Before I read, I wasn’t really sure
what to think of ecofeminism. I
took a class on feminism last year but we never covered ecofeminism. I figured it would somehow incorporate
some of the Green values into feminist ideas. I also figured that ecofeminism would in some way look at
the hierarchies in society. After
completing the reading assignment, I have a better understanding of ecofeminism
and I think that ecofeminists make some interesting points. I like that ecofeminism pushes forward
some of the ideas of social ecologists in order to combat hierarchy in
society. If women are perceived to
be closer to nature and hierarchies are seen as unnatural, I think it makes
sense that women would be the ones taking the lead to dismantle the hierarchies
that we have created in society.
One
of the concerns that I have with ecofeminism, however, is that many of their
ideas seem to draw a clear distinction between men and women. Even if ecofeminists are not saying
that men are the enemy, I feel that most men would be hesitant to stand behind
ecofeminist ideas. Ecofeminist
ideas may actually divide society rather than unite it to cooperate and fight
for a common goal.
You put ecofeminism into a different perspective for me. I never thought of the fact that hierarchies are seen as unnatural and that woman are associated with the natural world. It makes ecofeminsim clearer. I don't think that hierarchies are necessarily unnatural but rather taken to the extremes in our society. Clearly there will be differences in peoples' incomes and living situation but I think the way the higher classes abuse their power is unnatural. I do agree with you, however, that women should be leading this "battle" since in society we are technically a minority class compared to the dominant men. I also really agree with your last paragraph. I think people commonly make the mistake that feminists are trying to make the world female-dominant, but really we just want equality.
ReplyDelete