Women and nature have such a strong connection. In many developing countries, women make up almost half of the agricultural workers. These women gain a lot of experience with nature and understand farming and gathering. They know if plants are poisonous or not; they know which have healing properties. They have the same or sometimes more skills than the men, but barely any women in these developing countries own their own land. With little education and opportunities, women work the fields and perform their household duties without any future or financial gain. People in developing countries don’t have easy access to clean water, more often than not. Because of this, the women and girls have to take long walks to and from the water sources, making them increasingly vulnerable to physical or sexual assault the further they have to travel. The families and societies rely on the women and girls to truly know and understand the earth that they farm, the plants that they gather, and the natural resources they draw water from. If it weren’t for the women and girls the men would be starving and dehydrated, but the women are nonetheless devalued. Without women being able to own their own land and use their knowledge and experience to help support their family, their society, and their world, they have no hope for a better future. Safe and easy access to clean water should be guaranteed for all people, but these women and girls risk their health and safety daily for the most basic of needs.
Ecofeminism is a movement and method of analyzing structures within societies. As the name suggests, it can be categorized under ecology or feminism. It is not one or the other, but rather the intersection of environmentalism and feminism with a little activism thrown in as well. According to Dr. Laura Hobgood-Oster, ecofeminism is “an environmental critique of feminism and a feminist critique of environmentalism.” It studies the structures and systems of all forms of oppression, as they are all interconnected. More specifically ecofeminism studies “patriarchal power structures'” oppression of nature and women, together not separately. Hobgood-Oster states that if these are examined separately, the whole issue will never be addressed.
Karen Warren, an ecofeminist scholar, identifies eight woman-nature connections with which to analyze the nature of dominations. The fourth, Symbolic Connections, examines female and natural symbolism in relation to the different fields of art and thought. Reading this sparked memories of many art history classes when we discussed the representation of women in art. During the nineteenth century in the Colonialism Era, women were painted in the nude surrounded by material possessions and exotic objects from the Orient (Near East / North Africa). One of these paintings is La Grande Odalisque by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. An odalisque is a concubine in a Turkish harem. The woman, given her position in sex slavery, is portrayed erotically and exotically. The exotic objects like those surrounding her weren’t often bought, but rather obtained violently. In her hand she holds a fan made from peacock feathers. Her back is elongated, making her look less like a natural human. By seeing her in this environment and knowing her role in society, she doesn’t appear to be an everyday woman. She isn’t just objectified, but she’s also animalized; eroticized and exoticized.
Sources:
https://www.iucn.org/content/women%E2%80%99s-rights-make-difference-environment-and-sustainability
http://users.clas.ufl.edu/bron/pdf–christianity/Hobgood-Oster–Ecofeminism-International%20Evolution.pdf