Praxis it to practice, as distinguished from theory. Throughout the entirety of this course we have discussed many ways in which ecofeminism applies to many aspects of life and not just in the traditional way you think like climate change or vegan/vegetarianism.  Activism is a huge part to creating change in society.  I have learned a great deal about this course that I have not learned from any previous WGS course.  There were many topics in this course that were important to me. The most important issue addressed in my eyes was the ecofeminist take on abortion.  I have always tried to be an advocate for reproductive rights, including many things besides abortion rights.  However my focus was always on the United States because it is where I am from and I can see the many flaws within the system.   After looking at the worldometer and my own in depth research of reproductive rights issue on sustainability I decided to focus on a plan surround abortion rights and the environment.

I have decided to donate to the ” International Women’s Health Coalition” .  here is there Vision/ Mission Statement:

“A just and sustainable* world where all people, regardless of gender, enjoy their human rights and health, and have power over their lives.

*A world that balances economic, environmental, and social dimensions to ensure every person is able to enjoy their human rights and dignity equitably without compromising quality and availability of finite resources in the future.”

Since 1984 they have been fighting politically to make the lives of women and young girls have a sustainable life globally.  It is important to understand that the oppression of women have much greater effects than people realize.  My plan is not solely to donate I am registering to join their “Leadership Council” which is in New York City.  It is a volunteer program where you dedicate your time to helping with fundraiser or diving into foreign policy and global health.  Along with signing up I thought it would be a great idea to advocate for the rights of others globally so I will post about the coalition on my twitter. I hope to open others eyes about the global reproductive issues women face.

 

 

 

Attached here is the link to the website:  https://iwhc.org/

All over the world women and their families are continuously negatively impacted by environmental degradation and disempowerment.  In all of the readings for this week you can see the deep rooted connection between the oppression of nature and the oppression of women and their families.   Most women around the world suffer from depleted resources.  However some women suffer due to their fighting back to defend their resources and cultural connections to land and nature.

                 Standing Rock: Fighting Back

   At the Standing Rock, Native American women were at the forefront of arrests and dehumanization by law enforcement.  The reason so many native women were fighting was because the government wanted to be a huge pipeline through the land that they got water from and also just had many spiritual connections to the land because it has been their land before this “3.7 billion dollar project” .(https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/04/dakota-access-pipeline-protest-standing-rock-women-police-abuse) a young woman on the frontlines of the protesting said “Women are the backbone of every tribe and every indigenous community,”   many women are considered “water Protectors” and that can be attributed to the matriarchal tribal systems.  The primary reason for defending their land was for access to clean water, however many indigenous women and people were fighting for deeper issues like the history of misogyny and abuse towards them .  It has been studied that indigenous people are much more likely to be killed by law enforcement than any other marginalized group.  It is very worrying that projects like these are advertised to help the economy and government yet no describes the brutalization of women and land that comes with this.

The Brazilian Slum Children 

This image was taken from a major metropolis city in Brazil called Recife. The city is known for its beautiful bridges of various colors but the horrific scenes under the bridge is what we are looking at.  The canal under the bridge is filled with garbage. in this picture you have a nine year old ” Paulo Henrique “searching to find cans so that he can sell them for his family so they can eat and survive.  According to the government there are about 6,500 children in these slums under the bridges.  they have a non profit  agency in the area to help feed children however they only have enough for 120 of them.  We see again how a government is continuously keeping women and their families disempowered.  They know that there are not enough resources for these children and families and yet they do not do anything to change the system?  This is environmental degradation at its core, these families do not have clean water, air,  or soil. their “homes” are destroyed by the over filling of garbage.

Women and Nature: The Bigger Picture 

In these various examples we see how the destruction of land directly effects women oppressions and their families.  When you take away resources or destroy them by building and building more and more infrastructures you see the damage is done.  In the case of Standing Rock these native women were taken from their spiritual roots and this will effect generations of their tribe as well as the good clean quality of water needed for them. In the case of the Brazilian slums you see children starved and plagued by illness and disease because of the trash that fills their neighborhoods . To me it is more than just environmental degradation. The government, states and those in power are intentionally disempowering marginalized people to keep the status quo of the world.  If they truly wanted to change and bring upon better outcomes they would change the systems in place not just put bandaids over them.

Bibliography

Correa, Talita. The Brazilian Slum Children Who Are Literally Swimming in Garbage. 30 January 2014. 1 April 2020 <https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kwpwja/the-brazilian-slum-children-who-are-literally-swimming-in-garbage-0000197-v21n1>.

Levin, Sam. “At Standing Rock, women lead fight in face of Mace, arrests and strip searches.” The Guardian (2016).

 

 

 

 

Intersectionality and Connectivity :

Intersectionality is a feminist term used as a way of thinking about how our social identities interconnect.  The term was coined by “Kimberle Crenshaw”  she used it in her feminist theory researchDemarlginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Anti-discrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics  The largest take away from intersectionality is that a person can experience multiple realities at one time simultaneously. What I mean by that is, a person can be oppressed in one category, for example me being a “woman” and yet can be privileged in the same breathe,  that meaning I am a “cis gendered white person”   In essence intersectionality can be viewed like a web and things that  can overlap or connect to one another. Whether it be multiple oppressions or simply being “oppressed” and “privileged” simultaneously.

 

                                                                                  Deeper Look into Intersectionality & Ecofeminism: 

The whole purpose behind activists and feminists like Crenshaw is to show the necessity of black stand point in feminist theories as well as anti-discrimination.  In many ways ecofeminism theories and intersectionality are similar in their breakdown and beliefs.   in a reading called ” Ecofeminism: Historic and International Evolution ” by Hobgood-Oster discusses the beginning of the environmental and ecofeminist theories and how they intersected.    in this paper it explains one of the most important assertions that ecofeminist make. ”  all forms of oppression are connected and that structures of oppression must be addressed in their totality. “( Hobgood-Oster). This is exactly what Crenshaw is explaining when she gives her example of the black woman who was in the court case “DeGraffenreid v General Motors”  the judge could not understand that she was discriminated against because of two different oppressions, being black and being a woman. He could not see that because both black males were employees and as were white women.   Crenshaw gave a Ted Talk where she explained intersectionality as a four way stop and I believe that is the simplest way of understanding.  See the Image below: 

The figure of a person is in the middle because each road is labeled and that person does not just have one social identity. They have multiple which is why the middle of the intersection is where they are.  Both ecofeminism and intersectionality are multi-faceted and multi-located.  Another way to look at intersectionality is through the  image of the intersecting axes of Privilege, Domination, and Oppression.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Ways to Look at Ecofeminism and Intersectionality

Throughout the course have discussed in many ways how the perception and description of woman is correlated to nature and earth and we see how the media in particular can describe woman in a way that fits the patriarchal society we live in.   That is why looking at this “web” idea of  interconnectedness we as individuals are so complex in our identities that you can not just simply categorize us to fit into one mold or box. It is not the easy, you must look at all aspects of our lives. As stated earlier intersectionality  and ecofeminism are every changing and have a multitude of focuses. It is not just one area of focus but rather a wide range.

 

Bibliography

Cain, Cacldia. “The Necessity of Balck Women’s Standpoint and Intersectionality in Environmental Movements .” Black Feminist Thought 2016 (2016).

Hobgood-Oster, Laura. “Ecofeminism: Historic and International Evolution.” 31 January 2020 <http://users.clas.ufl.edu/bron/pdf–christianity/Hobgood-Oster–Ecofeminism-International%20Evolution.pdf>.

 

The article “Gender Equality And State Environmentalism”, written by Nogaard and York  addresses the correlation between representation of women and the state of environmentalism and what that means for government.   their research looks at various nation states . in the research it states “Women have been estimated to make up 60 to 80 percent of membership in mainstream environmental organizations” (Nogaard and York 509) .  In the table below  they highlight some nation states and where the states score on the gender equality variable.

 

 

WOMEN IN POWER: 

Essentially what the research is saying is that having women power in policy and government gives greater likelihood  to a better ecosystem and a greater habitat for all living things.  , “societies with greater representation of women in Parliament are more prone to ratify environmental treaties”.(Nogaard and York 512)

Women’s Earth Alliance: WEA

Looking at the Women’s Earth alliance we see firsthand how supporting women leaders around the world improves environmental solutions and movements.  Some places we have seen the impact is in Indonesia and Nigeria.  In Indonesia, Tiza Mafira who is a lawyer who is fighting against the use of single use plastic . Indonesia is the second highest contributor to the use of plastic in the world just behind China.  “It produces 3.22 million tons of mismanaged plastic waste every year ” After her initiative four cities immediately banned plastic bags. and with changing policy many places will follow suit.

In Nigeria, Binta Yahaya noticed the issues of women and children who cook with firewood smoke end up having many respiratory issues. She decided to start helping her community by  selling “ over 230 clean cookstoves to women in her community”   She used her initiative to see higher up policy makers to help get change.  Both of these women saw the first hand trauma that was caused for things like plastic and firewood in their regions.  the small steps they took led to greater change in the establishment of law and policy.  We see how both of these examples illustrate the ideas that Nogaard and York are trying to explain about women and their connectedness to environmentalism.

 

Bibliography

Women, Politics and the Environment. (2019, March 10). Retrieved from https://womendeliver.org/2019/women-politics-and-the-environment/

This website is about the WEA and discussed examples of women using their power to help with environmentalism solutions.

The World’s Women 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/chapter7/chapter7.html

 

 

 

The topic of Abortion has always been a sensitive debate between many of people of the world.  typically there are three main views when looking at the discussion of abortion.  The first view is the “extreme conservative” , which typically is a belief that stems from the catholic church. This view considers human personhood beginning at the unicellular zygote level and to have an abortion is the equivalent to homicide.  The second held view is the “extreme liberal” side which believes that for most instances human personhood begins after birth.  The last view is the “moderate” side which argue that there is a morally relevant break between zygote to birth- which determines whether it is justified or not for an abortion.

Hawkins view on abortion is is one that looks at the global picture instead of individual places or societies.   Her view is justifying the need for abortion because of the environmental implications.  Most importantly looking at the growth of populations and seeing the lack of proper care and necessities and how that correlates to abortion/ birth and  the environment.   I was looking at the world clock and some of the numbers that it shows us around the world are quite shocking.  there are 841, 636,915 undernourished people in the world and about 802,634,558 people with no access to safe water sources.   That is around ten percent of the population.   This is something to consider when Hawkins discusses poverty, and environmental degradation.  The importance of abortion and population limitation is specifically important when looking at the third world.

Hawkins makes it clear that developing countries do not always have the resources or birth control to stabilize  the increasing numbers of births and less people dying.  She gives an example of  Japan and Korea’s birth rates and explained that without  abortion their birth rate would have been around 22% higher.  This is detrimental when looking at the long-term welfare of “developing” nations.

 

The over population in the world is rapidly growing and fellow ecofeminist’s must look at the environmental degradation of the planet and the long term effects of over population has. Without the resource of abortion the sustainability of our planet would be in a much worse position right now.

An article I had from a previous course discusses the UN and its sustainability initiatives and how abortion can help.  the title of the article is

“Reuse, Reduce, Reproductive Rights: How Abortion Can Help Save the Planet”

I think it is an interesting read when looking at abortion on the global scale.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vv5kj9/reuse-reduce-reproductive-rights-how-abortion-can-help-save-the-planet

 

 

 

bibliography

Abortion Worldwide 2017: Uneven Progress and Unequal Access. (2019, July 25). Retrieved from https://www.guttmacher.org/report/abortion-worldwide-2017

Bess, G. (2015, October 6). Reuse, Reduce, Reproductive Rights: How Abortion Can Help Save the Planet. Retrieved from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vv5kj9/reuse-reduce-reproductive-rights-how-abortion-can-help-save-the-planet

Joanna Erdman: The global abortion policies database-legal knowledge as a health intervention. (2017, November 13). Retrieved from https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/11/01/joanna-erdman-the-global-abortion-policies-database-legal-knowledge-as-a-health-intervention/

 

When looking at this picture, I stared silently for about five minutes just thinking about the relation it has to the topic of vegetarian ecofeminism. The first thing that stood out to me was the white human like figure cutting the ham. The figure looks like a man and this brought my mind to the “Meat Heads” article, “for many men, meat is an inarguable symbol of masculinity” (Elsenberg).   This picture highlights that quote to me because this man like figure is establishing his dominance over his “food”.  The second thing that thing that I focused on was the fact that the figure was blank and just white.  To me this represented the lack of empathy and compassion we as humans show other animals.  The knife in the back of the ham depicts the man asserting his dominance and oppression over this animal. Showing the disregard for the animals in life.  I think it is also no coincidence the proportions used in this image.  The figure is so small and the knife and ham are massive in comparison  I think this can mean many things, however to me personally I see it as we as humans are so minuscule and little in comparison to the rest of the animal life yet we control it because it feeds us literally and metaphorically.

 

When looking for gendered foods or eating practices I came across a site called Scroll.In,  https://scroll.in/article/948289/steak-for-the-gentleman-salad-for-the-lady-how-foods-came-to-be-gendered  

This article dives into the late  19th century and how dietary advice was the gateway to the gendered foods and practices that we know of today.  I found it interesting but also weird that corporate marketing and magazines  decided to market male and female tastes separately  starting in 1870s.  I think the biggest impact on the shift in marketing was the women entering the workforce.  some examples of “women foods” are yogurt, salad, and fruit.  “male foods” are things like chili, steak, and bacon.

 

In the Gaard article, the emphasis is made that all animals, pets, exotic, and farm-raised have absolutely no control over their lives.   ecofeminists draw linkages  between sexism and speciesism .   the article emphasizes this idea by using an anecdote about a pet bird named Bella that Gaard see at a movie store.  there is a huge quote that addresses the social control we use against other animals, choose what they consume, how they reproduce etc.  she compares that to “slavery” . My biggest take away from Gaard’s article is that we are so deeply woven into our negative interactions with other animals that we should  reduce animal cruelty and suffering as much as we can.

The Curtin article was more interesting to me and I would say I aligned more with his thought processes.  Curtin expresses that ecofeminist perceive non-human animals and human relations as an idea of cultures and what that means to cultures.  I think that his comparison of women and the oppression of non-human animals linking together helps envision the views ecofeminists have on the topic of animal suffering and vegetarianism.

I think American culture  in particular does  not acknowledge non-human animals as equal to humans.   when we eat animals they are cleaned and packaged and there is no connection other than a source of food. However we mistreat them and control their lives.  Just like both articles state there is a connection between oppression of women and animals.

 

bibliography

https://scroll.in/article/948289/steak-for-the-gentleman-salad-for-the-lady-how-foods-came-to-be-gendered

history and background of gendering of food.

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/gendered-food-products-marketing-ploy

a photo album of horribly gendered marketing products involving food.

 

 

 

 

My place that represents me the most in this life is the ocean and beach front. I grew up in the City of Fall River my whole life, so I was use to the hustle and bustle and close together housing, little to no nature. So in the summers my family would make it a point to have multiple beach weekends.  although Newport was not very far going to the cliff walk and beaches would take me to another world that was full of peace and serenity.  This place was who I am.  The waves crashing back and forth like the curiosity of my thoughts and the air and freeness of the summer was like my desires for life. I wanted to relax and be free of city life. This place was what my life wanted.

When I take these pictures it is to capture the exact moment of beauty and peace in the world. It is as if I am my true authentic self and calm with nature. In Williams “Home Work”  the first sentence states ” Place +people = Politics” (pg3) the reading dives into Utah and the desert and one of the ways William ignites conversation if over stories.  I feel this to be a very powerful way to get across a point or mission.  Stories can evoke emotion of people and bring a closeness or togetherness that other methods can not.  For example my photos, at first you just see places that have water and light but it is the story that I express that brings to mind a place, a meaning. With story my still image now because more.

Kingsolver’s  theory that we as humans  “need wilderness”  is true in my eyes.  I think often we as people get distracted by life and the things around us. The cities, the technology and we get consumed by the artificial of life. but taking a moment to break and really be one of real life and nature is something we can all benefit from. Kingsolver says

”  I have come to depend on these places where I live and work. I’ve grown accustomed to looking up from the page and letting my eyes relax on a landscape upon which no human artifact intrudes.”

Just like William she states she has places where all her stories begin. getting away and embracing nature for what it is, can be freeing and a form of peace and tranquility that we often forget is available to us.  Coming from a city I do feel like it can be hard to form these connections with earth or build the bond of place but it is not impossible.  I think that anyone can truly experience place you just have to acknowledge the beauty of yourself and the world around you.

I actually think that  my personal experiences and history with being a city girl make me have deeper realizations of the beauty around me and my place.  When I go to the beaches or the cliff walks it is like I am breathing for the first time. It is always an experience that takes over me because I know I don’t get this lifestyle, or this moment often. My mind and body are overjoyed with sense of safety and relaxation that I believe I enjoy more than most people do.

Annotated Sources:

Kingsolver, Barbara. “Knowing Our Place.” Small Wonder. HarperCollins Publishers, 2002.

Kingsolver talks about  her experiences with encountering nature in order to describe how important it is to have a connection to nature and wildness. In the reading, she discusses what it is like to live surrounded by nature and the way in which she sees the value in building a connection with it.  Kingsolver examines nature as it impacts her writings and her daily life.

Williams, Terry Tempest. “Home Work.” Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert. Vintage Books, 2002.

Williams discusses  the struggles between citizens of Southern Utah and the government involvement regarding the protection of nature. Williams writes about the usage of wilderness for commercial development rather than allowing it to be the unregulated wilderness it is meant to be.

 

 

 

Background 

Ecofeminism which can also be called ecological feminism.   Most ecofeminist principles are based on the following beliefs.

1.The building of Western industrial civilization in opposition to nature interacts dialectically with and reinforces the subjugation of women, because women are believed to be closer to nature. Therefore,ecofeministstake on the life-struggles of all of nature as our own.

2.Life on earth is an interconnected web, not a hierarchy. There is no natural hierarchy; human hierarchy is projected onto nature and then used to justify social domination. Therefore ,ecofeminist theory seeks to show the connections between all forms of domination, including the domination of nonhuman nature, and ecofeminist practice is necessarily anti-hierarchical.

3. A healthy, balanced ecosystem, including human and nonhuman inhabitants, must maintain diversity. Ecologically, environmental simplification is as significant a problem as environmental pollution. Biological simplification, Le., the wiping out of whole species, corresponds to reducing human diversity into faceless workers, or to the homogenization of taste and culture . through mass consumer markets. Social lifeand natural life are literally simplified to the inorganic for the convenience of market society. Therefore we need a decentralized global movement that is founded on common interests yet celebrates diversity and opposes all forms of domination and violence. Potentially, ecofeminism is such a movement.

 

4. The survival of the species necessitates a renewed understanding of our relationship to nature, of our own bodily nature and of nonhuman nature around us; it necessitates a challenging of the nature-culture dualism and a corresponding radical restructuring of human society according to feminist and ecological principles. Adrienne Rich says, “When we. speak of transformation we speak more accurately out of the vision of a process which will leave neither surfaces nor depths unchanged, which enters society at the most essential level of the subjugation of women and nature by men…”(470-471) (The Ecology  of Feminist and the feminism ecology)

Hobgood-Oster Reading 

When looking at this reading we learn that ecofeminism emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. It is a   multitude of feminist theory and environmental theories. It focuses on women and nature, the intersectionality and connection between the world and soul/ body.  It is important to understand that ecofeminism is multi-faceted and multi-located (2)  it challenges  systems rather than individuals.  the Hobgood-Oster discusses how patriarchal structures justify superiority  through dichotomy  hierarchies. their is a focus of binaries and duality. ” heaven/earth”, “mind/body” , male/female”, and “human/animal”. these establish oppressive structures continue to demonstrate their abusive behaviors, in turn reinforce these binaries ideas.  the conclusion of this reading is that ecofeminism continues to shift and grow, many different forms will surely appear and change as the definitions of environment and society change.

In the Warren  Reading she draws on right connections between woman and nature.  The connection that caught my eye was connection number 3. that is is the Empirical and Experiential Connection. she explains that data is shown that proves environmental destruction is often affecting women, children, racial minorities and the poor population.  some of the destruction is from radiation, pesticides and pollutants. When looking at this connection, I immediately thought of the environmental destruction towards indigenous women and children.   There is a Global Women’s Rights site called MADRE.  they collaborated with  Indigenous Environmental Network.  Here is a video that I feel goes with the third connection.

https://www.madre.org/northdakota

 

 

Hello Everyone,

My Name is Cassandra Oliveira. I am currently a senior at Umass Dartmouth and my major is Women and Gender Studies. For most of my Undergraduate time I worked for Child and Family services and I grew a strong passion for advocating and helping others. Now I work as a Site Director for a youth before and after school program. This ecofeminism course is very intriguing to me because I believe that feminist concerns and ecological and environmental concerns are intersected and I want to be enlighten to all the ways that they are. I am excited to expand my knowledge of women and gender studies theory.

The blog that immediately grabbed my attention was from ADIOS BARBIE it is called http://www.adiosbarbie.com/2019/10/f-word-dont-use-around-daughter/

It is a very quick read that just hooked you in from the very first  sentence.  This blog does a very good job at keeping neutrality and not pushing strongly in one opinion or the other on a topic that could be sensitive to some people which I enjoy deeply. I think this blog is slightly similar to the approach I will take in my blog. I will focus a lot on intersectionality and how many feminist issues and environmental issues are a circle of reoccurring actions and reactions to things.  One way that may blog may differ is that I will not necessarily be as personal or have many anecdotes about myself unless I see it fit to the topic of discussion.

I have grown up in Massachusetts most of my life living in both Boston and Fall River and one of the largest environmental issues in the state has to do with transportation.  “Transportation is responsible for 40% of MA’s greenhouse gas emissions, making it the single biggest source in Massachusetts.” https://www.environmentalleague.org/our-work/priorities/transportation/   One of the largest activists organization for improving this issue is Transportation for Massachusetts. It is a coalition of seventy or more organizations trying to improve transportation issues in the state.  The site for this group has an abundance of informative ideas and innovations and quick videos on how to be smarter in regards to transportation  and issues like traffic.   Here is a video that I thought was direct and helpful.

Changing environmental issues is not an overnight fix but with small strides to a very large global issues things like cheapening massdot, or changing traffic patterns make a difference in the grand scheme of things.   I am looking forward to seeing the ideas that these organizations come up with to combat climate change issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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