Diane Wilson vs. Union Carbide: Ecofeminism and the Elitist Charge of "Essentialism"

Citation:

Godfrey, Phoebe. 2005. "Diane Wilson vs. Union Carbide: Ecofeminism and the Elitist Charge of 'Essentialism.'" Capitalism Nature Socialism 16 (4): 37-56. 

Author: Phoebe Godfrey

Annotation:

Summary:
“I am especially interested in whether the academic charge that ecofeminism is essentialist and contaminated by capitalist patriarchal ideology can withstand political scrutiny. I argue that the ultimate test of a theory is its outcomes, because all theory is a form of practice, and all practice incorporates a form of theory. It is when the connection remains unarticulated and a process of privileging one side over the other emerges that constructive critique becomes counterproductive. So, with an over literal emphasis on discursive practices and a corresponding lack of conceptual tools for discussing material objects and relations, constructionist academics are made uneasy by feminist, environmentalist, or ecofeminist activists, who situate their politics in the material experiences and language of everyday life” (Godfrey 2005, 37-8).

Topics: Environment, Feminisms, Ecofeminism, Gender, Women Regions: Americas, Asia, South Asia Countries: India, United States of America

Year: 2005