Feminism, nature and environmentalism. Two ecofeminist theories examined from a sociological perspective

Abstract

Ecofeminism is the theoretical and political articulation of environmentalism and feminism. One of its fundamental propositions is that male domination over women and nature are linked culturally and economically. This idea raises three interrelated questions: 1) What specific and empirically verifiable link exist between these forms of domination; 2) What are the causes of this connection; and 3) How and why does it vary over time. In this article I examine how two ecofeminist theories –deconstructivism and socialist ecofeminism, address these topics. I suggest that several differences between their approaches are due to their positioning in the classic structure/agency debate in social theory.