The Goose Volume 14 | No. 1 Article 20 8-9-2015 Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth edited by Carol J. Adams and Lori Gruen Astrida Neimanis University of Sydney Part of the Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, and the Place and Environment Commons Follow this and additional works at / Suivez-nous ainsi que d’autres travaux et œuvres: https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose Recommended Citation / Citation recommandée Neimanis, Astrida. "Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth edited by Carol J. Adams and Lori Gruen." The Goose, vol. 14 , no. 1 , article 20, 2015, https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol14/iss1/20. This article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Goose by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Cet article vous est accessible gratuitement et en libre accès grâce à Scholars Commons @ Laurier. Le texte a été approuvé pour faire partie intégrante de la revue The Goose par un rédacteur autorisé de Scholars Commons @ Laurier. Pour de plus amples informations, contactez [email protected]. Neimanis: Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth Ecofeminist Animals of these developments. But before turning to these examples, we might first Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with ask what ecofeminism is, and what is at Other Animals and the Earth edited by stake in such definitional moves. CAROL J. ADAMS and LORI GRUEN As the editors of this collection Bloomsbury, 2014 $25.99 suggest: Reviewed by ASTRIDA NEIMANIS Ecofeminism addresses the various ways that sexism, What ever happened to ecofeminism? The heteronormativity, racism, answer is of course nothing, and colonialism, and ableism are everything. While ecofeminist analyses informed by and support have never gone away, a perception speciesism and how analysing the unfortunately lingers that ecofeminism ways these forces intersect can belongs to some hippier time of Earth produce less violent, more just Mothers, green goddesses and “babes in practices. (1) the woods” (Gaard 20), rather than constituting a lively, contemporary Importantly, this definition underlines the practice. Ecofeminism continues (as it did interlocking nature of feminist and avant la lettre) to offer critical insight into ecological problems. As with any other the ways that sexism, heteronormativity, definition, though, it also engages in racism, colonialism, ableism, speciesism, boundary-work—that is, establishing the and environmental degradation all parameters of a discourse (what participate in an interlocking logic of conversations “count” as ecofeminist?), domination. In the context of escalating and suggesting who might be its environmental devastation, ecofeminism spokespeople (which theorists “count” as may be more relevant than ever. We ecofeminist?). Moreover, we could should be turning to ecofeminist analyses consider: How do the stories we tell about more often, and more urgently, for ecofeminism facilitate new ecofeminisms guidance on how to get on in this (or not)? What work is done when we Anthropocenic world in more just and evoke this term in certain contexts, but caring ways. Adams and Gruen’s edited forget it in others? In other words, out of collection, consisting of thirteen chapters definitions and delimitations come by philosophers, artists, activists, histories and alliances. Just as many new sociologists, and political scientists, is one conversations on posthumanisms, new place to turn for such guidance. materialisms, and critical Anthropocene While ecofeminism has not gone studies fail to acknowledge important away, nor is it static. It continues to ecofeminist precursors, ecofeminism— develop, not least, because the world that like any other area of scholarship—is ecofeminism responds to is also changing. always writing its own history through its So too is the world of theory. This gives own politics of citation and inclusion. ecofeminism opportunities to engage with Certain genealogies of ecofeminism are burgeoning ideas within feminist and reinforced, some early beginnings wither related theory as a way of making its own away, and various new shoots positions more nuanced and robust. As rhizomatically reunite with old roots. detailed below, certain chapters in this I make note of such definitional collection integrate and learn with several boundary-work because this new Published by / Publié par Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2015 1 The Goose, Vol. 14, No. 1 [2015], Art. 20 collection further develops one genealogy ecofeminist question, explorations of of ecofeminism, and sticks mostly to a climate change, water degradation, closely related set of questions. As noted indigenous sovereignty, extraction in Gruen and Adams’ definition of industries, and their intersectional critique ecofeminism, speciesism is the key are mostly missing from the story of concern here. Moreover, the strange ecofeminism that this book tells. appositional grammar of the book’s title— Again, this collection’s focus on suggesting concern for “feminist ecofeminist animals is certainly not a intersections with other animals and the problem in itself—all knowledge is earth” (as though other animals were a situated, after all, and every storyteller category parallel to “the earth,” and thus makes choices—but overt perhaps separate from it) also belies the acknowledgement of its own partial book’s prioritization of the question of perspective would strengthen this other animals. collection. Moreover, this Tracing ecofeminist work in acknowledgment might help readers to relation to the mega- and meso-fauna better understand why chapters like Ralph that we domesticate, farm, and eat is Acampora’s are included. While his is an vital, and this book does it well. The interesting speculation about “testing collection’s first three chapters by Adams conceptual edibility for speciesism,” why and Gruen, Deane Curtin, and Deborah is it ecofeminist (particularly given Karen Splicer, addressing the “groundwork” of Emmerman’s claim in this volume that “an the speciesism/ecofeminism intersection, ecofeminist approach resists describing compassion, and joy, respectively, as well conflicts in . abstracted and unrealistic as Richard Twine’s chapter on ways” (161))? The question of who counts ecofeminism, veganism, and universalism, as “ecofeminist” also engages the all present strong arguments that boundary-work of genealogy building. contribute to this field. Adams’ chapter on Acampora is a remarkable animal studies the “anthropornography” of “Ursula scholar, but his work’s importance within Hamdress,” a pin-up pig, is delightful just an updated appraisal of ecofeminism begs in giving readers the opportunity to explanation—especially given the absence contemplate the deeper structures that of other kinds of ecofeminist approaches. buttress such confounding cultural Most exciting, then, are those displays. At the same time, it is interesting chapters that push ecofeminist questions to think about the kind of boundary-work of other animals and intersectionality into that is done by keeping the survey of new territory. These include Karen ecofeminism in this collection so closely Emmerman’s chapter on ecofeminism in tethered to the question of other animals. action, where the entangled life of a While no collection can cover everything, particular human child (her own) and her the silence on more diverse genealogies commitment to vegan ethics demand of ecofeminism—particularly beyond the attention to context and narrative. Lori US (one thinks of Chipko, Vandana Shiva, Gruen’s chapter on death and grief also Wangari Maathai, Maria Mies, Ariel investigates some unacknowledged yet Salleh, Greenham Common, Clayquot vital discomforts within vegetarian Sound, Pine Gap, Katsi Cook . this list ecofeminism—namely our “complicity in just scratches the surface)—is also a kind the pain and death of others,” no matter of genealogy-building. While eating and what our meat-eating choices. living with animals remains a pivotal Acknowledging humility and “the limits of https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol14/iss1/20 2 Neimanis: Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth good intentions” (136), Gruen with recent cutting-edge work in so-called convincingly advocates for communal feminist new materialisms. Donovan’s grieving practices that can “honor [sic] the chapter also demonstrates ecofeminism’s precariousness and fragility of our important contribution to theories of entangled lives”—human and other participatory knowledge, where “both animal (139). Importantly, Emmerman observer and observed are living beings and Gruen’s knotty self-reflections are who operate within the same possible within ecofeminism today—that communicative medium” (86). Finally, is, once the need to expend considerable Sunaura Taylor’s “Interdependent ink and effort defending ecofeminism Animals” brings ecofeminism into the against charges of Earth mother thick of critical disability studies. Skilfully essentialism has been significantly approaching the “false dichotomy” overcome. A willingness, such as Gruen between independence and dependence and Emmerman’s, to question and (113), Taylor provocatively asks: “Does an complicate arduously staked ecofeminist animal’s dependence on human care have territory absolutely