Hunger, gender, nature: Exploring the nexus of body, sexuality and nature in ecofeminism

Ecofeminism posits that there is parallelism between the destruction of nature and oppression of women, and the split between humanity and nature reflects the split between men and women. Like other feminist thoughts, ecofeminism is no means a homogenous body of thought. However, the thread, which c...

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Main Author: Peracullo, Jeane C.
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Animo Repository 2008
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Sex
Online Access:https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/235
https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1234&context=etd_doctoral
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spelling oai:animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph:etd_doctoral-12342022-04-27T02:00:48Z Hunger, gender, nature: Exploring the nexus of body, sexuality and nature in ecofeminism Peracullo, Jeane C. Ecofeminism posits that there is parallelism between the destruction of nature and oppression of women, and the split between humanity and nature reflects the split between men and women. Like other feminist thoughts, ecofeminism is no means a homogenous body of thought. However, the thread, which connects ecofeminist thoughts, is its critique of patriarchal nature of western society and that the existence of dualistic, hierarchical thinking props the continuing ecological destruction. Ecofeminism necessarily engages with women's embodiment as sexed beings. Ecofeminists emphasizes human embodiment and embeddedness and how both impact to women. Yet, this also brings a dilemma: how should ecofeminists regard the womennature connection? Is it liberating or oppressive? For affinity ecofeminists, affirmation of women's experience becomes an end in itself-the realization and celebration of the "feminine" in women's bodies or nature is a way to counteract the debilitating effect of dualism. For difference ecofeminists, affinity ecofeminists are "trapped, romantic Earth mothers" who failed to realize that when we speak of women's experience, it is never "pure, "unmediated', or "untrammeled." There is thus a need to re-evaluate this experience. This study argues that hunger as both feminist and ecological concern provides a context for ecofeminism to consolidate/intersect/reweave its seemingly differing theories and views on body as manifested in its two main positions: affinity ecofeminism and difference ecofeminism. Hunger as an embodied experience is nexus for ecofeminism because it highlights the "biological body," which gives it a sense of historicity (due to hunger's painful insistence by mobilizing all organs of the body to pay attention to it) and at the same time a sense of continuity with non-human bodies. Hunger as a "lived experience" is nexus as it reveals the vulnerability of embodiment-the body is a set of associations and stereotypes that are often assumed to be “natural” or obvious but instead are complex, highly nuanced networks of values and interests controlled implicitly (and at times explicitly) by those in power. This then resolves the tension between the two strands of ecofeminism by rendering essentialism as false dilemma. This study shows how an ethic of care for nature is a sensible offshoot of reflecting on hunger as an ecofeminist issue/concern. 2008-01-01T08:00:00Z text application/pdf https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/235 https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1234&context=etd_doctoral Dissertations English Animo Repository Ecofeminism Feminism Sexuality Sex Philosophy
institution De La Salle University
building De La Salle University Library
continent Asia
country Philippines
Philippines
content_provider De La Salle University Library
collection DLSU Institutional Repository
language English
topic Ecofeminism
Feminism
Sexuality
Sex
Philosophy
spellingShingle Ecofeminism
Feminism
Sexuality
Sex
Philosophy
Peracullo, Jeane C.
Hunger, gender, nature: Exploring the nexus of body, sexuality and nature in ecofeminism
description Ecofeminism posits that there is parallelism between the destruction of nature and oppression of women, and the split between humanity and nature reflects the split between men and women. Like other feminist thoughts, ecofeminism is no means a homogenous body of thought. However, the thread, which connects ecofeminist thoughts, is its critique of patriarchal nature of western society and that the existence of dualistic, hierarchical thinking props the continuing ecological destruction. Ecofeminism necessarily engages with women's embodiment as sexed beings. Ecofeminists emphasizes human embodiment and embeddedness and how both impact to women. Yet, this also brings a dilemma: how should ecofeminists regard the womennature connection? Is it liberating or oppressive? For affinity ecofeminists, affirmation of women's experience becomes an end in itself-the realization and celebration of the "feminine" in women's bodies or nature is a way to counteract the debilitating effect of dualism. For difference ecofeminists, affinity ecofeminists are "trapped, romantic Earth mothers" who failed to realize that when we speak of women's experience, it is never "pure, "unmediated', or "untrammeled." There is thus a need to re-evaluate this experience. This study argues that hunger as both feminist and ecological concern provides a context for ecofeminism to consolidate/intersect/reweave its seemingly differing theories and views on body as manifested in its two main positions: affinity ecofeminism and difference ecofeminism. Hunger as an embodied experience is nexus for ecofeminism because it highlights the "biological body," which gives it a sense of historicity (due to hunger's painful insistence by mobilizing all organs of the body to pay attention to it) and at the same time a sense of continuity with non-human bodies. Hunger as a "lived experience" is nexus as it reveals the vulnerability of embodiment-the body is a set of associations and stereotypes that are often assumed to be “natural” or obvious but instead are complex, highly nuanced networks of values and interests controlled implicitly (and at times explicitly) by those in power. This then resolves the tension between the two strands of ecofeminism by rendering essentialism as false dilemma. This study shows how an ethic of care for nature is a sensible offshoot of reflecting on hunger as an ecofeminist issue/concern.
format text
author Peracullo, Jeane C.
author_facet Peracullo, Jeane C.
author_sort Peracullo, Jeane C.
title Hunger, gender, nature: Exploring the nexus of body, sexuality and nature in ecofeminism
title_short Hunger, gender, nature: Exploring the nexus of body, sexuality and nature in ecofeminism
title_full Hunger, gender, nature: Exploring the nexus of body, sexuality and nature in ecofeminism
title_fullStr Hunger, gender, nature: Exploring the nexus of body, sexuality and nature in ecofeminism
title_full_unstemmed Hunger, gender, nature: Exploring the nexus of body, sexuality and nature in ecofeminism
title_sort hunger, gender, nature: exploring the nexus of body, sexuality and nature in ecofeminism
publisher Animo Repository
publishDate 2008
url https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/235
https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1234&context=etd_doctoral
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