the reference. In today’s society people are picking and choosing what they eat based on how it makes them feel or look. A man is going to seem less masculine to some if he orders a salad, and a woman might seem less feminine if she orders a steak. Why is it that gender norms translate into our lifestyles, especially something we need to survive?

Gaard and Curtain, two ecofeminists provide insight into how ecofeminists perceive animals. Gaard brings up ecofeminists seeing a tie between sexism and speciesism. She mentions philosopher Peter Singer who I have done previous research on and who mentions utilitarian vs. Kantian views on the treatment of animals. Gaard states that “speciesism is a form of oppression that parallels or reinforces other forms of oppression” (Gaard 20). Utilitarian’s which I previously mentioned before, believes animals can suffer and therefore utilitarians cannot go through with what might bring animals suffering. I believe these feelings could relate to the feelings of Gaard seeing the bird locked up in the cage having its life controlled by another human. I believe she would follow this because of her mentioning speciesism as she does. Curtain took a similar approach to the views and values of vegetarian ecofeminism and looked at it from a moral perspective which everything I have mentioned previously falls under ethical theories. Curtain says “there are persons who have a choice of what food they want to eat” (Curtain 8). To look back of the feelings I felt viewing the image of the person cutting the meat. I felt as if I do choose what I eat and why is it that I have made the choice to eat meat knowing that an animal had to die for it? An ecofeminist such as Gaard or Curtain would examine the ethics and morals behind my decision. The violence inflicted on animals might give off the wrong impression of me and might put me in a violent category. From reading these articles and having previously taken ethics, I truly am rethinking my eating habits. Maybe if I make a change, I will better connect with the animals I am sharing this beautiful world with.

Article:

Is meat manly? Article URL : https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-99ede3c8cafa_story.html

Citations:

Curtin, Deane. “Contextual Moral Vegetarianism.” Animal Rights Library, www.animal-rights-library.com/texts-m/curtin01.htm.

Gaard, Greta. “Ecofeminism on the Wing: Perspectives on Human-Animal Relations.” Academia.edu – Share Research, www.academia.edu/2489929/Ecofeminism_on_the_Wing_Perspectives_on_Human-Animal_Relations.

The place that built me…

In this week’s blog, I wanted to talk about the place that holds mine and my family’s history.

While I did not take this photo myself, I felt it was an important piece of the landscape of Simpsonville, South Carolina, the place I grew up. In this photo is the clock tower in the middle of downtown Simpsonville. Near this clock tower is my preschool, the one I attended before my parents got divorced. While divorce is a touchy subject; I know, I felt I needed to include it because it did have some effects in making me the person I am today. Near my preschool and behind the clock tower is the most amazing ice cream station in the world. I might be slightly biased but if you ever find yourself in Simpsonville, please go, you’ll understand what I mean. That ice cream station has been around since before I was born, and I have gone ever since I was old enough to have ice cream. That means I probably was licking ice cream off my parent’s fingers since the first year of my life. Simpsonville holds near and dear to my heart, especially now that I am older and attend school 17 hours away. Simpsonville is the town I used to beg not to leave after my parents divorced and my mom moved away, and my dad stayed behind. Seeing my dad was an absolute treat from there on out. I got to eat ice cream and watch the trains pass by the clock tower. I got to pass by that old preschool and laugh thinking back on how the mascot of the school was a dog, and mascots have and always will scare me. Something I find funny about Simpsonville in relation to the rest of South Carolina is, for it to be in the South, it really lacked all those stereotypes about the South. I absolutely loved that about this town. Though I was born in the South, and the South will always be my home, I never connected with the southern lifestyle. You won’t ever find me in cowgirl boots, and I have worked hard to cover the accent that I know I still have. Weirdly enough, everyone in that town including my dad seems to feel the same way as I do. Either that or they also all worked hard to cover their accent.

Simpsonville wasn’t a mountain town; it had its parks and places to explore but in no way can be compared to the Cabin in which Barbra Kingsolver lived. Kingsolver was and can experience the beauty of nature and grew to appreciate that nature as her life continues. That nature is what built her and now her kids. For me, however, Simpsonville gave me a different view on nature and wilderness. I was always scared of what might lurk in the woods, so I stayed away from those to be clear. However, there was a pond near my house just before the woods that I would go fishing with my dad. Those were some of the most peaceful times in my life. Being at the pond, time stood still and all you could hear was the wind blowing the leaves in the trees. Although I had this peace, because of my desire to leave the country and my lack of connection with the country, I still needed that fast-paced city life. So here I am in Massachusetts. I do still believe wilderness and nature brings peace and holds so much life, which is why I need to go home, I need to stop by the ponds and flowers and appreciate what life has to offer because you don’t always get that in the city.

From reading the chapter “Home Work” from Red by Terry Williams, I found a quote that describes my feelings towards my home. “Each of us belongs to a particular landscape, one that informs who we are, a place that holds our history, our dreams, holds us to a moral line of behavior that transcends thought” (Williams 19). Simpsonville holds all my history and my family’s history. Simpsonville gave me dreams of being somewhere “bigger.” Williams speaks of a “bedrock of democracy.” Simpsonville is that place. We are a community of people working to preserve our town, our ice cream shop, our people. We want to keep South Carolina’s logo alive. “Smiling faces, beautiful places.”

Citations:

Williams, Terry Tempest. “Home Work.” Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert, Vintage Books, 2001, pp. 3–19.

To pick up where I left off, I was discussing ecofeminism, what I believe it means from reading articles and pieces of writing from ecofeminists as well as philosophers. Today I wanted to touch on the connection between nature and women in the Global South and why its seen as a problem or a challenge that needs to be tackled and fixed. After discussing this I wanted to discuss some differences in views on ecofeminism, specifically differences in Western and Non-Western perspectives when it comes to the theory of ecofeminism.

Let’s begin…

The Global South is defined as low- and middle-income countries. These countries can be found in Asia, Africa, parts of Latin America, as well as the Caribbean. Throughout these countries, many women are faced with challenges involving water supply. Some of these challenges as mentioned by the united nations include women being responsible for gathering water and losing time, while gathering water and or walking to/using restroom areas they are likely to face attacks, and lastly women dealing with menstruation and pregnancy and having certain needs to maintain hygiene during these times. Death is occurring because of unsanitary water during childbirth. Infections are being found in women because of unsanitary water. With the environmental degradation affecting such a valuable and necessary resource, change is needed to help all, most importantly to help women who I promise you, did not ask for that “time of the month,” or those women who are carrying new life. To step away from the challenges mentioned by the United Nations mostly involving sanitary hygiene and water, some other environmental degradation affecting women is households being destroyed through natural disasters or climate change. Floods, earthquakes, situations like these are unavoidable and leave pressure on women to restore the home or protect the home since women are given the task of being the home caregiver. Floods pollute water and make it unsafe to drink, adding pressure to women to find safer drinking water. Soil erosion causes the land to dry, fish to be without water or in toxic water, and eliminates a food resource for people. Equality needs to be restored to release pressure felt by women to find clean water, to protect the home, to give birth, to just be women.  Gender-sensitive approaches are being made to discuss and fix the inequality women are facing due to environmental degradation.

In my previous blog post, I defined ecofeminism and looked at connections to ecofeminism through reading articles and writing pieces by both Hobgood-Oster and philosopher Karen Warren. In this post, I’d like to look at ecofeminism through the eyes of Bina Agarwal. Western ecofeminism looks to restore what was damaged due to patriarchy and environmental degradation. Agarwal mentions the connection to the destruction of nature made by Shiva to third world colonialism. This colonialism has caused damage and brings up inequalities faced in these countries.  Agarwal takes the time to talk a lot about women and nature, women and the environment, problems faced by women because of the environment. In comparison to Hobgood-Oster as well as Warren, they focused primarily on a patriarchal system causing inequality for women and connections to women and nature rather than problems faced by women due to nature. I find I am most intrigued by Western views of ecofeminism and want to know more about how these ecofeminists plan to fix oppressions faced by women due to environmental factors that weigh in on their responsibilities in certain countries and how equality will be established to rid women of the pressures that come with these responsibilities.

Agarwal reading:

https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.umassd.edu/stable/3178217?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=Bina&searchText=Agarwal&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DBina%2BAgarwal%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff&seq=19#page_scan_tab_contents

Water and Gender: The United Nations

https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/gender/