ABSTRACT
As a discursive exploration of gender and environment, ecological feminism and its accompanying array of ecofeminist perspectives offer us substantive structural analyses of the human–nature relationship. Building on Françoise d’Eaubonne’s (1974) Le féminisme ou la mort, ecological feminism has played a crucial role in positing solutions to social and ecological problems, steering us away from patterns of isolation that are peculiar to masculine hegemonisation through collective and consultative honourings of Earth, community and self-care. Like deep ecology, ecological feminism placed a premium on pluralism. But its unique view was that of a structural analysis. Its links with eco-socialist and post-colonial critiques of male domination offer us important insights into bodies, species, biodiversity, waste, climate change, and more. Ecological feminism proffered a mosaic of views on women and Earth that we explore in this chapter through the lens of: feminist political ecology (FPE) and women, the environment and development (WED); feminist science, material feminism and posthumanities; binary ecofeminisms; gender-equal ecofeminisms; and non-binary/genderqueer ecofeminisms. In its concurrent pursuit of levelling the human–nature and female–male playing fields, ecological feminism has been instrumental in helping us reconcile the inherent tensions of the Anthropocene. Understandably, the discourse did not take the next step towards resolving these tensions for men and masculinities beyond highlighting the need for someone, somewhere to do so. We have taken this counsel on-board, responding accordingly by developing ecological masculinities as the masculinised accompaniment to the expansive and diverse luminaries of ecological feminism.
