I realised that when I address a topic on this platform, I usually focus on denouncing and condemning the world we live in through identifying the issue, to hopefully make people more aware and share some analytic tools to understand what is wrong. I however, rarely linger on how to do something about it.
So today, I am going to write about a topic that is close to my heart, but in a different way: I am going to give you clues to hopefully support you to be a (better) feminist, and explain along the way how this can be related to our current environmental meltdown. The relationship between women restrictions and our current environmental catastrophe is often overlooked: ever wondered why?
Disclaimer: I am a privileged, white young woman who grew up in Western Europe. I am therefore aware that what I am going to say below does not fit everyone's reality and I apologise for this - I can't talk about what I don't know.
Understand the issue
I will start by saying that it is hard not to see the similarities between what is done to the planet, animals and women: violation, aggressiveness, exploitation, being considered inferior or "to be tamed"... The list is lengthy. Women, like the planet and all living beings that are not white and male, have been perceived in our Christian, Western culture, as beings to be tamed, who should obey the rules put in place in a world where males put themselves exclusively in position of power. This is called patriarchy, aka a system or society in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it [I mean, just look where Eve's from: she's been made from Adam's rib to please him AND she ate the forbidden apple, meaning it's because of her that they were condemned to live on Earth. Brilliant].
A similar argument stands for the Earth: the Industrial Revolution of the XIXth century was a process of taming nature, and to surpass it in every possible way. The tale of the white man conquering the wild is of course related to colonialism, and enhanced by the discovery of coal and the endless possibilities of being stronger, faster, more powerful than nature. It was, and still is today, about carelessly extracting resources to ensure maximum profit. Patriarchy developed exponentially alongside the expansion of capitalism, which gave us the concept of patriarchal capitalism. This does not leave space or power to women, people of colour, LGBT communities, animals or the planet. All are seen as commodities (i.e slavery, women repudiation, intensive farming, oil extraction) to exploit in a world where they are 1) disposable, 2) not in positions to protest, 3) not threatening.
On top of this, women are disproportionally affected by climate change on a number of different levels. Due to numerous factors, women are more likely than men to experience poverty, and are therefore more affected by natural disasters (flooding, droughts, tsunamis...) and their health, as heads of family, is more at risk. Furthermore, UN figures show that 80% of the climate-related displaced are women.
Stop buying fast fashion
Women make 80% of the clothes sold in fast fashion brands. They are often mistreated, abused physically and verbally, earn a pittance and I'm not even mentioning working rights. Most of the clothes you buy (eighty million per year) will end in landfills anyway, as only 10% of the clothes donated to charity will actually be sold in the end. The most sustainable way to shop is to:
- Shop less, like way less, or not at all
- Shop secondhand or swap
- Shop sustainable brands and there are loads popping up everywhere: Patagonia, Lara Intimates (underwear and female-led), People Tree, Ally Bee... Pebble Magazine is a great resource for this.
When you're in a position of power, it's your responsibility to act when something ain't right
You made it. Either at work, in life, elsewhere, you managed to reach a level where you can have influence on decision-making, around you, in your team, or with people you're close to. Congratulations!
Now it's your turn to take action to fix what is fixable on your scale, for example at work. Women are usually a large part of the task force but are not represented, or only on a minimal scale, on executive teams. Just to give you an example, in 2019, only six countries globally give women equal work rights as men. In 2019. Six countries. How?
I'm not saying you have to go and change the law on your own. What I'm saying is that acting is always, always going to be better than staying silent in front of situations that you know are not right - and this can be extended to all sort of discrimination, whether racist, homophobic, sexist and so on. Speak up, especially when you know that the ones who are discriminated against can't.
I believe strongly that the environmental disaster is a man-made problem, and requires a women-led solution.
Love the planet: why are women connected to the land
In many cultures and religions, women are considered the goddesses and keeper of the earth and the land. Sharon Blackie puts it very well in her book If Women Rose Rooted (that I highly recommend): "Before there was the Word, there was the land, and it was made and watched over by women. Stories from almost every culture around the world tell us that once upon a time, it was so." Whether they're called Grandmother Spider (Americas), Pachamama (South America) or Cailleach (Celtic cultures), women made, shaped and protected the land and wild things on it.
The fact that the patriarchal society sees nature and all natural beings as either a resource to be tamed, exploited or overcome entails that we are loosing touch with where we come from. Think about where you live (for most of us): when was the last time you went to a place where you didn't hear any cars? When did you actually touch the earth? How much time do you spend in nature a week?
And this is where the issue lies: when you raise this today, and especially with men (I'm taking about personal experience here), you're laughed at, and these things are considered "hippy" stuff (also, please, everyone who does say this, check again what hippy means in the dictionary - it has nothing to do with nature but mostly hallucinogenic drugs and counter culture). These components of our life are being pushed aside as they don't hold any value, whether monetary (although that's disputable), in our imagination, culturally, or socially. Exactly like the place women are given in a patriarchal structure.
We experience a complete imbalance regarding what is valued: what are perceived as masculine qualities, like aggressiveness, being bold, adventurous, or belligerent are held as the one and only truth. What are perceived as being feminine qualities, like love, compassion and patience are undermined and not taken seriously. And we see that doesn't work.
Our world is broken. We have now reached a point, the Anthropocene, where we, as humans, are the driving force of what is happening to our Earth. It is our duty to ensure that we protect the land and everything on it. I believe strongly that the environmental disaster is a man-made problem, and requires a women-led solution. Let's start fixing it now.