Month: April 2020

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