Ecofeminism and the Carnivalesque: The Art of Cecylia Malik and the Spatial Politics of Women's Environmental Activism

Abstract

Though often lauded for its rhetorical passion and its success record, ecofeminist activism is also often criticized—along with ecofeminist theory—for its perceived essentialism, its maternalistic ethos, and its presumed emphasis on the connection between women's bodies and nature. In the eyes of the critics, the linking of women's bodies with nature leads to a problematic naturalization of women and an equally problematic feminization of nature, positioning both firmly within a regressively dualist patriarchal framework. This article uses the socially engaged interventionist art of the Polish ecofeminist activist Cecylia Malik to interrogate this criticism of ecofeminist theory and practice.