ECOFEMINISM: WHAT IS IT? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

“Nature is a feminist issue,” might well be the slogan of ecofeminism. – Karen J. Warren
Warren, Ecofeminist Philosophy – A Western Perspective on What it is and Why it Matters.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000. Note: The following quotes are abstracted from this book.

Ecofeminism has always been a grassroots political movement motivated by pressing pragmatic concerns. Ecofeminism political goals include the destruction of oppressive social, economic, and political systems and the reconstruction of more viable social and political forms. No version of ecofeminist theory dictates exactly what people should do…nor is it a single political platform. The relation of ecofeminist theory to political activism is ideally informative and generative and not one of either prescribing or “owning” particular actions. Ecofeminist theory advocates a combined politics of resistance and creative projects, but the specific enactment of these is a result of dialogue between the individuals involved and the actual situation or issue.
–Stephan Lahar
Lahar, “ Ecofeminist  theory and Grassroots Politics” in Ecofeminist Philosophies, Ed. Karen J. Warren. Indiana University Press, 1996.

Both feminism and ecology embody the revolt of nature against human domination. They demand that we rethink the relationship between humanity and the rest of nature, including our natural, embodied selves. In ecofeminism, nature is the central category of analysis. An analysis of the interrelated dominations of nature – psyche and sexuality, human oppression, and nonhuman nature – and the historic position of women in relation to those forms of domination is the starting point of ecofeminist theory. We share with cultural feminism the necessity of a politics with heart and a beloved community, recognizing our connection with each other, and nonhuman nature. Socialist feminism has given us a powerful critical perspective with which to understand and transform history. Separately they perpetuate the dualism of “mind” and “nature”. Together they make possible a new ecological relationship between nature and culture, in which mind and nature, heart and reason, join forces to transform the internal and external systems of domination that threatens the existence of life on Earth.
–Ynestra King
King, “Healing the Wounds…” in Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism, Ed. Irene Diamond and Gloria Feman Orenstein. Sierra Books, SF, 1990.

Women must see that there can be no liberation for them and no solution to the ecological crisis within a society whose fundamental model of relationships continues to be one of domination. They must unite the demands of the women’s movement with those of the ecological movement to envision a radical reshaping of the basic socioeconomic relations and the underlying values of this society.
–Rosemary Radford Ruether
Ruether, New Woman, New Earth, Seabury Press, NY, 1975