Feminism doesn’t grow on trees. Or does it?

An ecofeminist commentary

BY RYAN KO

With unbalanced power structures in lexicon and society alike, how can the World break free from this system of ideologically justified subordination to the ‘other’?

Given my passion for both feminism and environmentalism, you can imagine my excitement when I discovered ecofeminism in the pages of Animals and Women by ecofeminists Carol J. Adams and Josephine Donovan.

Historically, patriarchal cultures have subordinated women by classifying them as animals. Ecofeminism claims that this almost universal pattern of ideologically justified subordination is the prototype of many other forms of abuse. As victims of objectification and exploitation themselves, women must therefore not abandon other victims of oppression in their rush to be accepted as equals. Women must acknowledge that animals are worthy of the care, respect and reverence their consciousness deserves. 

This foundational principle of ecofeminism points to the larger societal power structure that fuels both injustices. Humans justify their exploitation and domination of animals by categorising them as inferior. The connection between sexism and speciesism is inscribed in the English language. The symbolic association of women with the ‘animal’ perpetuates the oppression. This is evidenced by offensive metaphors such as ‘catty’, ‘shrew’, ‘cow’ and ‘bitch’ – for which there are no masculine equivalents. 

But not all nonhuman-animal pejoratives target women. Terms such as ‘monkey’ and ‘gorilla’ are racial slurs. Male-specific terms also exist, such as ‘pig’. Some pejoratives, like ‘vulture’ or ‘sheepish’, are gender neutral. This language discriminates against both humans and animals. Most of these pejoratives are gross slanders which rarely designate the attributes of the animals they malign. Rather, they almost always designate negative human traits. Chickens are not ‘chicken’. Observers report the hen’s fierceness in defending her chicks and the rooster’s courage in protecting the flock. Rats are not ‘rats’. Although ingeniously resourceful, they are not treacherous. Rat communities are peaceful and cooperative, even caring for their orphaned and elderly members. If we could ditch speciesist language, it would signal a real step towards women’s liberation.

“Ecofeminism claims that this almost universal pattern of ideologically justified subordination is the prototype of many other forms of abuse.”

Another link between the mistreatment of women and animals can be found in the surprising role of animals in domestic abuse. In the United States, a woman is beaten in her home every 15 seconds. But batterers often harm or kill a pet to inflict psychological damage. Many women remain with the abuser because they fear for their pets. Some who leave then return home because of their concern for their pet. Violence is one form of male dominance, but harm to animals is also an instrument of domestic abuse that simultaneously attacks animals and women. So feminist commitments to end violence fail if they stop at the species barrier. Violence can be eradicated only when all forms of oppression are targeted. 

Speciesism is so rife in our society that it permeates even mainstream feminism. Expressing outrage at the treatment of women through offensive animal metaphors validates the oppression of animals. Saying that a man treats a woman like a dog implies that dogs may be treated like ‘dogs’. Abusing women is wrong; abusing dogs is normalised. We have learnt to compartmentalise oppression in discrete categories. This misleads us into focusing on some groups at the expense of others. Feminists have challenged the Western ideological tradition which constructs a diverse yet interrelated discourse of ‘others’. This hierarchy is of course constructed by men, almost always white. Binary Western thinking opposes the ‘superior norm’ to the ‘deviant other’, defining the former through its opposition and superiority to the latter. But the struggle against oppression is more than a binary struggle of women against men. Masculinity, capitalism, white supremacy, speciesism, science, nationalism and internationalism form a complex, formidable network of power.  

So ecofeminism sets no boundaries to the inclusiveness which grants rights to all. Instead, it asks how all exploitation and oppression can be stopped. Talk about ‘granting’ rights to other groups and species merely perpetuates the idea of human superiority.  

Ecofeminism therefore advocates a radically different attitude to the place of humanity in the world, an attitude not premised on the human subject in relation to an object world it presumes to dominate and exploit. Oppression will end only when we cease condescending to ‘lower’ groups and accept the true equality of all living beings.