Branches of Ecocriticism: Ecofeminism
Branches of Ecocriticism: Ecofeminism
Ecofeminism is a branch of ecocriticism that applies prinicples of feminist criticism to the physical environment.
Ecocriticism: The study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment (Glotfelty xix).
Seeks to evaluate texts and ideas in terms of their coherence and usefulness as responses to environmental crisis (Kerridge 5).
Feminism: The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes (Feminism).
Feminist Criticism: The study of language and literature from a gender-conscious perspective (Glotfelty xix).
Ecofeminists consider how humans view nature in gendered binaries (Davion 9):
Women: Nature, Material, Emotional, Particular
Men: Culture, Nonmaterial, Rational, Abstract
Ecofeminists challenge these associations, and see what information they reveal about the way humanity exploits nature for its own gain.
Ecofeminists investigate the ways we associate nature with femaleness. The implications of this gendered association are "is the problem what is associated with male vs. what is associated with female" or is the problem the binary itself and how it associated with nature? We also look at why humans are thought of as superior to nature in the same way men are thought of as superior to women.
Francoise D'Eubonne was the originator of the term "Ecofeminism," first coining it in her book Le feminisme ou la mort, or Feminism or Death, marking the beginning of the Ecofeminist movement. Her vast library of written novels, essays, and poetry championed the idea that women need to lead the ecological salvation of the planet (Merchant).
Greta Gaard is an influential ecofeminist writer, activist, and filmmaker, Her contributions to the field of ecofeminism include expanding the field to include Queer Theory and also ideas of vegetarianism.
Karen Warren has been a philosophy professor at many universities around the world. She has contributed a vast array of articles and books regarding ecofeminism, among other topics. Her 2000 word Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective on What It Is and Why It Matters examines how the domination of women parallels man's domination of the non-human natural world.
Noel Sturgeon is a professof at Washington State University and has taught and studied at many other universities around the US and the world. Her novels Econfeminist Natures: Race, Gender, Feminist Theory and Political Action and Environmentalism in Popular Culture: Gender, Race, Sexuality, and the Politics of the Natural offer an approachable look at ecofeminist ideas and how popular culture and media perpetuate the exploitation of the natural.
Mary Daly was a self-proclaimed "radical lesbian feminist," and a long-time professor at Theology at Boston College. Her novel Gyn/Ecology was an extremely radicalized overview of how religion and patriarchy have been keeping women oppressed.
Cultural Artifact Overview:
So how does Ecofeminism help us relate to cultural artifacts like movies, books and television? Examining these types of artifacts through an Ecofeminist lens helps us see relationships between humans and nature, allowing us to see where humanity seems to exploit nature, and why this may be the case.
Being able to recognize these relationships can help us analyze how we can be better stewards of/ champions for the environment.
This scene shows men cutting ice into cubes and putting it on their sleds for shipment and sales. First, notice that there are only men working to harvest the ice. They are exploiting nature for their own gain, seeing it as a resource to be consumed.
The lyrics to this song, "this icy force both foul and fair / has a frozen heart worth mining." Here, the "fair" ice is "worth mining," showing that it is a resource exploited for the advancement of the harvesters. And the line "see the beauty, sharp and sheer," shows nature is beautiful, a feminine trait and establishes a male/female binary. Men are harvesting the ice for gain, which again establishing women as a resource.
The classic Rapunzel fairy tale is portrayed as "nonreproductive" and analyzes some implications of ecofeminism. Depiction as nonreproduction includes the sorceress who has no children of her own and is seen as a "barren" woman who is old, seductive, and manipulative. She is also exiled and set apart from society. She places Rapunzel into a tower, stopping her from forming heterosexual relationships and reproducing.
The sorceresss manipulating the father into giving her Rapunzel depicts children as the end goal for all women, wheather or not they are reproductive. This equates a woman's value with wheather or not she has children. Also, Rapunzel is saved by the prince then goes on to bear his children. She is shown as needing his help to become free, conveying the idea that women are sought by men for reproduction. This emphasizes that women are resources.