By the late 1980s, two specific branches of ecofeminism had begun to develop: cultural ecofeminism and radical ecofeminism. Cultural ecofeminists often point to gender roles (like women being considered home carers and nurturers), biology (menstruation, breastfeeding, and childbirth), and spirituality and religion (goddess worship) as a basis for their belief that women share a strong connection with the earth.
Radical ecofeminists argue that reinforcing gender roles upholds the patriarchy. Their practice is centered more around dismantling the patriarchy and the belief that women and nature are commodities that can be exploited. Radical ecofeminists argue against the negative portrayals of women and nature as “chaotic, emotional, and weak” and the reverse portrayals of men as “ordered and rational decision makers and leaders.” The fracture between cultural ecofeminism and radical ecofeminism also served to illuminate emerging concerns about the exclusion of women in the Global South and those of lower-income status, as well as LGBTQ+ and non- binary people.
Vandana Shiva, an Indian environmental activist, scholar, and writer, is one of the world’s most prominent ecofeminists and is also a pillar of accountability within the movement. Shiva, who coauthored the book Ecofeminism in 1993 with German radical feminist Maria Mies, has raised awareness for what she calls subsistence feminism, which advocates that women’s basic needs (clothing, food, shelter) be met in addition to more philosophical or societal needs that Western women typically press for (freedom, equality, liberation). Shiva frequently emphasizes the need to include the concerns of non-Western women.
There are interlocking systems of oppression when it comes to feminism; without an intersectional approach, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented women may be left out, erased, and not advocated for within Western interpretations of ecofeminism. Cultural ecofeminists’ beliefs are deeply rooted in biology and gender roles, which can lead to the invalidation and exclusion of nonbinary, trans, and queer people from ecofeminism.
This is why to truly stand for justice for all women and the planet, ecofeminism must also be intersectional. Many practitioners do have an intersectional approach, whether they classify it as that or not. While ecofeminism was advanced by women of color like Vandana Shiva, my experience, as a student and an activist, is that it has often lacked representation of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian perspectives. At times, I have also witnessed ecofeminists appropriate Eastern religious and Indigenous traditions without proper credit, acknowledgment, or representation. It’s important to make strides to be inclusive of all women and not just their ancestral theories, religious practices, and beliefs.
The desire to include vectors like class, race, sexual orientation, and religion within the eco conversation has led me to ponder what a more inclusive version of environmentalism, built on the foundations of Black feminism, ecofeminism, and intersectional theory, could look like.
Excerpted from THE INTERSECTIONAL ENVIRONMENTALIST by Leah Thomas. Copyright © 2022 by Leah Thomas. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.
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