In class this past week, we talked about the spectrum of environmental ideologies and how they all fell between more anthropocentric, or human-centered and more ecocentric, or nature-centered ideas. On the side closest to ecocentric fell transformative ideologies, which included ecofeminism, among others. Ecofeminism is the idea that there is a connection between the degradation of the natural world and exploitation of its resources, and the oppression of women around the world.
When women are oppressed they are not able to make their own decisions or have control over their self and their lives. This results in women staying at home and taking care of the family and the home, and this is seen as their role in society. When this is the case, families are often large because women have many children to help them around the house, and also in hopes to have boys so that they will one day find a job and provide for the family. So you can see, when women are oppressed they usually have many more children because that is their role, and this ultimately leads to overpopulation around the world. When overpopulation occurs, more resources are needed to support all the people and this is what leads to much of the environmental destruction we see in today’s society.
Ecofeminism tries to empower women in hopes that this will also lead to the rejuvenation of the natural world around us. When women are empowered and given access to family planning, birth control, and education they are able to get out of this cycle of being the homemaker. This leads to less births per women and also allows women to be educated and get jobs. If this movement spreads wide enough, it will eventually lead to a decrease in population over time that will help prevent further degradation of our natural resources and the environment.