Ecofeminist Approach Research Articles

Uncaged Angels: Ecofeminist Literary Ornithology as Citizen Science in the Nineteenth Century

This article examines how women’s ornithological literature facilitated their participation in scientific research and political activism in the nineteenth century. Despite the many confining associations between women and birdcage imagery in Victorian culture, female involvement in the observation of birds was instrumental in the period’s transferring of women’s activity from the private to the public sphere in Britain, the United States and colonial South Africa. By focusing on birdwatching as an early form of what Alan Irwin defines as citizen science (1995), it is possible to explore how women’s ornithological nature writing encouraged environmental advocacy, thus fomenting female autonomous expression in the male-dominated field of natural history. The texts analysed here therefore anticipated ecofeminist approaches to avifauna, allowing for women’s subversive excursions into nature which dissolved the restrictions of the normative ‘angel in the house’.

Human/Nature Dualism in Khan’s The Geometry of God: An Eco-feminist Study

This research proposes a comparative eco-feminist approach to challenge corporate narratives regarding women's associations with nature. The analysis is centred on Uzma Aslam Khan's (2008) novel, The Geometry of God, aiming to gain insights into Val Plumwood's (2002) contemporary critique of the ‘human/ nature dualism’. This research argues social constructivism and socialist eco-feminism to explore the differences in how language is employed to understand the eco-feminist assumptions concerning women and their relationship with nature. Eco-feminism, a movement that emerged in the 1990s, posits that the domination and degradation of women and the environment are the results of patriarchal and capitalist systems (Molyneux et al., 1995). This research argues the compelling issues concerning corporate representations and misrepresentations of women and their connections to their surrounding environment. The portrayals of the relationship between brown women and nature highlight the discursive reconfiguration of brown women's identity, examining how female novelists in Pakistani patriarchal societies redefine the narratives that deconstruct the eternal images of women imposed by the patriarchal academia (Mehmood, 2019).

Nocet esse feracem: An Ecofeminist Analysis of the Pseudo-Ovidian Nux

The Nux depicts the complaints of a walnut tree, pelted with stones and beaten with rods when she bears fruit. Discussion of the Nux, however, has largely centred on its authorship. Recognising its deep engagement with Ovid’s work, this article sets aside the question of authorship and takes a critical ecofeminist approach to explore the poem’s concerns with fertility, nature, the female, and violence. It argues that the walnut tree is feminised and humanised so that her complaints that fertility brings pain and her criticism of trees who sabotage their fertility to be beautiful have meaning for Roman women, and in particular for those women living under the Principate. It aims to demonstrate that the Nux figures the domination of nature and the oppression of women as outcomes of the same harmful ideology.

Introduction: “Who Cares for the Carers?”: A Feminist Approach to Ecological Citizenship

This special issue has chiefly four components to focus upon—citizenship, ecological responsibilities, ecofeminist approach and politics of care, among whom the primary component is citizenship. The recent discourse on citizenship is domineered by the liberal and the civic republican frameworks. T. H. Marshall defines citizenship as “a status bestowed on those who are full members of a community” (1950, 14). Disparagingly, some other critics cite Aristotle’s definition of a citizen as one who “shares in decision and office” with the capacity “to rule and be ruled finely” (1984, 87, 91). Teena Gabrielson sums up this issue with the explanation: “… the liberal model emphasizes citizenship as a public status that ensures the holder of civil, political and social rights; while the civic republican model, renewed by the communitarian challenge to liberalism, emphasizes the public duties, virtues and practices of citizenship” (2008, 430).

Implementation of Gender and Ecology Mainstreaming Policies at Sekolah Penggerak and Eco Green Schools in Surabaya: Ecofeminism Study

This research aims to discuss the implementation of gender and ecology mainstreaming policies in Sekolah penggerak in elementary schools and eco-green schools in Surabaya through an ecofeminist approach. This research uses a qualitative multi-case study approach, with the research subjects being four schools, namely SD Negeri 2 Benowo, SD Muhammadiyah 4 Surabaya, SD Al Khairiyah Surabaya, and SD Kristen Kalam Kudus Surabaya. The research results show that schools with the Adiwiyata or similar labels can better implement ecological awareness programs such as green and eco-green schools. They adopt programs such as hydroponics, recycling, and zero-waste healthy canteens and integrate them into the curriculum with relevant themes. Apart from that, these schools also apply the principles of gender-oriented, child-friendly schools. This research examines how gender mainstreaming and ecology are practised in schools. Both in the form of policies, learning design and related infrastructure. The results of this research illustrate that although there has been progress in implementing gender mainstreaming and ecology policies in schools, further efforts are still needed to increase students' understanding and awareness of these issues. In some aspects, gender and ecological approaches still seem symbolic and insubstantial.

An Ecofeminist Interpretation of As I Lay Dying

As I Lay Dying, published in 1930, one of William Faulkner’s best works, depicts Addie Bundren’s burial journey to Jefferson. Faulkner told a thought-provoking story of how Bundren suffered and endured trials of flood and fire. Critics have commented extensively on this novel, especially regarding its multiple points of view and stream of consciousness. Ecofeminism combines ecology and feminist literary criticism that originated in the 1970s, emphasizes biocentrism and biodiversity, and rejects the oppression of both women and nature. As I Lay Dying is rich in descriptions of patriarchy, nature, and women, so I adopt an ecofeminist approach to interpret the novel from these perspectives and explore the ecofeminist thought and consciousness embodied in the novel.

Zoomorphism and Human Biology in Barbara Kingsolver’s "Prodigal Summer"

This article explores the conceptual difficulties that arise when fiction explores humankind’s primordial ties to nature, specifically regarding gender representation. I examine how an emphasis on biology demonstrates humankind’s innate connection to nature, while simultaneously perpetuating a problematic, essentialist view of gender. Using Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer (2000) as a case study, I present two perspectives from which to interpret her ecofeminist approach. Firstly, I argue that Kingsolver employs zoomorphism as an effective strategy to override essentialist representations of sexuality. Secondly, I use Hans Gumbrecht’s theory of presence to contextualise the representation of biology and claim that Prodigal Summer attempts to dilute a much broader conceptual binary between humankind and nature.

Climate Crisis and Social Protection - From Worker Protection to Post-growth Transformation?

The article discusses five literature strands’ approaches towards social protection systems in the context of climate crisis: Adaptive Social Protection, Just Transition, Green New Deal, Post-growth, and Eco-feminism. As we argue, these five strands are located on a spectrum between a green growth orientation and a green anti-capitalist orientation. Furthermore, they differ in terms of their problematisation of the climate crisis and have different perspectives on relevant actors, on world regions, and – most relevant in the context of social welfare – their conceptualisation of social protection. While Adaptive Social Protection emphasizes cash transfers and insurances, Green New Deal and Just Transition approaches focus more on redistribution and labour market policies, and Post-growth and Eco-feminist approaches more on universalist policies and systems. We argue that these literatures each have their weaknesses, but also offer urgent questions, concepts, and insights for further social policy research.

Representation of Lian Namang Music In The Besi Pare Ritual With An Ecofeminist Approach

Music is a universal language that can penetrate space and time. However, traditional music requires semi-improvisation to adjust to environmental conditions. Lian Namang's music for the Lamaholot community is a traditional music that tells some of the life philosophies of the predecessor community. One type of Lian Namang music is used in the Lamaholot tradition to personify a feminine figure in the mythology of the goddess of rice. Lian Namang's musical lyrics in rice mythology require contextuality with the times. In connection with the phenomenology that occurs in the Lamaholot culture, that patriarchal culture becomes dominant in the domination of nature and women, it is necessary to hold contextual musical representations based on Lian Namang's music so that they can have a persuasive influence on the Lamaholot community in respecting women and nature as the womb of life. The results of the research are used as a medium to represent the ecofeminist movement, which aims to influence society in responding to patriarchal culture. Masculine representation is not only seen as a centre (androcentric) that dominates and uses a fragmented nature. The mukti trilila theory is one of the foundations that helps humans to continue to adapt their knowledge and skills to the times, so that the noble values of life are passed down from generation to generation.

Ecofeminist Spiritualities in Context of Social and Pandemic Crises: Sustainability and Shared Care

The article contributes on ecofeminist spirituality, reflecting on the relationship between gender, ecology, and social and pandemic crises from contemporary tragedies, based on bibliographic and audiovisual (video) research. It is based on the transversality of approaches, which contemplate the power relations between gender, class, and ethnicity in dealing with people and the environment. In an ecofeminist approach, it affirms the ethics of shared care from the most vulnerable living beings, at a sociocultural, political, economic, and theological level.

7Feminist Theory

Abstract This chapter provides an overview to central contributions to feminist theory published in 2022. It focuses on three topics around which many contributions congealed: (1) the relationship between transgender and feminist praxis; (2) ecofeminist approaches to violence; and finally (3) feminism’s entanglements with neoliberalism. The chapter outlines the contexts of the publications’ interventions and speculates about what might come next.

Teaching to Care for Land as Home

Can a feminist, justice-oriented approach to environmental care function through the concept of the Anthropocene? This article argues that by foregrounding girlhood and young women's experiences, an ecofeminist approach to environmental education benefits the outdoor education field and environmentalist action alike. The argument is based on ethnographic research from 2018 at Cottonwood Gulch—an outdoor education program based in New Mexico, USA. It focuses on an all-girls group and the relationships they created with wildlife and wild spaces throughout their time in the outdoors immersion program. The article explores how an ecofeminist approach to the girls' education strengthened their responsible relationships with environments. Cottonwood Gulch created a sense of home in the landscapes it explored, and it encouraged intimacy between participants and between participants and wildlife. Through this approach the girls came to know "land as home" and to understand caretaking as central to ecological responsibility and environmentalism. The article explores the entanglement of environmentalism and feminism discussed through ecofeminist approaches and problematizes the Anthropocene through this lens. It asks us to look beyond the concept of the Anthropocene and instead take up understanding of the Capitalocene, allowing ecofeminist thought and work to inspire a justice-oriented approach to environmentalism and environmental education.

The Interrelations of Nature and Woman in Takahata's The Tale of The Princess Kaguya: An Ecofeminist Perspective

Nature, as an essential part of human life, should be preserved to maintain a good quality of life for living beings, and literature can be a tool to promote this issue. This article aims at (1) exploring the characters in Isao Takahata's The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and (2) analyzing the interrelations of woman and nature as parallel in a patriarchal society. In discussing the movie, this article employs the ecofeminist approach. Five theories are applied to support the analysis: the theory of characterization and Mise en Scène, the theory of ecofeminism, the theory of symbolism, and the theory of patriarchy. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya reveals the equation of women and nature and how both are devalued. The analysis of the characters reveals that Princess Kaguya possesses caring, adventurous, and mysterious characteristics, while Sanuki no Miyatsuko possesses caring, loving, ambitious, and arrogant characteristics. The analysis also finds that Princess Kaguya loves to play with nature. She is equated to an animal, such as a bird, and a plant which is a tree branch. Women and nature are seen as parallel in the story. On the other hand, the noblemen in the story, as the masculine, are ignorant of nature as they pluck flowers and destroy a swallow's nest. This study finds out that Princess Kaguya experiences oppression as she is forced into a lifestyle she does not wish for and is harassed by an Emperor.

AN ECOFEMINIST READING OF THE TURKISH TRANSLATION OF A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

This study aims to analyse the Turkish translation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with an ecofeminist point of view. Ecofeminism argues that feminist efforts and struggles just like nature are challenged by the patriarchal system, for that reason this male-dominated system can be seen as a threatening factor over both women and nature. The ecofeminist approach to analyses of literary texts can be tracked among the most recent studies that have been carried out latter-day. And taking ecofeminism in terms of translation studies, specifically from the point of women’s moving through different types of space constitutes the essence of this study. In this respect, the worlds of humans and their splitting as men and women, as society and nature, and as suppression and freedom in the play and their Turkish translations are studied in the study with special emphasis on the translator’s word choices. The Turkish translation of the acts adds to the ecofeminist understanding of the play by having an almost impeccable language as Shakespeare’s.

A “lifeline out of the COVID‐19 crisis”? An ecofeminist critique of the European Green Deal

A “lifeline out of the <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 crisis”? An ecofeminist critique of the European Green Deal

Baliseering as Reductionism Project: Vandana Shiva’s Ecofeminist Approach

&lt;p class="Abstract"&gt;Bali is one of the cultural tourism destinations in Indonesia. As a well-known tourism destination, tourism industry in Bali has generated huge economic benefits for the Balinese people. The development of Bali tourism industry is started in the Dutch East Indies era. The colonial government attempted to prevent another bloody war with Bali’s local kingdoms to preserve the law and order in Dutch East Indies. To improve their relations with Bali’s local kingdom, the colonial government introduced the Baliseering policy as a pro-local culture policy to preserve Balinese culture from a foreign culture. However, &lt;span lang="IN" style=""&gt;the&lt;/span&gt; colonial government used Baliseering to isolate Bali from Indonesian nationalism movement in Java. Another agenda behind Baliseering policy is to develop Bali as a new tourism destination in Dutch East Indies. To encourage the development of Bali's tourism industry&lt;span lang="IN" style=""&gt;, &lt;/span&gt;Bali is promoted as a culturally rich island with bare-chested women, these promotions created the idea of a hidden paradise. This study aims to explain Baliseering as a reductionism project from Vandana Shiva’s ecofeminism approach. Baliseering has exploited Balinese culture and environment and destroyed the ideal relations between Balinese people. With Vandana Shiva’s ecofeminism approach, Baliseering is seen as another patriarchal-capitalist reductionism project. Reductionism &lt;span lang="IN" style=""&gt;in&lt;/span&gt; Baliseering policy foundations perpetuates epistemic injustice in Bali. This study is philosophical research on actual problems with a descriptive approach. This research uses the philosophical hermeneutic method with methodological elements consisting of description, historical continuity, and critical reflection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Baliseering as Reductionism Project: Vandana Shiva’s Ecofeminist Approach

&lt;p class="Abstract"&gt;Bali is one of the cultural tourism destinations in Indonesia. As a well-known tourism destination, tourism industry in Bali has generated huge economic benefits for the Balinese people. The development of Bali tourism industry is started in the Dutch East Indies era. The colonial government attempted to prevent another bloody war with Bali’s local kingdoms to preserve the law and order in Dutch East Indies. To improve their relations with Bali’s local kingdom, the colonial government introduced the Baliseering policy as a pro-local culture policy to preserve Balinese culture from a foreign culture. However, &lt;span lang="IN" style=""&gt;the&lt;/span&gt; colonial government used Baliseering to isolate Bali from Indonesian nationalism movement in Java. Another agenda behind Baliseering policy is to develop Bali as a new tourism destination in Dutch East Indies. To encourage the development of Bali's tourism industry&lt;span lang="IN" style=""&gt;, &lt;/span&gt;Bali is promoted as a culturally rich island with bare-chested women, these promotions created the idea of a hidden paradise. This study aims to explain Baliseering as a reductionism project from Vandana Shiva’s ecofeminism approach. Baliseering has exploited Balinese culture and environment and destroyed the ideal relations between Balinese people. With Vandana Shiva’s ecofeminism approach, Baliseering is seen as another patriarchal-capitalist reductionism project. Reductionism &lt;span lang="IN" style=""&gt;in&lt;/span&gt; Baliseering policy foundations perpetuates epistemic injustice in Bali. This study is philosophical research on actual problems with a descriptive approach. This research uses the philosophical hermeneutic method with methodological elements consisting of description, historical continuity, and critical reflection.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Women, Nature, and Subservience: An Eco-feminist Study of Kalidas’ Meghadoot

The article aims to analyze the connections between women and nature in Kalidas’ Meghadoot by using an eco-feminist approach. The paper argues that Kalidasa depicts women and nature as equally subservient to men in the ancient patriarchal society, and his purpose in doing so is to foreground the need to equate women and nature and assert their equality with that of men. As a theory, ecofeminism tends to equate women and nature, particularly in the fact that both face domination and exploitation at the hands of men. The eco-feminist critics believe that the issues of women and ecology are interrelated. To deal with this concept the papers borrow theoretical insights from Warren, Miles, and Vandhana Shiva. The indicates that nature and women are represented as alike in Meghadoot, as both are treated as feminine and exploited by patriarchal society. The human can live a naturally happy life on earth if the hierarchy between males and females is abolished. Revering women also connotes due respect for nature, and this inspiresthe male to love nature as a mother. Through this literary work, the poet Kalidasa intends to show the significance of the idea of equality to maintain harmony among men, women, and nature.

Countryside, Domestic Picturesque, and Scenic Sublimes: The Triad of Eco-feminism in Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron”

This paper examines countryside, domestic picturesque, and scenic sublimes in Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron.” It conducts an interdisciplinary eco-feminist approach to explore the coalescence of women and nature depicted in the story. The study approaches women’s exploitation and its remedial antithesis through living in nature. It applies three eco-critical concepts. The first concept is the countryside which comprises marshes, swamps, and woods. The second concept is domestic picturesque that encompass fauna and paths; and the third concept is scenic sublimes including birds, forest, and wilderness. The study demonstrates how Jewett adopts these eco-critical insights as indicatory features symbolizing the exploitation of women by male mainstream to dramatize the subtle relation between women and nature. It highlights an aspect seldom remarked on by scholars of Jewett’s story, and it discovers Jewett’s self-conscious exposition of women’s exploitation inflicted on the protagonist, Sylvia. It also identifies Jewett’s depiction of the protagonist’s settlement in the countryside to evade masculine exploitation by living close to natural elements, like animals, birds, and wilderness. The study ultimately unravels Jewett’s reinforcement of the protagonist’s feminist subjectivity via finding spiritual serenity in nature.

The Relation of Female Characters to Nature in the Turkish Series Wounded Love (2016–2018): Ecofeminist Approaches

This study analyzes the female characters and their relationship to nature in the Turkish series, entitled “You are my country” (“Vatanım Sensin” originally in Turkish) or “Wounded Love” (2016-2018) from an ecofeminist point of view. The Turkish and Greek mothers, daughters, and sisters try to unify their families after each attack in the series. Thus, their efforts will be analyzed within the framework of “Ecofeminism” as Turkey is a land linguistically feminized in Latin as “Turquia” with a female gender ending -a. The ecological metaphorical spaces associated with the images of Turkish and Greek women trying to preserve the family continuity during the liberation war of Turkey will be analyzed; such ecological spaces include the Aegean Sea, forests, and roads of Izmir, Ankara, and Salonica. Moreover, ecological metaphorical objects include flowers, trees, and animals. Illnesses, famines, plunders, and forced migrations are the main reasons for the losses of some family members; this study examines how these lost members get united through the metaphorical uses of the environmental spaces important for women, who try to keep the new Turkey free through their efforts in the 1920s within the framework of ecofeminism, a term coined by Françoise d’Eaubonne in 1974.