Petro-Masculinity: Fossil Fuels and Authoritarian Desire

Citation:

Daggett, Cara. 2018. “Petro-Masculinity: Fossil Fuels and Authoritarian Desire.” Millenium: Journal of International Studies 47 (1): 25-44.

Author: Cara Daggett

Abstract:

As the planet warms, new authoritarian movements in the West are embracing a toxic combination of climate denial, racism and misogyny. Rather than consider these resentments separately, this article interrogates their relationship through the concept of petro-masculinity, which appreciates the historic role of fossil fuel systems in buttressing white patriarchal rule. Petro-masculinity is helpful to understanding how the anxieties aroused by the Anthropocene can augment desires for authoritarianism. The concept of petro-masculinity suggests that fossil fuels mean more than profit; fossil fuels also contribute to making identities, which poses risks for post-carbon energy politics. Moreover, through a psycho-political reading of authoritarianism, I show how fossil fuel use can function as a violent compensatory practice in reaction to gender and climate trouble.

Keywords: gender, climate change, authoritarianism

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Race

Year: 2018

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