Clarke Forum Salon: Nature is a Feminist Issue. A discussion on “Mother Earth,” ecofeminism, and its leading voices
Date: Monday, March 30, 2026
Time: 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
RSVP: By Friday, March 27, 2026 to clarkeforum@dickinson.edu. Space is limited. More information will be sent once we receive your RSVP.
The association between women and nature has ancient roots, linking ecological history with women’s history for hundreds of years. The symbolic relationship not only connects the past, but also ideas of shared oppression, domination, and exploitation. Mother Earth was considered to be nurturing and protective, but also wild and uncontrollable. As a result of the feminine personification of the Earth, women were seen as closer to nature than men, creating a parallel that has historically synced the perception of both groups. When nature brought plague and famine, women were burned at the stake by the inquisitor for being symbols of these ills.
This symbolic association has given women a unique perspective in which to approach environmental activism. In 1974, a modern connection relating environmentalism, women, and the critique of their shared oppression was coined by Françoise d’Eaubonne in Le Féminisme ou la Mort (Feminism or Death). Since then, ecofeminism has expanded in scope and support while also generating significant debate and criticism.
This salon will examine the women-nature relationship, discuss how critiques of “essentialism” have reshaped ecofeminist thought by questioning the origins and ethics of environmental care labor, and explore how leading voices within the movement put ecofeminist principles into practice.
This discussion will be facilitated by Charlotte Minnick ’28 and Dr. Katie Schweighofer, director of the Women’s & Gender Resource Center.
Required Materials:
Val Plumwood Feminism and the Mastery of Nature
Chapter 1: Feminism and ecofeminism (pp. 19-24)
https://takku.net/mediagallery/mediaobjects/orig/f/f_val-plumwood-feminism-and-the-mastery-of-nature-pdf.pdf
Ecofeminism: The essentialist issue
https://natureaccordingtosam.wordpress.com/2019/11/21/ecofeminism-the-essentialism-issue/
Vandana Shiva How to Repair a Broken System (13 minute video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf1xFFjd2DU
Spend a few minutes exploring these websites:
https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/
https://navdanya.org/
Recommended Materials:
Marti Kheel Chapter 10 from Heroic to Holistic Ethics: The Ecofeminist Challenge (pp. 243-271)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14bt5pf.13
Sherry Ortner Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture? (pp. 36–55)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3177638?seq=1