Under Western Eyes : Feminist Scholarship And Colonial Discourses And The Rise Of Ecofeminism As A Development Fable

In the reading “The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism”, the author, Karen J. Warren, explains her argument on the inevitable connection between the oppression of women and the oppression of nature. She further suggests that ecofeminism provides a framework to re envision feminism and create an environmental ethic which takes into account the connection between sexism and naturism.

Until the 1960s, feminism was widely regarded as a sub-set of liberalism and socialism, rather than as an ideology in its own right. Today, however, feminism can be considered a single doctrine in that all feminists subscribe to a range of ‘common ground’ beliefs, such as the existence of a patriarchal society, and the desire to change gender inequalities. Then again, it can be argued that feminism is characterised more by disagreement than consensus, as three broad traditions: liberal feminism, Marxist or socialist feminism, and radical feminism, which often contain rival tendencies, are encompassed within each core feminist theme. This essay will argue that, despite tensions between its

Ecofeminism is a radical environmental movement that recognizes a connection between the exploitation of nature and the oppression of woman. There are many interpretations of feminist ecology and it has evolved over time. Garrard specifically discusses in his book, Ecocriticism, how society associates women with nature and emotions

The first assumption argues that “western” feminist discourses emphasize that all women are bound together by a shared oppression and are powerless (53-54). Mohanty systemically explores this theory through an in depth analysis of five categories in which women of the third world are traditionally presented as homogenous victims by “western” feminist. The first two categories, women as victims of male violence and women as universal dependents, arguably offer the most straightforward deconstruction of the gendered body of knowledge that is power. Women, especially women of the third world, are all seen as victims of male violence and control (54). All women are defined as powerless, and all men are defined as powerful (55). Similarly, all women are defined as powerless dependents in the second category. Mohanty argues, “this is because descriptive gender differences are transformed into the divisions between men and women” (55). This division possesses a privileged position as the explanation for the oppression of women (56). Therefore, women are seen as a powerless group no matter what the historical or cultural situation because they are deemed so prior to any analysis (56).

The theorist that I chose is Dorothy Smith. She is a well-known Marxist feminist scholar and activist (Carroll, 2010, p. 1). The reason I chose to write about Dorothy Smith is because her unique approach to feminism and women’s movements interested me, making me want to learn more about her.

The second article that I have chosen was written in July 1969. It discusses excerpts from The Redstockings Manifesto and the feminist movements that arose in the late 1960s. The manifesto illustrates how feminism had evolved from demands for equal treatment for women. (984) Women

In the essay, “Bad Feminist,” by english professor and novelist, Roxane Gay, examines the “myth” of “essential feminism,”which means that there are right and wrong ways to being a feminist. Through her own personal experiences as a feminist, she argues the expectations, and labeling due to cultural stereotypes for not living up to feminist ideals. She claims that there is no certain way to being a feminist. Throughout her essay, Roxanne does an astonishing job at appealing to her audience with strong, emotional context by going into detail with her own thoughts are about feminism. Also, her references such as, popular magazines,

One common perception of nature is that it is something raw, untouched by human civilization. This point of view suggests that humans are completely separated by nature and that our cultures and technologies are in some way unnatural. However, I believe that not only are we a part of nature, but our cultures are also deeply entwined with how we view nature. In this paper, I will review Emily Martin’s The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles as well as Michael Pollen’s Why ‘Natural’ Doesn’t Mean Anything Anymore in order to examine how nature, culture, and power relate with each other. Martin asserts that gender stereotypes affect biologists’ description of the natural world, particularly in the human reproduction process. Pollen makes a case that nature in fact lacks any meaning yet is often used as strong rhetoric. I argue that nature is constructed through cultural values and is used for rhetorical purposes, which shows that people manipulate facts in order to gain authority.

Warren in her book Ecofeminist Philosophy opines "Ecological feminists ("ecofeminists") claim that there are important connections between the unjustified dominations of women, people of color, children, and the poor and the unjustified domination of nature. (1) These unjustifiably dominated or marginalized groups "Others," comprises both "human Others" (such as women, people of color, children, and the poor) and "earth Others" (such as animals, forests, the land). The reference to "Others" is intended to highlight the status of those subordinate groups in unjustifiable relationships and systems of domination and subordination. These relations always worked in the societies and are still functional now therefore this paper tries to shed lights on the macrocosmic world view by studying the microcosmic cocoon of the

Thesis: Gilmore argues that through community building and outreach, feminists in the 1970’s, particularly NOW members, were able to “create and sustain their identities (129)” individually as well as developed a “feminist consciousness (129)” as a community as a whole. She argues that “grassroots” movements on the local level using “rank-and-file” activists were more vital to the women’s movement than the “leaders” of the movement.

The first part of this essay will outline the main arguments of the feminist ecologists and deal with the concept of Ecofeminism. The second part will sketch the main arguments of Rosemary Radford Reuther book, "Gaia and God". The final part of this essay will analyze: Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, "Witchcraft as Goddess Religion", The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, and "the Descent of Inanna" and examine the pros and cons of the position that a return to goddess worship would save our planet.

Saul Alinsky, the founder of Community Organising , began his long organising career in the late 1930’s in Chicago’s ‘Back of the Yards’ neighbourhood (Hancock, 2017). It was here that he took the ideas of unions and spoke to leaders to expand the systems and strategies to help organise disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods nationwide (Stall & Stoecker, 1998). From here he generated many community movements, published two books, produced multiple powerful organisations and influenced an entire generation of organisers (Stall & Stoecker, 1998). Feminist organising however, is not associated with any particular person or social movement (Stall & Stoecker, 1998). This

Bolatito A. Lanre-Abbas, (2013) "Feminism in the Postmodernist Age." The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies 28 (3): 355-368, Proquest, Accessed Dec. 27, 2016.

“The New feminism emphasizes the importance of the women’s point of view, the Old feminism believes in the primary importance of the human being” (19).

In effect, it was this very labeling of the female as 'other' that "was the starting point for contemporary feminist theory" (Mascia-Lees & Sharpe, 2000:22). By labeling the female as 'other', the dominant patriarchal discourse of modernism retains its position as subject (2000:22). Feminism aims to reverse the power relations of such modernist binary arguments, allowing those labeled as 'other' the chance to claim the title of 'subject' (2000:23). Nevertheless, the fact remains that modernism is ultimately a patriarchal discourse, a discourse effective only in its entirety and is thus unable to be 'cropped' to the liking of feminists (Hekman, 1990:6). As a result, by remaining