Day 1 WGST 380 ENVS 397 Introduction
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Transcript of Day 1 WGST 380 ENVS 397 Introduction
Dr. Sara DiazWGST 380/ENVS 397: Women, Nature, and the EnvironmentGonzaga University
Intersectionality• Feminist framework• Oppressions,
institutions are mutually reinforcing• Racism is reinforced
by sexism which is reinforced by classism.
Intersectionality
•We all occupy multiple social locations•Our identities cannot be reduced•Mix of privileged and subjugated
positions•Oppressions are not additive • a black woman is not simply twice as
oppressed as a white woman
Intersectionality
• System of Domination• Interlocking, mutually reinforcing• All the “isms” work together• Hierarchy of privilege• Not all privileges and oppressions are
equivalent to each other.• “There can be no single-issue politics” –
Audre Lorde
Intersections in Environment
• Use women’s lives to explore intersections between Environment and:• Sexism• Scientific world view• Colonialism / Imperialism• Militarism• Racism• Economic inequality• Sexuality 5
Woman as Nature as Woman
• Ancient—Fertility Goddess• Aristotle—Mere
“Matter”• Early Modern Period—
Positions women, animals, and Nature as objects of scientific study or of colonial conquest.
Domination: Land & Women• Resource extraction
was a primary colonial project• Crops• Timber• Minerals• Oil
• Colonization of women’s bodies• Sexual Exploitation• Extraction of unpaid
labor• Control of
reproduction
• Feminization of people of color• Forced unpaid labor
Gendered Effects• Gendered Division of
Labor:• Collecting wood to
burn for cooking• Finding clean water
sources• Nursing ill
children/elders• Working in off-shore
production zones
Racialized Effects
• Three of the five largest waste facilities dealing with hazardous materials in the United States are located in poor black communities.• 96 percent of African American children who live
in inner cities have unsafe amounts of lead in their blood.• Pesticide exposure among predominantly Latino
farm workers causes more than 300k illnesses each year• High lung and thyroid cancer mortality in native
communities – uranium mining and nuclear testing.
Environment & Women’s Health
• Breast cancer• 1 in 8 women will be
diagnosed with breast cancer
• Early menarche increases risk
• Average age of Menarche (onset of first menstrual period)• Rates of early onset (7-
8 yr/old) higher in communities of color 1830 1920 1980 2006
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10
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12.5
10.5
Average age of Menarche US
Lots of Women Activists• Rachel Carson• Wangari Maathai• Erin Brokovich• Vandana Shiva• Lady Bird Johnson• Sandra Steingraber
• Many local activists
Ecofeminism
• Grew out of 2nd Wave Feminist movement• Emphasized women's connection to nature • Exploitation of women and nature part of
the same problem• Limitations:• Not typically intersectional (neglected
race/class)• Assumption that women are closer to
nature
Environmental Justice
• “Environmental Racism”: • Correlation between distribution of
environmental pollution and race
• Focus on the 'social' - race, gender, class matter!• Draws on concepts of Civil Rights• All citizens have a right to healthy living and
working conditions.
Feminist EJ Framework
Environmental
SocialEconomic
This is where Feminist EJ activists work
First Reading: Carolyn Merchant
•Help us understand:•Association of women with nature
has deep historical roots• Scientific Revolution• New, mechanized world view
•Connection between feminist and environmental movements today.