Alina Miglietta in Ecofeminism

I started my vegan journey on April 10th. I tried to make sure that I documented as many meals as I could without forgetting. I started by taking pictures of what I ate, but then kept forgetting to do that, so I switched to a food journal, and jotted down everything that I ate to keep on track with myself. I decided to go cold turkey as I originally had anticipated doing, but to my surprise it was harder than I had thought it was going to be. The first few days were challenging to switch from meat to a more plant based diet, since I actually had to change my thinking around what I ate and how I planned my food out throughout the course of the week. However, after the first week it got a lot easier to make decisions naturally to cut out animal products when anticipating food. It became less stressful to incorporate a more plant based meal into my diet and lifestyle. I will post some pics down below to show my progress. 

One result that I have noticed overall is that I feel better in my body. I don’t feel as sluggish after lunch or dinner, and I actually do have more energy throughout the day to perform my daily tasks at work and at home. I am loosing weight slowly, and do notice it in my body when I look at myself in the mirror. I feel better emotionally knowing that I am not contributing to more killing of animals 95% of the time, and that has been a good experience for me. 

In step one of this overall blog post, I did reflect and admit that I would sometimes fall through the cracks, as a normal part of the process of changing a whole lifestyle choice. To give some context as to why I slipped up from time to time, I will do a bit of explaining. I work in a doctors office in a center with other offices. In the building, just down the hall from my office, there is a cafe. In that cafe is where morning coffee and muffins are sold, then transitions to selling lunch for staff and patients. I will post a picture of what one (out of 3) weekly menu looks like that we have at the cafe. You will pick up pretty quickly, that it’s 99% not at all vegan friendly. Aside from the ‘hot food’ there is a fridge with salads, sandwiches, Baby Bell cheese rounds, lots of deserts, salad dressing, and some other small things. Don’t let the fact that I said salads fool you. Not one is ever totally vegan except for two since starting this process. A pic of one vegan salad is below. The rest all have chicken and cheese in them. And if by chance their aren’t both it’s either one or the other. I only get a 1/2 lunch, so I don’t have time to get in my car and go anywhere else locally to get food. But I would rather eat a salad that way then what is normally served as you will see. I also have them with a Cliff Bar to help me make it from 12pm-5pm without getting hungry, 

Overall, I would say that this project has been successful, because I do feel differently about relating to meat, and want to continue on after this class is compete, of continuing to eat a more consistant plant based diet. I am interested in packing lunches from the dinners that I make at home in the future. 

When reading the instructions for our activist action idea, I was imedietely drawn towards the idea of taking up the personal approach to going vegan for a week. I understand how going vegan is showing solidarity and care with those fighting in the movement for the rights of animals and women together against masculine culture, gender and sexuality oppression, and patriarchal standards that exists very vividly today; also thanks to the work by Carol J Adams and Deane Curtin. Their work shows clear support for a much deserved and needed new world to come, free of any kind of suffering, oppression, and exploitation. 

Before Covid-19 hit, I was 100% vegan when living in Massachusetts after college. I saw Fed Up on Netflix one day and was instantly turned off to animal products all together. The pandemic and my relationship at the time really changed the relationship I had with my body and with food. I am now back to where I want to be with my weight, but I never went back to being vegan. Although I am gluten free, which has done amazing things for my skin and hair! My mom sometimes asks me if I will ever go back, and I tell her that I would like to. This might be exactly what I need to kick start my vegan lifestyle again. 

With this plan I want to make sure that I stay dedicated! I do want to achieve more weight loss, and I know that when I was vegan before that I did loose weight, kept it off more easily, and looked even better than I do right now. I don’t mind speaking about my weight. I wouldn’t say that it’s a problem for me, but I don’t mind admitting that I would like to loose more. I do need to also get my cholesterol down. It’s not great. I think that my plan will be effective, because I have been vegan in the past and going cold turkey with action plans in life has really benefitted me. I think that it would be great to also document my progress, so that I can remind myself of the progress that I make and the goal(s) that I am trying to achieve! Will I have days where I slip through the cracks a little bit? Sure! But I think that’s part of the process of change, and growth. I am excited to get started. There are a lot of food items that have animal products in them that I didn’t know about when I first went vegan! Did you know that Tostitos Hint of Lime chips contains milk ingredients?? Bet you didn’t! I will have to give those up! I have been eating them a lot lately! I will start on Monday April 10th. 

It took me until I sat down to write this post, that I realized all of the readings meant for this piece represent different truths about the connection between women and nature from different parts of the world. Latin America, India, and Brazil. I enjoyed reading all of them, because although incredibly sobering and heartbreaking they represent the truth about the lives of women and communities in all 3 places. They also share knowledge about the reality for feminism, and the further need to protect women and nature. 

It was very refreshing to read Ivone Gebara’s Ecofeminism: A Latin American Perspective. I found her writing straight forward, honest, to the point, and her perspective on the intersectionality of feminism and utopia really intrigued me. I can’t think of anyone else who has brought up those two ideas being married to each other the way that she described it! In terms of connecting the oppression of women and the oppression of nature, Ivone brings up many good points in her piece about how we are currently living is impacting ourselves as women and the future of how we will see the world if we don’t change how we move forward with change and relief from oppression. She stresses that both oppressions are happening at the same time, not one after another. She states that “While all these discussions are going on, [discussions among feminist and ecofeminists about different applications for discussing the best perspectives] the deconstruction of the Amazon forest, the rain forest, and others, continue…lots of paper is being used, lots of trees are being cut down and used by industries, polluting the rivers and the air…lots of women and children are starving and dying with diseases produced by a capitalist system to destroy lives and keep profit for only a few” (Gebara 94). While she does explain her role in understanding the relationship between feminism and ecology and how she shares her knowledge about it, at the same time she brings forward the obvious knowledge in an attempt to point out that while feminists and eco feminists, can continue to have discussions regarding different ways of dealing with issues for women and nature, real time devistations are happening to the elements and beings that we are trying to save. She reminds us, that actions will speak louder than words. Everything that we are experiencing  has violence associated with it in some way, and we need to start thinking about a new reality or utopia if we want to have a chance at saving what we want for the suture. 

I knew that Talita Correa’s article The Brazilian Slum Children Who are Literally Swimming in Garbage was going to be hard to read just based on the title, but I also knew that it was going to be an important article for furthering my knowledge about the relationship between the oppression of women and children and the oppression of nature. The article, while short, was descriptive, and very intentional for shedding light on just how devastating the conditions are in Recife and Devine Providence in Brazil. Correa writes about a young boy, and one mother and daughter who collect cans and aluminum parts from filthy water in canals filled with trash so that they can sell them for money to pay for food and other expenses while the daughter is living with ringworm and lives in a cardboard house with her mother to survive. According to the article, it’s the only life that the daughter of the mother mentioned in the article know. In this article, both women AND children are being exploited, oppressed, and neglected as well as the environment around them. The picture says it all. I am glad that efforts had been made to spare Paulo and his family in response to the photo in the article being brought forward, but more action needs to be taken for more children and families to never have to endure what Paulo went through or to suffer a health crisis as invasive as ringworm! It’s clear that as a result of patriarchy, and greed, women, children and nature suffer far more directly than other elements especially in Brazil and other parts of the world. 

In terms of the second question in our assignment, and after watching the two YouTube videos of different women speaking about how they have been impacted throughout the process of modernization on their land, it made more sense for me to think about the question backwards, to help me better organize my thoughts. The answer that I arrived at was: yes, I do agree that environmental degradation equals direct and deeper cultural losses and issues for women, tribes, and communities. In the 2015 Gendered Impact series 5, one indigenous women named Meeka Otway spoke about how mining has a direct impact on many elements of the land that it’s destroying. She states that “Mining and environmental degradation means that…traditional hunting grounds and important animals have changed their migration routes. In those ways the mine is contributing to the loss of traditional knowledge and cultural practices” (Otway 2015). It’s clear that environmental degradation and oppression impacts indigenous women’s way of life very seriously and the losses that come with mining on land that they used to occupy has resulted in a lot of suffering and oppression for them and for their traditions and practices. 

I think that feminism has done a lot of good work for helping to achieve many milestones for women, and ecofeminism helps to restore lost voices, hidden knowledge, and concealed truth about intersectional social categories to bring them back to the movement towards a better future for women and nature. However, I think that we need to act more then we need to write. We need to change rather than dwell. We need to focus rather than deflect on others. In shared words with Gebara, “A new utopia is possible” (Gebara 101). A new utopia has to be possible. 

Work Cited 

Gebara, Ivone. “ECOFEMINISM: A Latin American Perspective.” CrossCurrents, vol. 53, no. 1, 2003, pp. 93–103. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24461123. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.

‌“2015 Gendered Impacts Series (4): Land Is Identity (2:28).” Www.youtube.com, YouTube, 2 Apr. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LopcPrSvDBw. Accessed 2 Apr. 2023.

Vice. “The Brazilian Slum Children Who Are Literally Swimming in Garbage.” Www.vice.com, 30 Jan. 2014, www.vice.com/en/article/kwpwja/the-brazilian-slum-children-who-are-literally-swimming-in-garbage-0000197-v21n1. Accessed 2 Apr. 2023.

While I don’t particularly agree with everything that I read from this week’s reading, I was able to learn about Intersectional Environmentalism, and how it relates to different feminist issues. I wasn’t aware that Intersectional Environmentalism even existed before the readings for this week. None the less, I can appreciate the diversity of issues that it takes into account, while holding more space for more voices from women of color. 

From Leah Thomas’s The Difference Between Ecofeminism & Intersectional Environmentalism, she describes how both are separate from each other, while at the same time allowing her readers to feel ok with identifying to label they feel the most connected with. For her, I’m gathering that the education that she’s giving out (blog post writing), is serving her more than to passively create division among her readers to pick sides. She states that, “Both Ecofeminism and Intersectional Environmentalism explore how the treatment and degradation of the earth exposes a deeply rooted societal problem. But while Ecofeminism narrows in on gender, sexuality, and the patriarchy, Intersectional Environmentalism creates space for all social injustices, including sexism”(Thomas). I think that it’s important to recognize how both Ecofeminism and Intersectional Environmentalism can be used as effective tools in different ways, on different platforms of knowledge. They are both important for serving women and the environment that connects us all. 

From A.E. Kings Intersectionality and the Changing Face of Ecofeminism, she provides a more critical viewpoint of ecofeminism and intersectionality as separate entities, but how applying an intersectional framework to the discussion can help develop the meaning behind feminist issues and what still needs to be done to help women and intersectional theorization. The following quote, I enjoyed reading, because it helps to describe why intersectionality is important for the relationship between women and the environment, and why we need to consider it when relating to environmentalism. “Intersectionality has become a powerful tool when applied to ecofeminist analysis of the relationship between women and the environment, particularly in its ability to assist in furthering our understanding of how a person’s relationship with the environment…is not completely dependent on any one aspect of their lives, whether gender, race, class, sexuality, or age but rather a combination of all the of the above and more besides” (Kings 71). She advocates for her readers to consider a change in perspective from just ecofeminism to strengthen the relationship between women and the environment. To back up her argument even further, she talks about and describes hygiene issues that women face in India. Issues that in order to further address, needs to be looked at through an intersectional lens, and an ecofeminist analysis is no longer acceptable. In doing so, would limit understanding, and recognition of the issues that have a direct effect on women.

Clearly, the importance of Intersectional Environmentalism is important, as is Ecofeminism. I think the goal should be to keep inviting others into the conversation that allow for more voices to be heard, while at the same time being patient, present, and honest about how we want to see the two separate narratives and theories come together that can benefit the most amount of people in the most effective way. Only then can change be apparent in going forward to harness the most for women and the environment. 

While reading page 69 in Kings article, I felt a little annoyed with her talking about how anyone who critiques intersectionality is just coming from a place of privilege. The complaining could have been left out. For me, once a group of people recognize that they are in something (like Covid) the goal shouldn’t be to point fingers, but to work on a solution (like a vaccine). Just saying. I wish I hadn’t gotten rid of my copy of The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey, otherwise I would have quoted him describing how to solve any problem with Win/Win as the mindset, and how to go into any problem with: understand then be understood, and how that results in more effective communication. 

 Work Cited

Thomas, Leah. “The Difference between Ecofeminism & Intersectional Environmentalism.” The Good Trade, 11 Aug. 2020.

‌Kings, A. E. “Intersectionality and the Changing Face of Ecofeminism.” Ethics and the Environment, vol. 22, no. 1, 2017, p. 63, doi:https://doi.org/10.2979/ethicsenviro.22.1.04.

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From their journal article Gender Equality and State Environmentalism, Kari Norgaard and Richard York present on the intersectionality of women’s representation in nations with research on environmental treaty ratification, gender equality, and environmental protection. They  discuss how the exploitation of the environment has an effect on gender equality, and the overall exploitation of women. From the article, Norgaard and York also do a good job to bring in ecofeminist perspectives to help us better understand the complex relationship between the interconnected issues: 

Ecofeminists theory implies at least three specific ways in which gender equality may be linked to environmental degradation. First, nation-states with greater gender inequality may be less environmentally responsible due to the hegemony of the logic of domination. Second, due ti the presence of parallel social and historical construction of women and nature, nation-states with greater gender inequality may be less concerned with environmental protection. Finally, the parallel valuing or devaluing of the reproductive labor of women and of the natural environment will likely affect both gender equality and state environmentalism. 

Environmental degradation and gender inequality have been part of the reasons for the deconstruction of nation states, and the devaluing of women’s roles in and around nature. The reality of sexism is what keeps women at bay while large industrial complexes continue to profit from natural resources, while ignoring global warming and its effects not only on women, but the world. Gender inequality is what makes environmental protection less of an option for states and nations that struggle with representing women who want to assert their role in environmentalism. 

Below is the first example that I was able to find that demonstrates a clear understanding of the relationship between women, environmentalism, and political power. It emphasizes how women can help solve and reduce climate change/crisis. The video includes solutions for women such as a good education, widespread contraception, and good family planning. All of these things can benefit women and their roles in society because it gives them more of a voice for themselves, and for their future. The video also emphasizes that women in general consider more opportunities, and ways of thinking about issues than men which is why it’s important for women to be able to gain political momemtun in the future so that they can work with men in order to affirm more gender equality and solve more issues relating to gender inequality. In the end of the article, York and Norgaard recognize that if we are going to improve gender equality for political action regarding the environment, then we need to consider and support the statuses of women around the world. They state that, “Global efforts aimed at developing environmental policies should therefore concentrate more on improving the status of women” (York,Norgaard 519). The video makes clear that if women are well supported, then the state of environmentalism for climate change would have a better chance of succeeding. 

When searching for another example, I thought “ok, so we know why and how women would be beneficial for helping to solve the issue of global warming, but what helps to explain the need for women’s involvement in the first place”? I thought about AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) and how she has worked hard to rally (with Bernie Sanders) to adapt the Green New Deal. I had forgotten what it was, and so I went on YouTube to remind myself about what it actually involves. Then I thought “ok, so it seems like in order to better help women in the climate fight, the Green New Deal proposes steps that need to happen in order for women (and men) to adjust for a new way of living so that we can have hope for a better future for all”. Although a long way off from becoming a reality, I feel as though this is a really good tool to use in order to generate realistic further streps that could be implemented in order to make shifts over a short period of time. Talk about gender equality! York and Norgaard state that, “If women tend to be more environmentally progressive, the inclusion of women as equal members of society-as voters, citizens, policy makers, and social movement participants-should positively influence state behavior” (York, Norgaard 508). I acknowledge that the Green New Deal video is slightly less connected to women than the first one. However I feel that it’s important to look at environmentalism from different perspectives, and get a different opinions on how we can tackle the climate crises happening before us. AOC is a women in power, and is definitely qualified as an environmentalist.  

I am curious as to what you all think of my ideas! 

Below is a link to an article that I found talking about how the climate crisis has exacerbated violence against women and girls. York and Norgaard put simply in the beginning of their article that “…the argument of of some feminist theorists that the exploitation of nature and the exploitation of women are interconnected” (York, Norgaard 506). They are right. This is obviously not the first article out there that talks about this issue, but it’s important that it’s being recognized! 

https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/07/climate-change-exacerbates-violence-against-women-and-girls ‌

Work Cited

“Climate Change Exacerbates Violence against Women and Girls.” OHCHR, The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 12 July 2022, www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/07/climate-change-exacerbates-violence-against-women-and-girls.

“Empowering Women: Why Women Are Crucial to Solving Climate Change | ClimateScience #8.” Www.youtube.com, 22 July 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=25aNiGPZBcg. Accessed 14 Mar. 2023.

Norgaard, Kari, and Richard York. “Gender Equality and State Environmentalism.” Gender & Society, vol. 19, no. 4, 4 Aug. 2005, pp. 506–522, https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243204273612.

Vox. “The Green New Deal, Explained.” YouTube, 12 June 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxIDJWCbk6I.

No Tucker Carlson…Just No…And yes, you’re damn right we need a second opinion. How about many second opinions?!

Above are the 3 images that I have chosen to analyze for this weeks post along with the readings.  Carol Adams has demonstrated through her passionate work, that we are living in a society that sexualizes women and animals together. We not only kill and eat non human animals, but we have gone so far as to subject women to the same level of treatment, sexually. Whether that is putting women on the face of advertisements centered around men’s desire for meat, or showing them in the most submissive roles as possible in pornography for the pleasure of men’s consumption. 

The reason that I chose these 3 images specifically from the slideshow, was because in my opinion they were the most offensive towards women. I was particularly offended by the first one on the top left, where it shows a women’s legs spread apart as if she is ‘giving birth’ to the burger, and the man at her opening, receiving the burger is clearly smiling through his mask as if to be rewarded by what she can ‘give him’. The reason that this offends me is because when I was a birth doula, I saw real women’s pain and struggles to give birth to their babies. Labor and delivery is HARD work, that requires a lot of time effort, and patients! It’s not just something women do casually, and it’s upsetting that the picture above is exploiting that reality for women. 

In her interview with Annie Potts from the journal Antennae, Carol Adams shares her well thought out ideas on why we sexualize women with animals, and why women are at the center of our pleasure culture (aside from drugs). When it comes to objectification and satisfaction consumption, you don’t have to look twice for a women’s body on the face of some advertisement looking seductive, trying to sell food, clothing, makeup, skin care etc. In the interview Carol helps explain objectification from her book The Sexual Politics of Meat by stating that, “Objectification permits an oppressor to view another being as an object. The oppressor the violets this being by object-like treatment; e.g., the rape of women that denies women freedom to say no, or the butchering of animals that converts animals from living breathing beings into dead animals” (Adams, 13). Both consumption and objectification hide under the mask of pleasure and satisfaction in our culture. The intersectionality of control when it comes to violence against women and animals represents how men are privileged to experience freedom of consumption freely under our Western lens. 

In terms of sexualizing women and animals, I really liked how Carol spoke about (in the same article interview) how the act of subordination in our Western culture is something that we find ‘sexy’ and how degradation is seen as easy and useful when used against women and animals for power. Carol states that, “Simultaneously (taking earlier about animals and women in anthropornography), it makes women’s degradation fun because to be effective the advertisement requires the implicit reference to women’s sexualized status as subordinate. For women, through pornography, their degradation is always already sexy. The sexualization of animals and the sexual objectification of women thus overlap and reinforce one another” (Adams, 15). Ever hear the phrase ‘sex sells’? What we don’t think about is how we get to ‘sexy’, and how we exploit those beings in the process. Carol goes on in the article to talk about about how the industry takes animal figures and turns them into representations of how women would be asked to pose if they where selling barbecue meat at a restaurant or vendor. Thus sexualizing animals into forced subordination for pleasure and consumption metaphorically or physically while holding the same expectation for women in the process. 

From the Philosophy Now article with Lisa Kemmerer, she brings in  Carol Adams voice to further express how Adams book “The Pornography of Meat has been able to help readers acknowledge the reality of our Westernized culture surrounding pleasure and violence towards women and animals. She helps to explain how women and animals are the ones being consumed by the consumer that is men, “…we fail to notice that ‘consumable’ animals are invariably portrayed as feminine, as sexual – available to men, just like female human beings. “‘Anthropornography provides a way for men to bond publicly around misogyny. Men can publicly consume what is usually private'” (Kemmerer, Adams 2/3). When reading this article, and this section from it, I couldn’t stop thinking about the restaurant chain Hooters. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who hasn’t herd of the restaurant chain known in the food industry for literally objectifying women’s bodies for profit and for desiring to pleasure men. There are videos on You Tube of women talking about the insidious culture of Hooters and how the male managers are constantly exploiting the women who work there, and making them fit into very specific sizes in order to maintain employment due to it’s business model and individual standard. In our western culture it’s women who are seen as the most consumable to men, and men are the ones who do the consuming. The photo of Tucker Carlson at the top, holding the piece of meat with the headline that ‘meat makes men sexy’ is a reflection of how our society glorifies men who eat meat while casually ignoring women who will continue to be exploited and objectified for their bodies in order to sell the meat that draws us to the fast food joints and popular places of attraction to begin with. 

Below is the link to the hooters website where it takes you right to the Become a Hooters Girl section. This was intentional for showing what being a hooters girl looks like. See anything similar between all the women??? 

https://www.hooters.com/hooters-girls/ 

Below is my own image that I found, depicting how women and animals are sexualized and objectified. 

In the photo, the women is clearly sexualized and objectified. She is taking a chicken out of the oven in her underwear, and she’s posing for a colone add that signals to men that women in the kitchen still need to be ‘controlled’ otherwise they will continue to cook in their underwear. You can see that the chicken is perfectly browned from the oven, and ‘ready to eat’. This is a classic depiction of Carol Adams Anthropornography, which she explains it to mean, “…animals (usually species of animals presumed to be literally consumable) are presented as sexually consumable, in a way that upholds the sexual exploitation of women” (Adams 14). By forced perspective from our culture, this chicken looks even more tasty now, because it’s being presented in a twice ‘consumable’ way. Look at that, you can have both the woman and the chicken, and they are both ‘sexy’ and ready to be eaten! 

Work Cited 

Adams, Carol. “Examples of the Sexual Politics of Meat.” Carol J. Adams, 2018, caroljadams.com/examples-of-spom/. Accessed 7 Mar. 2023.

Adams, Carol. “The Politics of Carol J. Adams.” Antennae, 2010, static1.squarespace.com/static/54792ff7e4b0674c74cb719d/t/55dc8dace4b0ad76d7277cb7/1440517548517/ANTENNAE+ISSUE+14.pdf. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023.

Kelly, Georgia. “Sexism Sells — the Sexualisation of Women in Advertising.,” Medium.com, 12 June 2020, medium.com/@georgiakellygtk/sexism-sells-the-sexualisation-of-women-in-advertising-5037a7a4482a. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023.

‌Kemmerer, Lisa. “The Pornography of Meat.” Philosophy Now, 2003, pp. 1–3, philosophynow.org/issues/56/The_Pornography_of_Meat_by_Carol_Adams. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023.‌

Www.hooters.com, www.hooters.com. Accessed 8 Mar. 2023.‌

1.) When I look at the picture of the meat being cut in detail, and examine all of the components I notice that all of the cut slices have the exact same shape and texture to them. The figure is wearing a chefs hat, and has no curvature implying that it’s a male cutting the meat. Connecting this picture to the readings for this week reflects masculinity and meat eating which can further translate to women being at the root of the way we consume animals and in some ways women (i.e pornography). I can’t help but think about the fact that, yes the slices are all the same, but at the same time, it suggests that women are seen the same at the end of the day as bodies for sexual consumption and objects that can be changed if their is too much ‘fat’. 

2.) The first eating practice that I noticed, is in Deane Curtin’s piece, titled Contextual Moral Vegetarianism, where she talks about the different ways of how we relate to our bodies in relationship to culture and how we are influenced to think about our bodies in alignment with violence and food culture. She writes, “…women, more then men, experience the effects of culturally sanctioned oppressive attitudes toward the appropriate shape of the body…anorexia nervosa is a ‘psychopathology’ made possible by Cartesian attitudes towards the body at a popular level” (Curtin 1). Although their has been a change in advertising, and society is seeing more body positive advertisements rise to the surface of the market, their is always going to be adds that depict the kind of ‘sexy’ body that is deemed most accepted by men, society and other forms of oppressive forces. We also see this kind of body shaming in jobs, social media, family conversations, tv adds and so on. In malls across America, there are posters all over the stores, and skinny manikins in outfits that depict what will look best on the ‘average’ women. You rarely see any other shape in the front of the store. Victoria’s Secret and Pink also have this problem. When bra shopping the other weekend, I took one look at the front of the Victorias’s Secret store, and thought to myself “I won’t fit into any of there bra’s, they are all too ‘sexy’ and small for me…I’m 5’3 and don’t look like their models at all”. So I went to Pink instead, found a plain black bra for every day use (finally, after much searching), and left. Anorexia doesn’t just come from nowhere. It comes from our patriarchal society telling women that they aren’t good enough unless we look a certain way, thus harnessing a very dark and dangerous modeling and ‘career’ industry that forces women to look as thin as possible, only to turn around and photoshop them even further to make the cut for the next magazine.  There are more videos that are out now about the industry then their where before, but even now, all we see are women coming out at their breaking point in tears talking about how they are miserable and are struggling with mental health as a result of the industry and it’s abusive practices. 

2.) (Cont.) The second eating practice that I noticed, in Deane’s article is at the end, where she talks about how vegetarianism can be a statement made by women to show solidarity against what it means to ‘fit in’ in our patriarchal society today. She writes, “…vegetarianism can mark the decision to stand in solidarity with women. It also indicates a determination to resist ideological pressure to become a ‘real man.’ Real people do not need to eat ‘real food,’ as the American Beef Council would have us believe” (Curtin 3). I think that although this could be considered a controversial statement, I can see how to some people, this kind of solidarity is important and goes beyond being about the food that we eat and more about the critique towards men’s relationship to women as being seen as ‘meat’ to eat and animals that men get to take advantage of when they want satisfaction. Both Veganism and Vegetarianism have helped pave the way for more meatless options to become available in stores. I also think that what it means to be a ‘real man’ has changed dramatically throughout the years due to cultural changes and norms, the way that we look at male bodies vs the female body’s, and the way that we regard mens attitudes towards women regardless of the food that we eat. I’ve only known one man who was vegan for a short time, but I still considered him to be a man just the same based on my individual standers for a ‘man’. The term ‘real man’ also changes from person to person, and is not a term that should be generalized in my opinion or be compared to how much meat or non meat you eat. 

3.) Ecofeminists have a strong understanding as to how male dominated factory farms are not only run, but treat and handle non-human animals to process for our daily food consumption. Their is a shared knowing among ecofeminists, that factory farm (non-human) animals are abused, and neglected every day, fed a concentrated diet, shot up with antibiotics, artificially inseminated, and forced to grow past there natural, and biological constraints that stress out the animals organs, heart, and so on. Curtin states that, “It is curious that steroids are considered dangerous to athletes (humans), but animals that have been genetically engineered and chemically induced to grow faster and come to market sooner are consider to be an entirely different issue” (Curtin 2). I will link 1trailer below for a documentary that I have sen that directly relate to this issue. It focuses on health and people, rather than how we relate to an idea of who people are and are ‘meant’ to be. Although mostly male based, there are females in it, that speak on the truth behind how changing your diet can effect you in the best of ways, and how men have changed their relationship to non-human animals and meat for consumption.  From her article Ecofeminism on the Wing: Perspectives on Human-Animal Relations, Greta Gaard also acknowledges the misuse and miss handling of cows in the dairy industry and how they are treated as a result of industry practices. She states that, “Intensively reared dairy cows are so overworked that they begin to metabolize their own muscle in order to continue to produce milk, a process referred to in the industry as ‘milking off their backs” (Gaard 20). Factory farmers don’t perceive factory animals as having any value except for what they can produce. In this case it’s either for meat or milk. Nothing of how we obtain any of these products are humane. 

Work Cited 

Curtin, Deane. “Contextual Moral Vegetarianism.” Toward an Ecological Ethic of Care, vol. 6, 1991, pp. 68–71.

Gaard, Greta. Ecofeminism on the Wing: Perspectives on Human-Animal Relations. 2001, pp. 19–22, www.academia.edu/2489929/Ecofeminism_on_the_Wing_Perspectives_on_Human-Animal_Relations. Accessed 25 Feb. 2023.‌

The Game Changers. “The Game Changers | Official Trailer.” YouTube, 28 June 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSpglxHTJVM. Accessed 25 Feb. 2023.

I know that the above photo is blurry! I unfortunately wasn’t able to get the original photo, as it was taken from many phones ago and from years ago as well! I do apologize! However, on the left is a photo of my parents summer house, and on the right is the view from the back porch looking out. I promise that these are real photos and NOT from Google! 

My parents built the house before I was born, and it’s where I spent all of my summers from birth till after college. The community in the area, and my family are very close and together have a very tight support net of people, and have fought and won many battles with fracking and solar giants! It’s within the community around my house where I met my best friend, and rode horses growing up. The house is where I took past boyfriends to meet my parents for the first time. It’s where a lot of important moments happened for me growing up. Like my first kiss. When my parents do eventually pass, I will inherit the house, and land. For that knowledge alone, I consider myself to be unconditionally grateful, and honored! There is so much history with the house, the land, the community, and surrounding community places that I have grown up with, that have really helped me to become my own person over the years, and connect more with the land around me. One day, I hope to have a family of my own in the house so that I can give my closest the opportunity to have what I had. 

For me, I didn’t really connect with Terry’s reading in relationship to what I consider the place that informs people of who I am, and what carries my history; until the end. Most of the reading carried on a story, but also brought in very specific details about moments in time that I just didn’t find myself connecting with. At the end however, I did like what she had to say about particular landscapes that we are apart of. She stated, “Each of us belongs to a particular landscape, one that informs who we are, a place that carries our history, our dreams, hold us to a moral line of behavior that transcends thought. And in each of these paces, home work is required, a participation in public life to make certain all is not destroyed under the banner of progress, expediency, or ignorance, We cannot do it alone. This is the hope if a bedrock democracy, standing our ground in the places we love, together” (Williams, 19). For me, this summary of what the end result must be, if we are to preserve the land around us and keep it sacred is to rely on the ones that count on us in return. I don’t think that my personal landscape functions as anything to be labeled as. It is to be taken in by the body, and mind. To be admired and loved. It is not meant to be compared to or sought after. 

After reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Knowing our place, I did connect to some of the things that she said. For example, when she stated that, “In the way of so-called worldly things, I can’t seem to muster a desire for kitchen gadgets or cable TV or to drive anything flashier than a dirt-colored sedan that is older than the combined ages of my children. My tastes are much more extreme: I want wood-thrush poetry. I want mountains” (Kingslover, 1). The reason that I really liked this section of her essay is because I consider myself to be a minimalist. She doesn’t come right out and say this, but you can gather that she isn’t buying into the latests trends and gadgets that are (in the background, in production) harming the earth more and more as more and more come out. As soon as I saw the very popular Netflix documentary titled Minimalism (trailer below), I started to really appreciate what I had rather than what I thought I wanted that was going to fulfill my quick fixes. I started to really appreciate spaces around me more, and once I really started to declutter the things around me is when I started to realize that at the end of the day, what we have is ourselves and the earth that we live on, so we might as well take care of ourselves in the process so that we can take care of the earth in return. 

Below is a trailer of the documentary, not the whole thing.

Even when I’ve seen the trailer more times than I can count I still get teary haha. It just hits on point after point after point. At least in my opinion. So yes, I do agree with her that we need the wilderness to remind us that life is bigger than we will ever be, and that animals and the earth need to come first if we want to continue taking advantage of what we have now, and what we want in the future to come. 

The city dweller question is hard. Since I don’t know a lot about what their job entails. But if I had to take a guess, I would say that if I was contracted to work, it wouldn’t be to serve the earth, but more for the people in the community who need water and other resources, and to maneuver myself though the earth in order to do my job the right way(through underground tunnels to fix piping, and other man made housing demands). My guess is that I wouldn’t get to connect with the earth in the ways that I would like, or my history. 

Work Cited 

Williams, Terry. “Home Work.” Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert, Random House Publishing, 2002, pp. 3–19.

‌Kingsolver, Barbara. “Knowing Our Place.” High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never, 1997, pp. 1–2. Faber and Faber.

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Through her writing, Bina Agarwal is able to bring us closer into the lives of the women living in India, and the multitude of challenges that they have had to endure due to deforestation, environmental degradation, scientific knowledge and of course power and profit driven mobilization efforts that have led to the lives, families, and communities of India being disrupted by the efforts of oppressive domination through the lens of environmental decay. 

In her article, Agarwal writes about the ways that women’s lives are affected by environmental degradation. She italicizes the words to bring attention to the issue,  she then explains the issue in greater length. For consideration for the length of this blog post, I will share 4 examples. She writes, “On Time. Because women are the main gatherers of fuel, fodder, and water, it is primarily their working day (already averaging ten to twelve hours) that is lengthened with the depletion of and reduced access to forests, waters, and soils…On Income. The decline in gathered items from forests and village commons has reduced incomes directly…On Nutrition. As the area and productivity of village commons and forests fall, so does the contributions of gathered food in the diets of poor households…On Health. Apart from the health consequences of nutritional inadequacies, poor rural women are also more directly exposed than are men to waterborne diseases and to the pollution of rivers and ponds with fertilizer and pesticide runoffs, because of the nature of the tasks they perform, such as fetching water for various domestic uses and animal care, and washing clothes near ponds, canals, and streams (Agarwal 138,140,141). 

In addition to many other ways and additional interpersonal factors that make it hard to be a working woman in India, the list from above are only a few examples of how poor communities, and women are so affected by the ways in which they have had to try and navigate the expanding difficulties that they have had to face.

Comparing the two pieces of writing by Agarwal, and Hobgood, there are very distinct differences and similarities that I was able to identify within both articles.

Similarities from both articles	Differences in both articles
The oppression of women and the natural world was expressed when in relationship to men and power structures	Bringing in the values of the women’s movement was only observed in Hobgood’s article.
Recognition of women’s oppression all around the world, not just in India	I felt as if there was a more broadened look on male to female dominance in Hobgood’s article, than in Agarwals.
Scientific knowledge has been used for the purposes of further domination, destruction, and power dynamics in the hierarchies that pose threats to Indian women and their communities lives	Hobgood’s article discussed symbol systems that are apart of domination culture like the book of Genesis being related to religion
Violent approaches of control are obvious when it comes to dominating women and ecosystems that provide resources for their health and others	Animal rights are only discussed in Hobgood’s article than in Agarwals
Protests have emerged from women and grassroots organizations in pursuit of environmental justice.	In Agarwal’s article, the connection of reproduction, a women’s cycle, and nature, are mentioned in the beginning of the article but not discussed in Hobgood’s article. Only maternal mortality was discussed briefly.
Ecofeminism has been criticized  by both academics, and activists in pursuit of a more inclusive conversation around feminism and care for the environment for which we live in.
Both articles challenge the fact that more distinct differences need to be made when talking about oppression and who’s involved underneath it

Personally, I found Agarwal’s article more appealing. Why? Well, I have to admit that I am a little bit biased in my decision but also believe that I have a reasonable argument. Before moving to New York State, I was a Birth Doula in Massachusetts. I was able to be with, and be a part of many wild, and intense births! I really appreciate Agarwal’s inclusion of women’s reproductive ability being tied to the biological process that is also able to incorporate nature if desired. In the article Agarwal states that, “…the connection between women and nature was clearly rooted in the biological processes of reproduction…’Women’s monthly fertility cycle, the tiring symbiosis of pregnancy, the wrench of childbirth and the pleasure of suckling an infant, these things already ground women’s consciousness in the knowledge of being coterminous with nature…they accept the view that women are ideologically constructed as closer to nature because if their biology” (Agarwal, 121). Water births, and home births are ways for women to be closer to nature in a more physical way. Generally it can be more peaceful, relaxing and grounding to birth with just your family around and a close nit group of women like a birth Doula and or a Midwife for extra support. It is my hope that if/when I become a labor and delivery nurse, that I am able to help women have the best birth that they can achieve! It’s vital in my opinion that women are able to experience the best birth that they can while birthing a child. It’s one of the most if not the most transformative moments in a woman’s life! So why not try and make it the most comfortable, and cherish-able moments in a women’s life?!

Work Cited

Agarwal, Bina. “The Gender and Environment Debate: Lessons from India.” Feminist Studies, Inc., vol. 18, no. 1, 1992, pp. 119–58, https://doi.org/10.2307/3178217.

‌Hobgood-Oster, Laura. Ecofeminism: Historic and International Evolution. Jan. 2016, pp. 1–18, systemicalternatives.org/2016/01/18/ecofeminism-historic-and-international-evolution/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2023.

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The Goddess Oracle Cards Deck & Book Set by Amy Sophia Marashinsky & Hrana Janto

When I think about Ecofeminism as it relates to Hobgood-Oster’s piece Ecofeminism: Historic and International Evolutions, I think about how women are seen as more attached to the earth through their biological relationship with childbirth, and mensuration. These two relationships have existed throughout history as a way for women to embrace their natural abilities to connect with their own bodies and minds that take them away from the patriarchies that exists around them. Although we are now fighting for rights to our own bodies, it’s important to remember that we are the only ones who can have these experiences, regardless of power structures and male patriarchies. Women get to hold the title of goddess because of what we are able to achieve and nurture at the same time in nature and what’s natural to us. 

Hobgood’s article speaks on why ecofeminism needs to be recognized as a vital importance in our society, and how it directly relates to the oppression of women. She adds in her article a small piece about spiritual ecofeminists. She states that, “There are also those who consider themselves spiritual ecofeminists, such as Starhawk, embracing the religious, Earth-goddess based components of the positions” (Oster). When I think again of ecofeminism, and how it relates to women, I think about how beautiful and fierce the women on the cards above are represented and how the words on the cards are a reflection to the different emotion that each women carry with them throughout there lives that help them to navigate the world, their realities, feelings, and behaviors. The women on the cards where not only beautifully designed, but also represent goddesses of the earth in the ways that they helped form it, how they see the earth in connection with women, and their emotions that reflect real insight to how women are able to feel in a moment in time.

In the above picture, you will see 6 small cards. Each of the cards has a painting on the front of a woman who is very much apart of the earth in a beautiful way! These 6 cards are only a sample out of 52 that come in the desk. Each of the cards contains a painting of a woman who is tied into nature, and a word at the bottom of the card that speaks to an energy that every woman can experience. The link above will get you to the EBay page that sells the card deck, with a description if you scroll down that states, “The Goddess Oracle celebrates the many faces of Goddesses worshiped in cultures around the world since the beginning of time. This distinctive deck and book set offers insights and guidance for handling the challenges that face you, and techniques for developing all areas of your life”. My mother has the deck, and uses it whenever she is struggling. I have used it with her, and it has helped to answer questions that I have had about certain aspects in my life that might be brining me pain or doubt. No matter what card you pick, the word at the bottom will always relate to your life in some way!

My overview of ecofeminism would be the following: Women’s experience of oppression can only be recognized, if the natural world is integrated in connection. Ecofeminism expresses that the examination of solutions towards women’s liberation must also include the safety of the natural systems in which we live off of. It recognizes that the patriarchal structures that have been put in place, pave the way for how women are treated, and regarded in our society by men to grant them further control over the voices that ask for a dialogue rather than conflict. The key to liberation is to de-escalate the domination, oppression, and power by those who disregard women’s need for connection to each other, and nature. 

Their are two examples that come to mind when I think about the connection between women and nature. The first one is the movie Pocahontas, the second is a book called, Blood Bread and Roses How Mensuration Created the World by Judy Grahn. My boyfriends mom lent me this book lsat year, and while a bit long for me, it gave me a really fascinating insight as to how women have harnessed a unique kind of wisdom about the world through mensuration dating back years and years of traditions, stories, myths and so on. I do recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about how women and the earth have been seen as one and the same over the course of history in different cultures, and in different parts of the world. 

Blood, Bread, and Roses: How Menstruation Created the World

I can’t think of a more relevant song than from Pocahontas, when she sings the song below that directly speaks to women and indigenous people’s relationship with the earth and why it’s so vital to the planet and the human species. I know that it might be a little bit out dated, simplified but it’s one of the most supporting pieces of evidence that I was able to find and think of that help to bring an example of women and the earth having a direct relationship with each other.