Our Chemical Selves: Gender, Toxics, and Environmental Health

by Dayna N Scott (Editor)

Everyday exposures to common chemicals found in homes, schools, and workplaces are having devastating long-term and inter-generational consequences on human health. At the same time, the risks associated with these exposures (and the burdens of managing them) rest disproportionately on the shoulders of women. Written by leading researchers in science, law, and public policy, the chapters in Our Chemical Selves critically examine the system that manufactures the chemicals as well as the social, political, and gender relations that enable harmful chemicals to continue being produced and consumed. This book demonstrates the urgent need to revise existing approaches to the regulation of toxic substances in Canada.

370 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 2014

Reviews

[Honour]

This compilation is a must-read for those trying to live a more sustainable, safe life for themselves and their families. It dances around the topic of the "precautionary principle" and draws on environmental advocacy and feminist perspectives. Scott beautifully brings together ideas from an array of authors in the sciences, legal studies, and political atmosphere who are trying to make the world we live in more habitable and humane. It is a startling reminder to care about everything and push for change so that the burden of maintaining the health of humanity does not always rest on women's shoulders.
This compilation of essays could be understood as a handbook on environmental and human health for policymakers, researchers, and individuals in Canada - the authors make it that easy.
As an academic beginning to study these concepts more thoroughly, I sincerely hope to see the ideas brought forth in this book by these brilliant women come to fruition in governmental policy.

The only thing I will say is that it is a dense read and is not necessarily accessible to all readers. The first few chapters are definitely more accessible.