Environmental Justice, Ecofeminism, and Power

Abstract

This chapter explores the intersection between two major strains of environmental thought and praxis, environmental justice and ecofeminism, two fields of inquiry which each examine the conceptual and material linkages between the degradation of natural places and the marginalization and oppression of human communities. It shows how the critique of unequal power relations—both intra- and trans-human—central to each can help scientists and policy makers to comprehensively address current environmental issues. The current state of environmental discourse tends to view environmental issues as problems for science, and not as issues of social justice. Such an approach ignores the fact that not all groups of humans are situated equally in regard to ecological degradation and exposure to environmental toxins, as a direct result of histories of inequality and oppression. These histories are linked through processes of dualism, in which nature/humans, Anglo-European “whites”/people of color, and masculinity/femininity are placed into opposition. Such conceptual pairings are gendered, as well as raced, classed, and specied. Ecofeminism directly interrogates the sources and effects of these pairings, exposing the ways in which sexist ideologies are connected to “naturism.” Therefore, this chapter argues, struggles for environmental justice that do not incorporate an explicitly gendered and ecofeminist analysis of ecological problems will not adequately understand the ways in which systems of oppression (such as racism, colonialism, gender discrimination, and environmental degradation) are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. For this reason, ecofeminism, a political movement and theoretical stance which identifies and articulates these interconnections, is a necessary intervention into discussions and debates about how to alter the fact of environmental injustice.