Ecofeminism: what is it and what positions does this current of feminism defend?

This current of feminist thought emphasizes the relationship between women and nature.

Ecofeminism is one of the theoretical and practical currents generated in the 70's, which pays attention to how the economic development of the dominant groups in the world is related to women and nature.It focuses on how the economic development of the dominant groups has promoted an excessive exploitation of nature and how this affects women in a special way.

It arises from something that many feminist movements question: dualisms, understood as pairs of opposites with unequal value that had originated in patriarchal culture (e.g., body-mind, nature-culture, scientific knowledge-traditional knowledge).

Ecofeminism pays special attention to the relationship between nature, women and capitalist economy.From there it allows the development of different currents within Ecofeminism itself that made visible not only the exploitation of nature and women, but also the differences between the oppression experienced by different women and natures around the world.

Ecological consciousness in feminism

The emergence of Ecofeminism was led by feminists who had a strong ecological conscience, and who denounce that historically the patriarchal system has equated women with nature, which could have been a position of the patriarchal system.This could have been an important position of power for women, but far from that, it ended up being devalued and exploited in the capitalist economy.

That is to say: they question the use and exploitation of nature that has been promoted in patriarchal societies and advocate a more feminine position, closer to the care and protection of living beings.

Among the practices derived from Ecofeminism are, for example, the promotion of natural childbirth or the extension of breastfeeding, as well as the creation of communities of empowerment and self-management of women. and self-management of women, especially in countries with higher poverty rates.

Some proposals of Ecofeminism

Far from being a homogeneous current, Ecofeminism has developed within itself different proposals that have allowed us to understand some nuances in the experiences of women's subordination and their relationship with nature.

Essentialist feminism

Broadly speaking, essentialist ecofeminism is a current that enhances maternal qualities to promote life and care for nature, considering these qualities as important to counteract the ecological crisis.considering these qualities as important to counteract the ecological crisis.

It starts from a radical essentialism based on Biological differentiation, where it says that the fact that men do not have the capacity to procreate makes them depend to a great extent on feminine care and energy. It proposes that women need to emancipate ourselves from masculinity, which is fundamentally aggressive, and to empower feminine strength through bonds among ourselves.

The criticism that has been made of this feminism is its excessive biological essentialism, i.e., the assumption that men and women are determined and differentiated by our biological characteristics, which tends to demonize the masculine and can keep women in segregation.

2. Spiritualist feminism

Spiritualist feminism questions the ideal of development of the first world countries.because they say that it is a "bad development" that causes injustice and exploitation, especially to women and nature in the "undeveloped countries".

For this reason, this proposal of Ecofeminism is currently one of those that is taking greater force in the "developing" countries formerly called "the third world".

Spiritualist feminism considers the patriarchal social structure beyond the purely masculine: it understands patriarchy as a system that, among other things, entrusts women with the management of food, child development and environmental care in general; issues that are especially exploited in the poorest countries.

This current seeks women's access to the production of goods by maintaining ourselves as a source of control and balance of the environment and food development. In other words, it connects women's emancipation with ecological awareness and care practices.

3. Ecological feminism

In reaction and critique to the previous proposals, ecological feminism arises, which points out that Ecofeminism had been developed without taking into consideration the differences of class or ethnic origin that make women's relationship with nature, as well as the exploitation of the patriarchal system, to be experienced in different ways.

They propose that such a system is not a homogeneous thing that affects all women in the same way, and they put the focus of the denunciation not only on the way in which the exploitation of nature affects women in a particular way, but they attribute responsibilities to the groups that monopolize natural resources and to the rise of the capitalist economy.

Bibliographical references:

• Pascual, M. and Herrera, Y. (2010). Ecofeminism, a proposal to rethink the present and build the future. ECOS Bulletin, 10: 1-7
• Velasco, S. (2009). Sexes, gender and health. Theory and methods for clinical practice and health programs. Minerva Ediciones: Madrid