Welcome to My New Column on Ecofeminism

You’re probably here because you care about women, the environment, or both. You’ve come to the right place, because these two subjects are intimately tied to each other. 

Hey everyone, welcome to my new ecofeminism column with Eco-Chick. Once a week, I’ll be tackling a variety of topics here, all related to women and our unique relationship to the planet. 

Ladies, Gents, or whatever your preferred pronouns are —  we’re on the brink of an ecological collapse.  And, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we’ve got eleven-and-a-bit years to figure this sh*t out. So what are we going to do?

In our efforts to conquer nature we’ve arrived at a cliff’s edge. As we stand here, staring down the face of uncertainty, comes the dizzying sensation that we may have reached the end: Our food systems are poisoned, insect populations are collapsing, we’re going through the sixth mass extinction, we’re suffocating in our own carbon, oceans are dying, soil is eroding at an astonishing rate. Fossil fuels — including microplastics — have seeped into every organ of the Earth’s body; like an infection, they’ve migrated into our cells in the form of cancers and neurodevelopmental disorders in children — none of which is surprising when your water lights on fire.

The radical changes the planet is experiencing is going to require radical changes in thinking. So in my column, I’ll take a look at ideas around Ecofeminism, and why it may be a solution to our problems.  

Curious about what Ecofeminism even means? I’ll be covering that too. 

I’ll show you what women and girls’ oppression in the developing world means for our ecological crisis and society at large. And why our consumption habits fuels sexual violence against these women and girls — all while, at the same time, inflicting cycles of transgenerational trauma upon all living systems. 

But my biggest desire for this journey I’m embarking on with you, is to spark a conversation about how we can begin to see the Earth for the living, breathing organism that it actually is. 

That’s why we call it Gaia, or Mother Earth.

The Earth is alive! And I’ll show you how when various points of trauma are healed along this interconnected web of life, the Earth has the infinite capacity for regeneration, healing, and re-growth. Because just as psychological trauma imprints itself onto our bodies, the trauma inflicted upon our societies, by the sexual oppression of women, has imprinted itself onto the Earth. 

Why does this matter? Because we live within an interconnected web of life. Therefore, I’ll explore solutions to our ecological crisis by taking a look at how we can empower women and girls globally to become leaders in their communities — and why this matters to everyone. 

I’ll be covering exactly how we can help each other —  and why little boys need our support now more than ever. I will not forget the men who are so important in our lives by featuring #mensupportingwomen. And you can expect to hear some personal stories too. 

Now you may wonder what I know about sexual trauma and healing points of tension? A hell of a lot. 

—————-

A bit about me:  I am a writer and a mum based in Los Angeles. My father is from New Orleans, and my mother is from New Zealand. I grew up splitting my time between New Zealand and Park City, Utah (where my dad was), but I’ve never considered Utah my home; I always felt that in Utah, I was merely an unwelcome guest. 

That’s because when I was thirteen, I was raped—and then shamed by the community in Park City when I pressed charges. That experience is key to the work I’m here to do today. Yet, the topics I’m going to tackle here are larger than my story—and also integral to it. Here’s why: Abuse of women’s bodies and abuse of our environment go hand-in-hand. Hurting girls, women & mothers, and Mother Earth is intimately connected. 

For those of you that are sick of #metoo, don’t worry — I am too. Rest assured, I am not here to focus on the rape or its subsequent trauma but to share with you how this experience shaped my world view — why it’s the lens through which I see the world  — and how I can take this knowledge and use it to shift the conversation we’re having around the planet. That is, to see the Earth as a living, breathing organism capable of infinite amounts of regeneration, healing and regrowth.  

Don’t believe me? In the coming months, I’ll (attempt to) show you what I mean.  Please join me on this ecofeminism journey; we have lots to learn and plenty of work to do.