By: Makenzie Morales, Graduate Assistant
Hello everyone!
I hope you are all doing well and taking care of yourselves during these last few weeks of the semester. Here at Women*s Student Services, we are preparing for Earth Day and having conversations around sustainability. If you didn’t know, Earth Day is THIS Friday, April 22nd!
Intersectional feminism analyzes all social justice movements and the ways they intersect with one another. Depending on one’s level of privilege or discrimination they face, these issues compound, disproportionately affecting certain communities. The push for environmental justice is a piece of this movement. Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism that examines the relationship between environmentalism and social justice. Ecofeminism was coined by French feminist Francoise d’Eaubonne in 1974. Ecofeminism focuses on combining political activism, critique of capitalistic values, and advocating for more sustainable practices. Ecofeminism believes that the domination of women and those experiencing gender-based oppression and environmental degradation are both consequences of a white-supremist, patriarchal society.
In recent years, companies have created campaigns to encourage individuals to be more sustainable and decrease their carbon footprint. While we all certainly play an important role in being more environmentally conscious, it is important to note that the pressure cannot rely solely on individuals, but must be launched back at the few who benefit from environmental destruction. Under the functions of a capitalistic society, somebody is gaining from the focus on the individual, and the lack of attention aimed at big corporations and the harm they cause on the environment and the people (all of us) striving to protect our planet. This Earth Day, I encourage you to not only ask yourself what you can do to create more sustainable practice in your everyday life, but also ask yourself: “who is gaining from this? How can we shift pressure away from the individual and onto these corporations who hold the power to enact actual change?”. It may be time to point the finger away from the individual, and onto big businesses and capitalistic corporations.
We gain nothing from targeting one another. Hope lies in the power of the collective. Research the ways corporations are causing harm and putting a veil over our eyes to prevent collaborative efforts to take on these corporations. We have one Earth, and it’s dying. This Earth Day, we encourage you to read about environmental racism, environmental justice, and begin questioning the power imbalances. Don’t get me wrong-it’s important to do our part. Try implementing small things you can do to conserve energy, resources, and water…but don’t lose sign of the bigger picture.
Interested in sharing your own "Thought Of The Day" or TOTD? Email us at wss@msu.edu.
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