ABSTRACT
This chapter offers two concise answers to the question of what gender has to do with the environment. First, it explains that, historically and in many different societies, nature has been gendered feminine and women have been associated with nature in ways that justifies their subordination. Second, it provides evidence that gender shapes how people think about the natural world and how they respond to ecological challenges. With these answers come debates that have shaped the work of gender and environment scholars but that generally have been overlooked in the broader field of environmental studies.
