What is Ecofeminism-Part 1

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.