Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism

by Irene Diamond

The Ecofeminist Movement represents the coming together or the environmental, feminist, and Women's spirituality movements out of a share concern for the well-concern for the well-being of the Earth and all forms of life that our Earth supports. Reweaving the World is a major resource on ecofeminism, gathering in a single volume articles, essays, and poetic prose pieces by the foremost writers, scholars, activists, artists, and spiritual teachers of this movement Interweaving politics and philosophy, theory and activism, this provocative collection advocates a restoration of harmony in a global environment damaged by a devaluation of nature and women. Contributors Sally Abbott Paula Gunn Allen Rachel L. Bagby Carol P. Christ Irene Diamond Riane Eisler Yaakov Jerome Garb Susan Griffin Cynthia Hamilton Irene Javors Catherine Keller Mara Lynn Keller Marti Kheel Ynestra King Carolyn Merchant Lin Nelson Gloria Feman Orenstein Judith Plant Lee Quinby Arisika Razak Julia Scofield Russell Vandana Shiva Charlene Spretnak Starhawk Brian Swimme Michael E. Zimmerman Irene Diamond lives in Eugene, Oregon, where she teaches at the University of Oregon and participates in local Green politics and related ecofeminist educational activities. Her most recent book is Feminism and Reflection on Resistance, co-edited with Lee Quinby. Gloria Feman Orenstein is an associate professor of comparative literature and teaches in the Program for the Study of Women and Men in Society at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She is the author of The Reflowering of the Goddess and The Theatre of the Surrealism and the Contemporary Stage.

Genres: Feminism, Environment, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Nature, Ecology, Gender

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 1990

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ecofeminism is the combination of two of my favorite things: nature and criticism of patriarchy.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

To many men, words like “patriarchy” and “feminism” are indicators that women plan on laying out a long litany of complaints about oppression and subservience. However, Reweaving tackles the concept of ecofeminism in an evenhanded, creative way by addressing topics that aren’t automatically associated with the movement – a movement that many people are unfamiliar with.
One such unique essay comes from Arisika Razak, an African-American midwife who dissects reproduction in “Toward a Womanist Analysis of Birth.” She begins her essay explaining the significance of birth to not only women but men as well, but quickly delves into how birth and fertility – once revered in cultures around the world – have become vilified in Western society through sexism and patriarchy. Thousands of years ago the fertility of women was linked to the fertility of the Earth, and the physical attributes on a woman that emphasize such life-sustaining abilities – large hips, full pregnant bellies – were desirable characteristics. Razak maintains that women experience great physical power (as well as pain) through the process of giving birth, proving “we are not the weaker sex” (169). She adds that men, unable to identify with this experience, view such pain with horror and disgust, and “much of the patriarchal oppression of women stems from fear and resentment of our birthing abilities. For the medieval church, pain in labor was God’s punishment to wisdom-seeking Eve, and the bearing of children is part of her curse. Midwives in the Middle Ages were burned at the stake because they sought herbs that would reduce women’s pain” (170). From here Razak relates how men, the creators of both the forceps and Cesarean deliveries, entered the birthing process when most other options had failed, developing a medical profession that rejects the subjective experience of the woman giving birth. But Alan Roe will be glad to hear that not all her insights on men and birth are negative; rather, Razak goes beyond blaming men for taking over the birthing process and instead questions why society hasn’t tried harder to include them. “Nurturing is not a genetically feminine attribute…in a society that wishes us to see men as devoid of feelings, let us hold an image of men as nurturers. Women are birth-givers, but men can care with them. Let us change our institutions” (172).
While Razak’s essay deals more with feminism and less with nature, Carolyn Merchant’s essay “Ecofeminism and Feminist Theory” breaks down ecofeminism into a variety of subcategories. Explaining that the word ecofeminism was coined by a French writer to represent women’s potential to bring on an ecological revolution, Merchant goes past basic definitions and describes how the ecofeminism movement is splintered into three main schools of thought: liberal feminism, radical feminism and socialist feminism. While all three factions have short-term goals that overlap, they mainly differ as to whether capitalism, women’s culture or socialism should be the ultimate objective of political action (105). Radical feminism developed as a response to the perception that women and nature have been mutually associated and devalued by Western culture and that both should be elevated and liberated through direct political action (101). By analyzing environmental problems from within its critique of patriarchy, radical ecofeminists hope to offer alternatives that could liberate both women and nature. Socialist ecofeminism, however, founds its analysis in capitalist patriarchy and desires to completely restructure – via a socialist revolution – the domination of women and nature that is intrinsically part of the market economy’s use of both as resources (100). Finally, Liberal feminism, much like reform environmentalism, works to alter human relations with nature through the passage of new laws and regulations. Merchant, surprisingly, backs the socialist ecofeminism as having “the potential for a more thorough critique of the domination issue” (100), mainly because it deals with the environmental issues that affect working-class women. For example, Merchant states capitalist patriarchy has forced women into a domestic sphere where her labor in the home was “unpaid and subordinate to men’s labor in the marketplace. Both women and nature are exploited by men as part of the progressive liberation of humans from the constraints imposed by nature” (103). Saving the earth in the mind of a socialist ecofeminist will require major changes to the economy and how both men and women are viewed in society.
For some, the “isms” in essay like Merchant’s can be off-putting, but with 26 essays to choose from, Reweaving the World covers a variety of topics, offering essays that will appeal to everyone from the staunchest feminists to the most oppressive patriarchs. Topics range from Earth-based spirituality and deep ecology to feminist theory and bioregionalism. Reviewer Beverly Miller of the Library Journal said “These are serious, even scholarly discussions, yet they remain readable and compelling, appealing to both men and women to promote new values which will affirm and enhance the Earth,” and I agree. While some of the goddess talk and suggestions for reviving ancient fertility rituals can at times seem a little misguided, these essays easily and clearly tackle a topic that is still evolving for women all around the world.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Ecofeminist Movement represents the coming together of the environmental, feminist, and women's spirituality movements out of a shared concern for the well-being of the Earth and all forms of life that our Earth supports. Reweaving the World is a major resource on ecofeminism, gathering in a single volume articles, essays, and poetic prose pieces by the foremost writers, scholars, activists, artists, and spiritual teachers of this movement. Interweaving politics and philosophy, theory and activism, this provocative collection advocates a restoration of harmony in a global environment damaged by a devaluation of nature and women."
~~back cover

I wanted to read this book to learn more about the ecofeminist movement: what it was all about, what are the guiding principles, etc. I'm not sure I know any more now than I did before I read it. It's a very dense book -- actually an academic book, and the pieces are written for an audience that has already mastered the basics of the discipline. That isn't me.

I'm reminded of the time I took a graduate course on nomads from my mentor in college. The syllabus was thick, and composed entirely of that same kind of dense articles. I'd never studied nomadism before, so the nuances and references and basic ideas weren't familiar to me -- I grappled with them, and it took me hours to get the reading done. The mentor, in the meanwhile, tossed them off like so many pieces of candy. It took me a long while to figure out that of course she could gallop through them -- she was conversant with the discipline.

I'm sure some of these pieces were brilliant, but I think the brilliance escaped me. Nor do I have much of an idea about the warp and woof of ecofeminism. The most salient thing I learned is that Ursula Le Guin's Always Coming Home is an ecofeminist work. And it's one of my all time favorite books. Who knew? I'll have to go read it again, & compare it with the commentary in this book. Maybe then I'll finally get it!

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Various essays covering aspects/concerns of eco-feminism, which, at its best, is comparable to green anarchy or deep ecology, only, you know, not male dominated like those tend to be.
It is a more complete analysis for larger liberation and seeks to make the connections between oppressions and environmental destruction while rediscovering saner ways of being from our collective past.

I found the goddess centered essays in this book annoying at best, and completely ridiculous at worst. But that's just old atheist me, you may connect with it.

[Letha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been on my reading list for several years. I'm glad I got around to reading it. The essays provide philosophical foundation for transformative change. They are strongly provocative, challenging ideas that devalue women and nature. I know I will come back to these essays many times for inspiration about creating alternative culture that connects nature and society.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic introduction to an important social movement. There are chapters written by many of the famous ecofeminists, like Starhawk. There are also a couple of chapters comparing and contrasting the ecofeminist movement with the deep ecology movement. This book would be fantastically useful for both social movement classes and introduction to feminist studies courses.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few essays tasted of victimhood, but overall, a thought book.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of VERY diverse essays on Eco-Feminism