(https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/my-environmentalism-will-be-intersectional-or-it-will-be-bullshit/)
INTERSECTIONALITY: WOMEN AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Intersectionality is the belief that ‘we do not belong to simply just one social identity, we belong to multiple social identities’ (https://muse-jhu-edu.libproxy.umassd.edu/article/660551). By this definition we can naturally connect oppressive issues such as women and the environment. What makes ecofeminism different from typical feminism is that ecofeminists believe that the environment is oppressed in connectivity with women.
This tie between women and the environment can be seen in instances such as: women lacking sanitation in third-world countries, women often holding political power LESS than men (unable to promote environmentalism), the sexualization of food, and a range of other factors. The oppression of one is the oppression of all.
There is still some debate regarding intersectionality in feminism. Some feminists that are anti-categorical choose to remain in their self-nominated social identities. I can understand how one might believe this to be the ‘easier’ way. It is easy to put yourself into a box and define yourself as one thing or one cause.
To be fair, before I took this ecofeminism class, I had no idea what intersectionality had to do with feminism. I have always considered myself a feminist but, I had never thought outside of the oppression of women. Now, after learning about the intersectionality between feminism and the environment, I feel awakened to a greater cause.
The more women are oppressed and unable to make their voices heard, the longer we let our environment and ecosystems decline. We are directly and indirectly affected by this decline. Living in the United States has left me indirectly affected and, I believe that is why I had remained in my ignorant bubble leading up to this point. I have never lacked clean drinking water, food, sanitization, or the right to speak my mind.
Because I have not felt the sting of society’s oppression of women and the environment does not make it any less real for the rest of the planet. It is narcissistic in a way to view the world as it is only happening to you. We are all connected and entwined with one another and the Earth we share.
ANNOTATED SOURCES
- Intersectionality is the belief that ‘we do not belong to simply just one social identity, we belong to multiple social identities’ https://muse-jhu-edu.libproxy.umassd.edu/article/660551
- Image One, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/my-environmentalism-will-be-intersectional-or-it-will-be-bullshit/
- Image Two, https://brainworldmagazine.com/becoming-a-global-community-rethinking-our-relationship-to-the-earth/