This is an exploration of the philosophical and political challenge of ecofeminism. It shows how the ecology movement has been held back by conceptual confusion over the implications of gender difference, while much that passes in the name of feminism is actually an obstacle to ecological change and global democracy. The author argues that ecofeminism reaches beyond contemporary social movements, being a synthesis of four revolutions in one: ecology is feminism is socialism is post-colonial struggle. Informed by a critical postmodern reading of the Marxist tradition, Salleh's ecofeminism integrates discourses on science, the body, culture, nature and political economy. The book opens with a short history of ecofeminism. Part Two establishes the basis for its epistemological challenge, while the third part consists of ecofeminist deconstructions of deep ecology, social ecology, ecosocialism and postmodern feminism. In the final section Salleh suggests that a powerful way forward can be found in commonalities between ecofeminist and indigenous struggles.
As the twenty-first century faces a crisis of democracy and sustainability, this book tries to bring academics and globalisation activists into conversation. Through studies of global neoliberalism, ecological debt, climate change, and the ongoing devaluation of reproductive and subsistence labour, these essays women thinkers expose the limits of current scholarship in political economy, ecological economics, and sustainability science. The book introduces theoretical concepts for talking about humanity-nature links.
Heroic mothers defending home and hearth against a nature deformed by multinationalist corporate practice: this may be a compelling story, but it is not necessarily the source of valid feminist or ecological critique. What's missing is the democratic element, an insistence on bringing to public debate all the relations of gender and nature that such a view takes for granted. This book aims to situate a commitment to theory and politics -- that is, to democratic practice -- at the center of ecofeminism and, thus, to move toward an ecofeminism that is truly both feminist and ecological. The Good-Natured Feminist inaugurates a sustained conversation between ecofeminism and recent writings in feminist postmodernism and radical democracy. Starting with the assumption that ecofeminism is a body of democratic theory, the book tells how the movement originated in debates about "nature" in North American radical feminisms, how it then became entangled with identity politics, and how it now seeks to include nature in democratic conversation and, especially, to politicize relations between gender and nature in both theoretical and activist milieus.
Until recently, mainstream American environmentalism has been a predominantly white, middle-class movement, essentially ignoring the class, race, and gender dimensions of environmental politics. In this provocative collection of original essays, the environmental dimensions of the Chicana/o experience are explicitly expressed and debated. Employing a variety of genres ranging from poetry to autobiography to theoretical and empirical essays, the voices in this collection speak to the most significant issues of environmentalism and social justice, recognizing throughout the need for a pluralism of Chicana/o philosophies. The contributors provide an excellent basis for understanding how multiple Chicana/o views on the environment play out in the context of dominant social, political and economic views. Chicano Culture, Ecology, Politics examines a number of Chicana/o ecological perspectives. How can the ethics of reciprocity present in Chicana/o agropastoral life be protected and applied on a broader scale? How can the dominant society, whose economic structure is invested in "placeless mobility," take note of the harm caused to land-based cultures, take responsibility for it, and take heed before it is too late? Will the larger society be "ecologically housebroken" before it destroys its home? Grounded in actual political struggles waged by Chicana/o communities over issues of environmental destruction, cultural genocide, and socioeconomic domination, this volume provides an important series of snapshots of Chicana/o history. Chicano Culture, Ecology, Politics illuminates the bridges that exist—and must be understood—between race, ethnicity, class, gender, politics, and ecology. CONTENTS Part 1: IndoHispano Land Ethics Los Animalitos: Culture, Ecology, and the Politics of Place in the Upper R¡o Grande, Devon G. Peña Social Action Research, Bioregionalism, and the Upper Río Grande, Rubén O. Martínez Notes on (Home)Land Ethics: Ideas, Values, and the Land, Reyes García Part 2: Environmental History and Ecological Politics Ecological Legitimacy and Cultural Essentialism: Hispano Grazing in Northern New Mexico, Laura Pulido The Capitalist Tool, the Lawless, and the Violent: A Critique of Recent Southwestern Environmental History, Devon G. Peña and Rubén O. Martínez Ecofeminism and Chicano Environmental Struggles: Bridges across Gender and Race, Gwyn Kirk Philosophy Meets Practice: A Critique of Ecofeminism through the Voices of Three Chicana Activists, Malia Davis Part 3: Alternatives to Destruction The Pasture Poacher (a poem), Joseph C. Gallegos Acequia Tales: Stories from a Chicano Centennial Farm, Joseph C. Gallegos A Gold Mine, an Orchard, and an Eleventh Commandment, Devon G. Peña
Finding Our Way is a well-written, clear introduction to a range of ecofeminist thought. In four essays, Biehl explores ecofeminism's intellectual affinities with social ecology and other schools of thought; critiques the increasing role of Goddess mythology within today's movement; spiritedly defends reason and naturalism against what she sees as a "counter-Enlightenment" mentality within feminist and academic circles; and mines the Western democratic tradition for its relevant political insights for feminists today.
In the summer of 1993, activists set up a peace camp blocking a logging road into an extensive area of temperate rainforest in Clayoquot Sound that was slated for clear-cutting. Twenty-odd years later, Clayoquot holds a prominent place in environmental discourse, yet it is not generally associated with feminist or eco/feminist movements. The Changing Nature of Eco/Feminism argues that Clayoquot offers a potent site for examining a whole range of feminist issues. Through a careful study of eco/feminist activism against clear-cut logging practices in British Columbia, the book explores how a transnational eco/feminist practice insisted on an account of logging situated in histories of colonialism, holding the Canadian state to account for its deforestation practices. Moore demonstrates that the sheer vitality of eco/feminist politics at the Peace Camp in the summer of 1993 confounded dominant narratives of contemporary feminism and has re-imagined eco/feminist politics for new times.
