Queer Earth Mothering: Thinking Through the Biological Paradigm of Motherhood

Justin Morris

doi:10.5206/fpq/2015.2.3

Abstract

I consider Christine Overall’s (2012) proposal that counteracting the ecological threats born from overconsumption and overpopulation morally obligates (most) Westerners to limit their procreative output to one child per person. I scrutinize what Overall finds valuable about the genetic link in the parent-child relationship through the complementary lenses of Shelley M. Park’s (2013) project of “queering motherhood” and the ecofeminist concept of “earth mothering.” What comes of this theoretical mix is a procreative outlook I define as queer earth mothering (QEM): an interrogative attitude for identifying the ways in which anti-ecological and heteronormative ideologies seep into maternal praxis. I argue that QEM has potential to relocate the value(s) of the putative parent-child relationship, change attitudes toward adoptive motherhood for the better, and shed light on the reality that procreative decisions in affluent contexts can and will rebound with devastating environmental consequences on both present and future populations if left unabated. My hope is that with QEM as our guide for thinking through the biological paradigm of motherhood we will be in a much better position to appreciate why affluent prospective parents should (generally speaking) favour adoption over biological reproduction.

Highlights

We the affluent wreak such havoc on the planet that determining the extent of the damage on future populations remains something of a mystery
I scrutinize what Overall finds valuable about the genetic link in the parent-child relationship through the complementary lenses of Park’s (2013) project of “queering motherhood” and the ecofeminist concept of “earth mothering.”
Define as queer earth mothering (QEM): an interrogative attitude for identifying the ways in which anti-ecological and heteronormative ideologies seep into maternal praxis

Summary

Introduction

We the affluent wreak such havoc on the planet that determining the extent of the damage on future populations remains something of a mystery. Failing to dramatically cut our carbon emissions by 2050 could mean, among other dismal possibilities, that 25 million more children will suffer malnourishment; the overall number of people at risk of hunger will increase 1020%; and an additional 600 million individuals will die from malnutrition by 2080 These grim predictions are the result of ongoing environmental harms produced “mainly by members of rich, industrialized countries, who have been their main beneficiaries” (Lichtenberg 2013, 33). I scrutinize what Overall finds valuable about the genetic link in the parent-child relationship through the complementary lenses of Park’s (2013) project of “queering motherhood” and the ecofeminist concept of “earth mothering.” What comes of this theoretical mix is a procreative outlook I. define as queer earth mothering (QEM): an interrogative attitude for identifying the ways in which anti-ecological and heteronormative ideologies seep into maternal praxis. With QEM as our guide for thinking through the biological paradigm of motherhood, my hope is that we will be in a much better position to appreciate why affluent prospective parents should (generally speaking) favour adoption over biological reproduction

The Challenge of Situating Procreative Decision-Making in a Global Context

Findings

Conclusion