Gender Violence in Ecofeminist Perspective: Intersections of Animal Oppression, Patriarchy and Domination of the Earth

Description

This book aims to begin an eco-centered, eco-feminist informed discussion about the ways in which our relationship to “nature” is bound up with gender, patriarchy, and violence. Ecofeminist scholars study the interconnections between gendered relationships of domination among humans, between humans, and between humans, nonhumans, and the earth. It is in this ideological and structural tangle between humans and the environment that a deeper understanding of gender violence is possible. Ecofeminism offers analytical possibilities for understanding a “logic of domination” which sustain a whole host of problems, including the interrelated oppressions of gender violence and exploitation of the more-than-human-life world. In this book, Gwen Hunnicutt brings into dialog ecofeminism and gender violence. Ideological components, such as speciesism and the belief that the earth and its nonhuman inhabitants are ours to exploit, inform a host of other social practices, including interpersonal violence. A portion of this book is devoted to exploring the ways in which patriarchy is foregrounded by another hierarchy―uman domination over “nature”. Thus, gender violence stems from a logic of domination that is built on the domination of nature and the domination of the Other “as nature”. As this blueprint of oppression repeats itself where there are vectors of difference, the chapters ultimately connect these oppressions by showing the inextricable bind of violence against humans and the more-than-human-life world. This book will serve as a resource for scholars, activists, and students in sociology, gender violence and interdisciplinary violence studies, critical animal studies, environmental studies, and feminist and ecofeminist studies. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgements 1 Introduction: ecofeminism, “nature”, and gender violence Notes on terminology Conceptualizing gender violence What is ecofeminism? The debate over ecofeminism “naturalizing” women The scope of gender violence What is nature? Naturalizing violence “Taming” nature Gender violence through metaphor and language: a gender- ecology reading Rape of the earth Conclusion 2 Foregrounding patriarchy in a larger field of domination of nature Patriarchy and its many manifestations A key feature of patriarchy: domination A key feature of hierarchy: dualisms Hunting in patriarchal societies and gender violence Situating gender violence within a labyrinth of power and matrix of domination Conclusion 3 The intersection of masculinity, gender violence, and domination of nonhuman animals Introduction Hegemonic masculinity as master discourse Hegemonic masculinity as anti-ecological Meat and its symbolic link to masculinity Masculinity and blood sport The racialization of masculine identities through violence against animals Rodeo The fusion of objectified animals and sexualized females Taking seriously violence against nonhuman animals Conclusion 4 Trans-species harm and the multiplicity of violence from climate change Structural violence and climate change Direct violence and climate change Disasters and gender violence Cultural violence and nonhuman animal exploitation Linking violence toward animals and gender violence Link between human and nonhuman animal violence Violence against animals, interpersonal violence and war Conclusion 5 Conclusion: toward a nonviolent ecological society Posthumanism New forms of consciousness Eco-masculinities Ethic of care Connecting with and respecting nature Rethinking alliances with the state The challenge in addressing vulnerability Moving forward References Index