ABSTRACT

Ecofeminism encompasses a range of views and has been described as a quilt “made up of different ‘patches’ constructed … in particular social, historical and materialist contexts” (Warren 2000: 66). It is therefore more accurate to talk about ecofeminisms rather than ecofeminism. Challenging the cross-cutting systems of domination that justify colonialism, racism, sexism, and the subordination of nature is common across ecofeminist philosophies. These share a commitment to overcome the oppression of women, nature, and other groups, not in an atomistic way, but through the radical restructuring of social and political institutions to obtain a more just world for all. The three pillars of ecofeminisms that underpin this are: the need to recognize humanity as part of a web of life (see Gaia theory and Deep ecology ), the revaluation of epistemological frameworks to include what rationality currently denies (Glazebrook, 2005), and a focus on an ecocentric ethic of care as a moral imperative and call for action (Phillips 2019) (see Ecocentrism ).