What is Ecofeminism?

As climate change continues to erode humanity's future, feminist theory must seriously engage with ecological problems and think through its relationship to environmentalism if it is to be recognized as a relevant political force shaping our future in a meaningful way. Conversely, environmentalism needs feminism. Understanding environmental problems requires comprehending their gendered and intersectional dimensions and effects. Environmental protection cannot take place at the cost of worsening gender subordination and other forms of oppression, such as racism, economic exploitation, and speciesism, but must be tied to an acute understanding of the current and historical connections between environmental destruction and different forms of oppression.

This concise introduction to a rapidly evolving political movement explains its key concepts, historical development, and the tools it offers to address global environmental challenges. In it, Johanna Oksala and Sanna Karhu demonstrate that developing critical and practical approaches to living with environmental catastrophe must be integrally connected to an understanding of the gendered dimensions of the crisis. They also argue that a radical re-evaluation and recuperation of ecofeminism in the light of its enrichment by queer theory, critical race theory, decolonial feminism, climate justice, intersectional feminism, and critical animal studies is vital today. Correcting simplifications and misrepresentations, Oksala and Karhu critically reassess ecofeminist theorizing and place emphasis squarely on the future and potential of ecofeminism.