On the 25th November 2021, at 17:30 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1, the Human Geography and Environmental Social Sciences society (EcoGeog Soc) hosted the University of Kent Sociologist, Dr Corey Wrenn, giving a talk on Eco-Feminism.
After a very inspirational talk by Dr Corey Wrenn, two questions arise, what is Eco-Feminism and is it for me?
To understand Eco-Feminism we have to understand Feminism. To briefly describe Feminism, it is the belief in social, economic, personal, and political equality for all sexes. Essentially, the primary focus of Feminism is equality.
In comparison, the primary focus of Eco-Feminism is looking at the connection between women and nature.
Emerging in the 1970’s, with the second-wave of feminism and the beginning of the Green Movement, both movements rejected the idea of domination of nature by humanity, and rather preach about interconnection between humans and the non-human world. With these similarities, environmentalism and feminism joined together in sociology and philosophy to liberate women in restoring the natural environment.
The term ‘Eco-Feminism’ was first written by French Feminist author, Françoise d’Eaubonne, who urged women to lead the way in ecological revolution to save the planet. But it was a Catholic Feminist Scholar, called Rosemary Radford Ruether, who first linked the idea of domination of nature to the oppression of women and a lack of equality.
In the contemporary reality, Eco-Feminism looks to include spirituality and celebrate the traditional caretaking role of women. But naturally this perspective has its faults. Eco-Feminism has been criticised for having a heterosexual lens whilst ignoring other genders and sexualities. Because of this, there has been increasing research in Eco-Feminism, especially by Greta Gaard, in relation to ‘queer theory’, trying to encompass all genders and sexualities.
Eco-Feminism is a progressive and ever-evolving theory which society is certainly ready for!
To watch the talk Dr Corey Wrenn gave for EcoGeog Soc, on Eco-Feminism, make sure to keep up to date on EcoGeog Soc’s social media handles.
If you are interested in looking into Eco-Feminism further, check out the links below: