ABSTRACT
Feminism has intersected with environmentalism and ecological thinking since the 1970s. Concerning method, both feminists and ecofeminists recognize the value of empirical data, and re-conceive epistemic authority in terms of narrative voice. Ecofeminism arose in the United States out of non-violent, direct action against nuclear weaponry. Ecofeminism began conceptually with a deep entanglement of woman and nature. Feminists in the late 1960s and early 1970s were typically North American, white, married, college educated and middle class. They found themselves still entrenched in a public/private split that consigned them to labor in the home, while the public realm remained a "man's world". Contemporary ecofeminism takes environmental philosophy beyond traditional debates in deep ecology, anthropocentrism, and the land ethic to real-world impacts in daily, lived experience. The intersection of feminism with environmentalism and ecological thought increasingly engages global issues of environmental justice that are socio-political and economic.
