Beginnings

The first connections between feminism and environmentalism that gave rise to ecofeminism are found in the literary utopias of the feminists of the 1970s. They define a society in which women live without oppression, which implies the construction of an ecological, decentralized, non-hierarchical and non-militarized society, with internal democracy and in which the use of more environmentally friendly technologies prevails, etc. Ecofeminist ideas emerged in different countries, including France, Germany, the United States, Japan, Australia, Finland, and Venezuela,[5]​ due to the influence of knowledge of ecological problems. A marine biologist and science journalist Rachel Carson had already in 1962 denounced the fumigations of DDT that killed birds and gradually poisoned humans through the food chain. Carson was not a feminist thinker but she significantly influenced later ecofeminism.[6]​.

Françoise d'Eaubonne, creator of the term ecofeminism in 1974, maintained the existence of an original matriarchy that implied social relations of equality between men and women. Later this matriarchy would be replaced by absolute dominance of men over the fertility of women and the land. Contemporary environmental destruction would be the result of that history of patriarchal dominance "Patriarchy (feminism)").[7]​.

Ecofeminism was born as a response to what that movement defines as male appropriation of agriculture and reproduction (that is, of the fertility of the land and the fertility of women) that would later lead to Western developmentalism of a patriarchal and economistic type. According to ecofeminism, this appropriation would have produced two pernicious effects: the overexploitation of the land and the commodification of female sexuality.

Another of the initial authors was Susan Griffin with her book Women and nature:The Roaring Inside Her (1978), a work of great poetic evocative power that calls for recovering women's contact with nature, a contact lost by patriarchal domination.[1]​[8]​ Some of the initial authors were feminist theologians, including Rosemary Radford Ruether and Mary Daly.

In the United States, ecofeminism revolved around two currents: radical/cultural/spiritual feminism, which highlighted that which tended to highlight the "natural" similarity of women with the natural world and, on the other hand, that which was oriented towards more social political perspectives derived from socialism and Marxism.[6]​.

Movements of the 1970s

In 1973, in northern India, the women of the Chipko Movement managed to protect communal forests by hugging trees in an act of peaceful protest that prevented their felling. These women demonstrated the value of the environment and defended it in the name of the feminine principle of nature.[9]​.

In 1977, Wangari Maathai created the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, a rural tree-planting program to prevent desertification around towns, managing to plant more than 50 million trees. At the same time that it stopped desertification, it had a social content by giving work to poor women.[10]​.

In 1978 in New York, environmental activist Lois Gibbs led protests after discovering that her neighborhood "Love Canal") had been built on a toxic landfill. Many children had become ill as a result, which also caused reproductive problems in women. The movement was a success and caused the federal government to carry out the evacuation and relocation of nearly 800 families.[11]

From the 1980s to the present

If at first the ecofeminist theses were essentialist in nature with authors such as Mary Daly, in the 90s a constructivist turn occurred "Constructivism (philosophy)").[1]​ One cannot speak of ecofeminism but of ecofeminisms in the plural.

In the 80s and 90s, ecofeminism explored new intersections between feminism and other liberation and social justice movements. Examines the relationship between gender, race, class, nature, species, and colonialism. They are inspired by the policies of the green parties, pacifist and direct action movements.

One of the most influential texts is The Death of Nature (1980) by Carolyn Merchant, which studies the evolution of the concept of nature from the Renaissance to modernity, showing the relationship between the philosophical imaginary and the appearance of capitalism that reduces nature to raw material.[12]​.

At the end of the 80s, an important work from the South emerged, Staying Alive (1988) by Vandana Shiva, which criticized the "bad development" that the West imposed on the rest of the world. In 1990 Carol Adams published The Sexual Politics of Meat exploring the relationship between the oppression of women in our society and animal exploitation. In it he proposes a vegetarian ecofeminism.[13]​.

In Australia, two important thinkers stand out: the sociologist Ariel Kay Salleh and the philosopher Val Plumwood. Both have established a critical dialogue with social ecology and deep ecology. In Latin America, the Brazilian theologian Ivone Gebara develops her ecofeminist work from Liberation Theology.[14]​ She constitutes a reference for the ecumenical ecofeminist collective Con-spirando.[15]​ The American Karen Warren categorized an oppressive conceptual framework or Logic of Domination that would be common to all forms of oppression.[16]​.

In Spain, the ecofeminist philosopher Alicia Puleo proposes a non-essentialist critical ecofeminism, which both in the ethics of daily life and in social movements would allow progress towards a coexistence of respect and justice towards nature.[17]​ In 2024, her work has been key to articulating debates about the climate crisis and its disproportionate impact on women and marginalized groups,[18]​ especially in the context of European policies such as the Green New Deal.

In Ibero-America, ecofeminism has evolved significantly, integrating decolonial perspectives that connect the defense of the rights of indigenous women with resistance to extractivism.[19]​ Maristella Svampa has been a prominent voice in this area, denouncing the impacts of extractive industries on vulnerable communities and proposing alternatives based on good living and ecological justice.[20]​.

Brazilian theologian Ivone Gebara, from liberation theology, continues to be a reference in linking spirituality, gender justice and ecological justice.[21] Gebara's legacy has also been updated in recent research that explores the role of spirituality in social movements and climate action, as detailed in studies on environmental justice published in journals such as Ecumenical Review and Worldviews on Ecology, Religion, and Culture. His perspective has been adopted by ecumenical organizations such as the Con-spirando collective in Chile and grassroots movements that advocate for a community ethic in the face of ecological and social crises exacerbated by climate change and global inequality.[22]​.

Ecofeminism:

• - Points out that, in the patriarchal symbolic order, there are important connections between the domination and exploitation of women and nature, although this relationship is interpreted differently according to each ecofeminist approach.[23]​.

• - Denounces the association that patriarchy establishes between women and nature. Some of its representatives, of an essentialist nature, argue that the ability to gestate and create life places women and people with a uterus in a position of greater proximity to nature, which allows their identification with it. According to this approach, men, guided by reason, as opposed to female intuition, belong to the world of culture. Because of its ability to control and transform nature, culture is considered superior to nature. The binomials woman-nature and man-culture and the superiority of culture over nature in patriarchy explain why women are considered inferior to men.[23]​.

• - Considers that the domination and exploitation of women, the domination and exploitation of nature and animals have a common origin, which places women in a privileged situation to end said domination.[23][24]​.

Feminist political ecology (FPE) has become an expansive and open field that encompasses diverse theorizations about the social power relations associated with nature, culture and economics.[25]​

The EPF identifies and challenges dominant male conceptions and practices of knowledge and authority, emphasizing forms of research and practice that empower and promote social and ecological transformation for women and other marginalized groups.[25]​

All EPF approaches start from the premise that environmental change is not a neutral process susceptible to technical management, but rather emerges through political processes. That is why the EPF directs attention to various forms of political agency that arise from specific and complex contexts such as those of academics, legislators, professionals and activists.[25]​.

Within ecofeminism, an activist is defined as a person who, in the practical field, articulates and carries out concrete actions that link the fight for gender equality with the defense of the environment. These women are directly involved in the design and implementation of projects, campaigns or resistances in social, political and environmental contexts.[26]​.

In this section, ecofeminist activists will be considered those women who fall on the practical spectrum of ecofeminism, that is, those who put their ideas into action through tangible activities.

Ecofeminism in practice focuses on three main axes:

1. Connection between the local and the global:.

Various initiatives defend local resources, such as water, land and biodiversity, while understanding their global implications.

2. Collective empowerment:.

Mobilizing women to make decisions about common resources and challenge power structures that perpetuate the exploitation of people and the environment.

3. Ecological and social resilience:.

Implementation of strategies that not only protect the natural environment, but also promote the social, economic and cultural well-being of communities.

Within this framework, practical ecofeminist activists differ from ecofeminist thinkers in that their impact is directly observable and measurable in terms of community action, political resistance, and transformation of the physical and social environment.

Body-Territory

A key concept of ecofeminism that emerged in Ibero-America, coming from the struggles of indigenous communities and their resistance against three main forms of oppression that intertwine: patriarchy "Patriarchy (feminist theory)"), colonialism and extractivism/neo-extractivism. It is both a category of theoretical analysis and a practical method of resistance that links the body of women as a territory to be defended and the Earth as endowed with rights against its exploitation.

It comes from the analogy between women's bodies and the territory in which they exist. It is above all a historical concept. In fact, colonialism, that is, the physical, political, social and ideological conquest and exploitation of a territory, must involve the conquest of bodies, particularly female bodies. Exploitative treatments were imposed on women during the Spanish colonization of America, such as the commodification of women and girls, mass rape and mutilation of bodies.[35]​ The conquest of territory becomes exploitation of women's bodies, and women's bodies become territory to be defended.

The birth of the concept of Body-Territory within indigenous communities is no coincidence. These territories are systematically the target of extractivism and colonization. The women of these communities are impacted by their bodies, but they also use them to resist and fight. The concept is constructed and used in opposition to the construction of a hierarchical dichotomy between the body and nature, between the interior and the exterior, which would give supposed legitimacy to the exploitation of nature by bodies.[36]​.

Also, it is pertinent to mention the practice of “Mapping” of the body-territory, a physical representation through drawing of the body and the violence that it suffers and has suffered. Thus, the mapping of territorial conflicts is represented on the body to understand them from a corporeal and consequently subjective perspective. The researcher Delmy Tania Cruz Hernandez") develops a concrete example in her book,[37]​ telling the story of a survivor of the Acteal massacre, who, after this tragedy, drew a red cross over the heart of her mapping, and the rest of her body was left empty due to the trauma. The mapping thus becomes a form of resistance, specifying the repercussions of the exploitation of the territory on the bodies.[37]​.

However, the body-territory aims to reflect on the body and the territory in a continuum,[38]​ not as separate elements, but as two sides of the same coin.

In the 1980s, the emergence of community feminism was observed in Guatemala, led by Lorena Cabnal, with the aim of establishing a link between the territory, the body and the Earth.[39]​ Through the creation of the organization Amixmasaj in the Guatemalan mountains, Cabnal seeks to defend women from physical and sexual violence, as well as the exclusion they suffer, especially when the interests of territorial conquest and exploitation come into play.

This struggle takes on a particular connotation in the large mining exploitation areas "Mina (mining)"), where they face the violence suffered by women from neighboring communities by the men who come to work, as well as the contamination of their bodies, being the main affected by the pollution generated by these industrial activities.[39]​.

Currently, the concept is academically constructed by the doctor and feminist, anti-colonialist and environmentalist activist Delmy Tania Cruz Hernández") in her book Women, body and territories - between defense and dispossession. The Mexican researcher mainly develops the idea of a “repatriarchalization of territories”[41]​ caused by an increase in extractive activities in Latin America, dominated by men. In the state of Chiapas, Mexico, by For example, inequalities between men and women are increasing, since women do not have access to land ownership, which deprives them of their decision-making capacity in community assemblies, as well as their economic independence and food sovereignty.[41]​.

The fight of the EZLN in the state of Chiapas stands out for the defense of the territory and the communities with the objective of achieving the recognition of their autonomy. The resistance of the EZLN since its uprising in 1994 demonstrates the will to reappropriate bodies and territory, violated by colonization, patriarchy and extractivism. This struggle is inscribed in the bodies, which face acts of extreme violence in the context of paramilitarism in Chiapas, such as the 1997 Acteal massacre that was directed in particular against the bodies of Tzotzil women and girls.[42]​.

In Ecuador, the double struggle to protect the body and the territory was illustrated during the Amazonian women's march towards Quito in October 2013. This march was carried out with the objective of demanding "the continuity of the life of the native peoples", declaring their territory as "living jungle" and fighting against the expansion of oil exploitation.[43]​.

The women's body was revealed as an incarnation of the territory to be defended in the patriarchal public space. The identity and health of the group and the bodies are linked to the state of their environment. The exploitation of land resulting from extractivism and neo-extractivism causes a deterioration of this environment, through the contamination of land, air and water, and, consequently, of bodies, identity groups and the means of reproduction of life.[44]​ The exploitation of territories is violent towards individual and collective bodies. The struggle of these women was for the survival of their environment as well as that of their bodies.[45]​ However, the refusal of the president of the time, Rafael Correa, to receive or dialogue with this movement demonstrates the lack of recognition towards these female bodies in resistance.[43]​.

In Peru, the concept of body-territory has served as a central framework in the fight against the exploitation of natural resources with the violence exerted on bodies, especially women, indigenous people and peasants, who play fundamental roles in the preservation of community life. This perspective highlights the interrelation between the health of the earth and human dignity, reflecting a collective resistance against neoliberal extractivism, which perpetuates gender inequalities and ecological imbalances.[46]​.

Representative cases.

Below are the most notable cases of resistance linked to the territorial body in Peru:

1. Conga and Cajamarca: In Cajamarca, the resistance to the Conga mining project was led by women like Máxima Acuña, a symbol of the fight against extractivism.[47]​ This case exemplifies the discourse of "My body, my territory", in which protecting the land is equivalent to defending the sovereignty of communities and the integrity of women.

2. Defense in the Peruvian Amazon: In the Amazon, indigenous women have led protests against pollution caused by oil activities and illegal logging. Being an indigenous woman and defending the land (territory) is a fight in sacred unity, because they are defending their own spirituality and the ancestral connection with their environment.[48]​ In this way, the connection between environmental sustainability and preservation of cultural identity is highlighted, evidencing how attacks on the land directly impact bodies and communities.

In Brazil, resistance linked to the body-territory is led mainly by indigenous women and traditional communities that face the expansion of agribusiness, mining and deforestation in the Amazon. These struggles combine the defense of the environment with the demand for human and territorial rights.

Likewise, quilombola communities, descendants of enslaved Africans, also face forced displacement due to agribusiness. In regions like Maranhão, soy plantations have displaced numerous communities, generating an active struggle for the preservation of the body-territory and collective rights to land.[49]​.

Criticisms of ecofeminism are related to the following points:

• - The essentialist character and the polarization of genders: The main criticism of ecofeminism has to do with its essentialist character, which is a dichotomous reading of women and men in their relationship with nature and culture, creating a dualism that is too strict and focused on gender differences.[50] It also refers to the fact that ecofeminism correlates the social status of women with a supposed ecological status, instead of the non-essentialist vision in which both women and nature have both masculine and feminine qualities.[51]​.

• - The arbitrariness of the man-pollution relationship and female supremacism: the prejudice that entails generalizing social damage to the male figure rather than to the figure of power and elite that traditional ecological circles point out is pointed out. In turn, ecofeminism is accused of being sexist, by showing the masculine "with an innately inferior capacity in areas of performance considered significant", and arbitrarily giving ecological moral superiority to the female counterpart, without taking into consideration free will and individual quality in the ecological decision.[51]​.

• - The divergent view on participation in eco-oppressive structures: Mainstream feminism, most closely linked to hegemonic social status, strives to promote equality within the existing social and political structure, so that women occupy positions of power in business, industry and politics today. In contrast, many ecofeminists oppose active engagement in these areas, as these are the very power structures that the movement seeks to dismantle.[51] In this regard, social ecologist and feminist Janet Biehl has criticized ecofeminism for focusing too much on a mystical connection between women and nature, and not enough on the actual conditions of women.[52] She also stated that, rather than being an advancing theory, ecofeminism is a movement. anti-progressive for women.[52]​ For her part, Rosemary Radford Ruether criticizes the focus on mysticism over work that seeks to help women, but argues that spirituality and activism can be effectively combined in ecofeminism.[53]​.

• - Lack of breadth in the ecological perspective: A. E. Kings") has criticized the limitation of ecofeminism, focusing only on gender and the environment, while neglecting more intersectoral and multifactorial approaches.[54]​ Kings says that ecofeminists claim to be intersectoral, however, they have fallen short in proposing a more global commitment.[54]​.

Vandana Shiva, Indian ecofeminist, philosopher and anti-globalist activist, was one of the first to denounce the deterioration of the living conditions of Third World women caused by poor development. She is a pacifist, follower of Gandhi, alternative Nobel Prize winner and 1993 Healthy Life Prize winner. She mobilized 5 million farmers in her country against the General Trade Tariff Union (GAT) and led the great mobilization against the globalization of trade in Seattle at the end of 1999. She founded Navdaya"), a women's social movement to protect the diversity and integrity of livelihoods, especially seeds. Currently, her activism is focused in the fight against GMOs.[55]​.

Wangari Maathai, one of the main figures of ecofeminism and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya in 1977, with which he planted more than 50 million trees to prevent deforestation and desertification. This program was carried out by women, who received payment for planting trees so they could support their children. In 1986, the Movement established a pan-African network (Pan African Green Belt Network). She had a holistic vision regarding sustainable development that encompasses democracy, human rights, and especially women's rights.[56]​.

• - Judi Bari - American environmentalist, was one of the main organizers of the Earth First movement and experienced sexist hostility.

• - Françoise d'Eaubonne - Writer and feminist who coined the term "ecofeminism." She called on women to lead an ecological revolution to save the planet, which involves revolutionizing gender relations and human relationships with the natural world.

• - Greta Gaard - American academic and ecofeminist activist. His main contributions to the field connect the ideas of queer theory, vegetarianism, and animal liberation. Her main theories include ecocriticism, which works to include literary criticism and composition to inform ecofeminism, and other feminist theories to address a broader range of social issues within ecofeminism. She is an ecological activist and leader of the Green Party of the United States and the Green Movement.

• - Susan Griffin - Radical feminist philosopher, essayist, and playwright especially known for her innovative hybrid ecofeminist works. A Californian, she taught as an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley, as well as at Stanford University and the California Institute of Integral Studies.

• - Sallie McFague") - Prominent ecofeminist theologian, McFague uses the metaphor of God's body to represent the universe at large. This metaphor values ​​inclusive, mutualistic, and interdependent relationships between all things.

• - Carolyn Merchant - Science historian who taught at the University of California, Berkeley, for many years. Her book The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution is a classic ecofeminist text.

• - Mary Mellor") - British sociologist who approached ecofeminist ideas from her interest in cooperatives. Her books Breaking the Boundaries and Feminism and Ecology are based on a materialist analysis.

• - Maria Mies - German social critic who participated in feminist work in Europe and India. She works especially at the intersections of patriarchy, poverty and the environment on a local and global scale.

• - Adrian Parr") - Cultural and environmental theorist. He published eight books and numerous articles on environmental activism, feminist new materialism and imagination. Most notable is his trilogy: Hijacking Sustainability, The Wrath of Capital and Birth of a New Earth..

• - Val Plumwood - Australian intellectual and ecofeminist activist who was prominent in the development of radical ecosophy from the early 1970s to the end of the century. In her work Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, she describes the relationship of humanity and the environment in relation to an ecofeminist ideology.

• - Alicia Puleo - Spanish philosopher and thinker, author of several books and articles on ecofeminism and gender inequality.

• - Rosemary Radford Ruether - American theologian who wrote 36 books and more than 600 articles exploring the intersections between feminism, theology, and creation care. Ruether was the first person to connect the domination of land to the oppression of women.

• - Ariel Salleh - Australian ecofeminist with a global perspective; founding editor of the magazine Capitalism Nature Socialism; author of three books and 200 articles examining links to deep and social ecology, green politics, and ecosocialism.

• - Charlene Spretnak") - American writer known for her writings on ecology, politics, and spirituality. She wrote books addressing ecological issues in terms of effects with social critiques, including feminism. Spretnak's works had a major influence on the development of the Green Party. She won awards for her views on ecology and social issues, as well as for her feminist thought.

• - Starhawk - American writer and activist focused on spiritualism and ecofeminism. Advocates for social justice in issues related to nature and spirit. These social justice issues fall into the realm of feminism and ecofeminism. She believes in fighting oppression through intersectionality and the importance of spirituality, ecological awareness, and sexual and gender liberation.

• - Vanessa Lemgruber") - Brazilian lawyer, writer, activist and ecofeminist who defends the Doce River in Brazil and advocates for water quality and zero waste movements.

• - Douglas Vakoch") - American ecocritic, author of Critical Perspectives on Sex, Technology, and Discourse (2011), Feminist Ecocriticism: Environment, Women, and Literature (2012), Dystopias and Utopias on Earth and Beyond: Feminist Ecocriticism of Science Fiction (2021), Ecofeminist Science Fiction: International Perspectives on Gender, Ecology, and Literature (2021) and, together with Sam Mickey"), Ecofeminism in dialogue (2018), Literature and ecofeminism: intersectional and international voices (2018), and Women and nature? Beyond dualism in gender, body and environment (2018).

• - Karen Warren - Philosopher from the University of Minnesota (1970) and received her PhD from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1978. Prior to her time at Macalester College, which began in 1985, Warren was a professor of philosophy at St. Olaf College in the early 1980s. Warren was an ecofeminist fellow at Murdoch University (Australia). In 2003, she was a Round Table Fellow at Oxford University and in 2004 she held the Women's Chair in Humanistic Studies at Marquette University. She has given numerous lectures on environmental issues, feminism, critical thinking skills and peace studies at many international venues, including Buenos Aires, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Oslo, Manitoba, Melbourne, Moscow, Perth, the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992) and San Jose.

• - Laura Wright&action=edit&redlink=1 "Laura Wright (literary scholar) (not yet written)") - Wright proposed vegan studies as an academic discipline.

• - María Luisa CAVANA, Alicia PULEO, Cristina SEGURA, Women and Ecology. History, Thought, Society, ed. Almudayna, Madrid, 2004.

• - Verónica PERALES BLANCO, "Artistic practice and ecofeminism", Creativity and Society Magazine, No. 15, November 2010.

• - Alicia PULEO 'Ecofeminist keys. For rebels who love the Earth and animals' ed Plaza y Valdés. Madrid, 2019.

• - Alicia PULEO 'Ecofeminism for another possible world' ed Cátedra. Madrid 2011.

• - Alicia PULEO (ed), From classical to deconstructive ecofeminism: main currents of a little-known thought, in Celia Amorós and Ana de Miguel (ed.), Feminist theory. From the Enlightenment to globalization, ed. Minerva, Madrid, 2005, pp.121-152.

• - Alicia PULEO,"Gender, Nature and Death" in Elisabeth de Sotello, ed., New Women of Spain, Lit Verlag Münster- Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University, New Brunswick & London, 2005, pp.173-182.

• - Alicia PULEO, “Oppressive dualisms and environmental education”, in Isegoría. Journal of Moral and Political Philosophy n°32, June 2005, pp.201-214.

• - Alicia PULEO,"Ecofeminism: towards a philosophical-political redefinition of Nature and the human being", in Celia Amorós(ed), Feminism and Philosophy, Síntesis, 2000, Madrid, pp.165-190.

• - Alicia PULEO, "Rights versus contextualism: People, apes and ecofeminist ethics", Journal of Philosophy of the University of La Laguna no. 7 (2000), pp.353-357.

• - Alicia PULEO, "Ecofeminism. The gender perspective in ecological consciousness", VV.AA, Keys to social ecologism, Libros en Acción, Editorial de Ecologistas en Acción, Madrid, 2009.

• - Ana SABATÉ MARTÍNEZ, “Gender, Environment and political action: a pending debate in current Geography”, Annals of Geography of the Complutense University, Vol.20, pp.177-191.

• - Ariel SALLEH, “Nature, women, work, capital: the deepest contradiction”, Political Ecology No. 7, Cuadernos de Debate Internacional. Icaria, Barcelona, ​​1994.

• - Cristina SEGURA, “Women and the Environment in the Castilian Middle Ages”, in VV.AA., Women's trades and knowledge, Publications Secretariat of the University of Valladolid, 2002.

• - Vandana SHIVA, Stolen harvest. The hijacking of the world's food supply, ed. Paidós, Barcelona, ​​2003.

• - Wiktionary has definitions and other information about ecofeminism.

• - Ecofeminist Network.

• - Women who changed the world.

• - There is an ecofeminism of equality in the future development model.

• - , resource, debate and training center on Political Ecology.

• - Interview with Vandana Shiva.

• - Interview with Yayo Herrero, ecofeminist.

• - Interview with the doctor in Philosophy from the Complutense University of Madrid and Head of Moral and Political Philosophy at the University of Valladolid, Alicia Puleo.

• - Vandana Shiva: That the earth is alive should be part of everyone's language.

Beginnings

The first connections between feminism and environmentalism that gave rise to ecofeminism are found in the literary utopias of the feminists of the 1970s. They define a society in which women live without oppression, which implies the construction of an ecological, decentralized, non-hierarchical and non-militarized society, with internal democracy and in which the use of more environmentally friendly technologies prevails, etc. Ecofeminist ideas emerged in different countries, including France, Germany, the United States, Japan, Australia, Finland, and Venezuela,[5]​ due to the influence of knowledge of ecological problems. A marine biologist and science journalist Rachel Carson had already in 1962 denounced the fumigations of DDT that killed birds and gradually poisoned humans through the food chain. Carson was not a feminist thinker but she significantly influenced later ecofeminism.[6]​.

Françoise d'Eaubonne, creator of the term ecofeminism in 1974, maintained the existence of an original matriarchy that implied social relations of equality between men and women. Later this matriarchy would be replaced by absolute dominance of men over the fertility of women and the land. Contemporary environmental destruction would be the result of that history of patriarchal dominance "Patriarchy (feminism)").[7]​.

Ecofeminism was born as a response to what that movement defines as male appropriation of agriculture and reproduction (that is, of the fertility of the land and the fertility of women) that would later lead to Western developmentalism of a patriarchal and economistic type. According to ecofeminism, this appropriation would have produced two pernicious effects: the overexploitation of the land and the commodification of female sexuality.

Another of the initial authors was Susan Griffin with her book Women and nature:The Roaring Inside Her (1978), a work of great poetic evocative power that calls for recovering women's contact with nature, a contact lost by patriarchal domination.[1]​[8]​ Some of the initial authors were feminist theologians, including Rosemary Radford Ruether and Mary Daly.

In the United States, ecofeminism revolved around two currents: radical/cultural/spiritual feminism, which highlighted that which tended to highlight the "natural" similarity of women with the natural world and, on the other hand, that which was oriented towards more social political perspectives derived from socialism and Marxism.[6]​.

Movements of the 1970s

In 1973, in northern India, the women of the Chipko Movement managed to protect communal forests by hugging trees in an act of peaceful protest that prevented their felling. These women demonstrated the value of the environment and defended it in the name of the feminine principle of nature.[9]​.

In 1977, Wangari Maathai created the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, a rural tree-planting program to prevent desertification around towns, managing to plant more than 50 million trees. At the same time that it stopped desertification, it had a social content by giving work to poor women.[10]​.

In 1978 in New York, environmental activist Lois Gibbs led protests after discovering that her neighborhood "Love Canal") had been built on a toxic landfill. Many children had become ill as a result, which also caused reproductive problems in women. The movement was a success and caused the federal government to carry out the evacuation and relocation of nearly 800 families.[11]

From the 1980s to the present

If at first the ecofeminist theses were essentialist in nature with authors such as Mary Daly, in the 90s a constructivist turn occurred "Constructivism (philosophy)").[1]​ One cannot speak of ecofeminism but of ecofeminisms in the plural.

In the 80s and 90s, ecofeminism explored new intersections between feminism and other liberation and social justice movements. Examines the relationship between gender, race, class, nature, species, and colonialism. They are inspired by the policies of the green parties, pacifist and direct action movements.

One of the most influential texts is The Death of Nature (1980) by Carolyn Merchant, which studies the evolution of the concept of nature from the Renaissance to modernity, showing the relationship between the philosophical imaginary and the appearance of capitalism that reduces nature to raw material.[12]​.

At the end of the 80s, an important work from the South emerged, Staying Alive (1988) by Vandana Shiva, which criticized the "bad development" that the West imposed on the rest of the world. In 1990 Carol Adams published The Sexual Politics of Meat exploring the relationship between the oppression of women in our society and animal exploitation. In it he proposes a vegetarian ecofeminism.[13]​.

In Australia, two important thinkers stand out: the sociologist Ariel Kay Salleh and the philosopher Val Plumwood. Both have established a critical dialogue with social ecology and deep ecology. In Latin America, the Brazilian theologian Ivone Gebara develops her ecofeminist work from Liberation Theology.[14]​ She constitutes a reference for the ecumenical ecofeminist collective Con-spirando.[15]​ The American Karen Warren categorized an oppressive conceptual framework or Logic of Domination that would be common to all forms of oppression.[16]​.

In Spain, the ecofeminist philosopher Alicia Puleo proposes a non-essentialist critical ecofeminism, which both in the ethics of daily life and in social movements would allow progress towards a coexistence of respect and justice towards nature.[17]​ In 2024, her work has been key to articulating debates about the climate crisis and its disproportionate impact on women and marginalized groups,[18]​ especially in the context of European policies such as the Green New Deal.

In Ibero-America, ecofeminism has evolved significantly, integrating decolonial perspectives that connect the defense of the rights of indigenous women with resistance to extractivism.[19]​ Maristella Svampa has been a prominent voice in this area, denouncing the impacts of extractive industries on vulnerable communities and proposing alternatives based on good living and ecological justice.[20]​.

Brazilian theologian Ivone Gebara, from liberation theology, continues to be a reference in linking spirituality, gender justice and ecological justice.[21] Gebara's legacy has also been updated in recent research that explores the role of spirituality in social movements and climate action, as detailed in studies on environmental justice published in journals such as Ecumenical Review and Worldviews on Ecology, Religion, and Culture. His perspective has been adopted by ecumenical organizations such as the Con-spirando collective in Chile and grassroots movements that advocate for a community ethic in the face of ecological and social crises exacerbated by climate change and global inequality.[22]​.

Ecofeminism:

• - Points out that, in the patriarchal symbolic order, there are important connections between the domination and exploitation of women and nature, although this relationship is interpreted differently according to each ecofeminist approach.[23]​.

• - Denounces the association that patriarchy establishes between women and nature. Some of its representatives, of an essentialist nature, argue that the ability to gestate and create life places women and people with a uterus in a position of greater proximity to nature, which allows their identification with it. According to this approach, men, guided by reason, as opposed to female intuition, belong to the world of culture. Because of its ability to control and transform nature, culture is considered superior to nature. The binomials woman-nature and man-culture and the superiority of culture over nature in patriarchy explain why women are considered inferior to men.[23]​.

• - Considers that the domination and exploitation of women, the domination and exploitation of nature and animals have a common origin, which places women in a privileged situation to end said domination.[23][24]​.

Feminist political ecology (FPE) has become an expansive and open field that encompasses diverse theorizations about the social power relations associated with nature, culture and economics.[25]​

The EPF identifies and challenges dominant male conceptions and practices of knowledge and authority, emphasizing forms of research and practice that empower and promote social and ecological transformation for women and other marginalized groups.[25]​

All EPF approaches start from the premise that environmental change is not a neutral process susceptible to technical management, but rather emerges through political processes. That is why the EPF directs attention to various forms of political agency that arise from specific and complex contexts such as those of academics, legislators, professionals and activists.[25]​.

Within ecofeminism, an activist is defined as a person who, in the practical field, articulates and carries out concrete actions that link the fight for gender equality with the defense of the environment. These women are directly involved in the design and implementation of projects, campaigns or resistances in social, political and environmental contexts.[26]​.

In this section, ecofeminist activists will be considered those women who fall on the practical spectrum of ecofeminism, that is, those who put their ideas into action through tangible activities.

Ecofeminism in practice focuses on three main axes:

1. Connection between the local and the global:.

Various initiatives defend local resources, such as water, land and biodiversity, while understanding their global implications.

2. Collective empowerment:.

Mobilizing women to make decisions about common resources and challenge power structures that perpetuate the exploitation of people and the environment.

3. Ecological and social resilience:.

Implementation of strategies that not only protect the natural environment, but also promote the social, economic and cultural well-being of communities.

Within this framework, practical ecofeminist activists differ from ecofeminist thinkers in that their impact is directly observable and measurable in terms of community action, political resistance, and transformation of the physical and social environment.

Body-Territory

A key concept of ecofeminism that emerged in Ibero-America, coming from the struggles of indigenous communities and their resistance against three main forms of oppression that intertwine: patriarchy "Patriarchy (feminist theory)"), colonialism and extractivism/neo-extractivism. It is both a category of theoretical analysis and a practical method of resistance that links the body of women as a territory to be defended and the Earth as endowed with rights against its exploitation.

It comes from the analogy between women's bodies and the territory in which they exist. It is above all a historical concept. In fact, colonialism, that is, the physical, political, social and ideological conquest and exploitation of a territory, must involve the conquest of bodies, particularly female bodies. Exploitative treatments were imposed on women during the Spanish colonization of America, such as the commodification of women and girls, mass rape and mutilation of bodies.[35]​ The conquest of territory becomes exploitation of women's bodies, and women's bodies become territory to be defended.

The birth of the concept of Body-Territory within indigenous communities is no coincidence. These territories are systematically the target of extractivism and colonization. The women of these communities are impacted by their bodies, but they also use them to resist and fight. The concept is constructed and used in opposition to the construction of a hierarchical dichotomy between the body and nature, between the interior and the exterior, which would give supposed legitimacy to the exploitation of nature by bodies.[36]​.

Also, it is pertinent to mention the practice of “Mapping” of the body-territory, a physical representation through drawing of the body and the violence that it suffers and has suffered. Thus, the mapping of territorial conflicts is represented on the body to understand them from a corporeal and consequently subjective perspective. The researcher Delmy Tania Cruz Hernandez") develops a concrete example in her book,[37]​ telling the story of a survivor of the Acteal massacre, who, after this tragedy, drew a red cross over the heart of her mapping, and the rest of her body was left empty due to the trauma. The mapping thus becomes a form of resistance, specifying the repercussions of the exploitation of the territory on the bodies.[37]​.

However, the body-territory aims to reflect on the body and the territory in a continuum,[38]​ not as separate elements, but as two sides of the same coin.

In the 1980s, the emergence of community feminism was observed in Guatemala, led by Lorena Cabnal, with the aim of establishing a link between the territory, the body and the Earth.[39]​ Through the creation of the organization Amixmasaj in the Guatemalan mountains, Cabnal seeks to defend women from physical and sexual violence, as well as the exclusion they suffer, especially when the interests of territorial conquest and exploitation come into play.

This struggle takes on a particular connotation in the large mining exploitation areas "Mina (mining)"), where they face the violence suffered by women from neighboring communities by the men who come to work, as well as the contamination of their bodies, being the main affected by the pollution generated by these industrial activities.[39]​.

Currently, the concept is academically constructed by the doctor and feminist, anti-colonialist and environmentalist activist Delmy Tania Cruz Hernández") in her book Women, body and territories - between defense and dispossession. The Mexican researcher mainly develops the idea of a “repatriarchalization of territories”[41]​ caused by an increase in extractive activities in Latin America, dominated by men. In the state of Chiapas, Mexico, by For example, inequalities between men and women are increasing, since women do not have access to land ownership, which deprives them of their decision-making capacity in community assemblies, as well as their economic independence and food sovereignty.[41]​.

The fight of the EZLN in the state of Chiapas stands out for the defense of the territory and the communities with the objective of achieving the recognition of their autonomy. The resistance of the EZLN since its uprising in 1994 demonstrates the will to reappropriate bodies and territory, violated by colonization, patriarchy and extractivism. This struggle is inscribed in the bodies, which face acts of extreme violence in the context of paramilitarism in Chiapas, such as the 1997 Acteal massacre that was directed in particular against the bodies of Tzotzil women and girls.[42]​.

In Ecuador, the double struggle to protect the body and the territory was illustrated during the Amazonian women's march towards Quito in October 2013. This march was carried out with the objective of demanding "the continuity of the life of the native peoples", declaring their territory as "living jungle" and fighting against the expansion of oil exploitation.[43]​.

The women's body was revealed as an incarnation of the territory to be defended in the patriarchal public space. The identity and health of the group and the bodies are linked to the state of their environment. The exploitation of land resulting from extractivism and neo-extractivism causes a deterioration of this environment, through the contamination of land, air and water, and, consequently, of bodies, identity groups and the means of reproduction of life.[44]​ The exploitation of territories is violent towards individual and collective bodies. The struggle of these women was for the survival of their environment as well as that of their bodies.[45]​ However, the refusal of the president of the time, Rafael Correa, to receive or dialogue with this movement demonstrates the lack of recognition towards these female bodies in resistance.[43]​.

In Peru, the concept of body-territory has served as a central framework in the fight against the exploitation of natural resources with the violence exerted on bodies, especially women, indigenous people and peasants, who play fundamental roles in the preservation of community life. This perspective highlights the interrelation between the health of the earth and human dignity, reflecting a collective resistance against neoliberal extractivism, which perpetuates gender inequalities and ecological imbalances.[46]​.

Representative cases.

Below are the most notable cases of resistance linked to the territorial body in Peru:

1. Conga and Cajamarca: In Cajamarca, the resistance to the Conga mining project was led by women like Máxima Acuña, a symbol of the fight against extractivism.[47]​ This case exemplifies the discourse of "My body, my territory", in which protecting the land is equivalent to defending the sovereignty of communities and the integrity of women.

2. Defense in the Peruvian Amazon: In the Amazon, indigenous women have led protests against pollution caused by oil activities and illegal logging. Being an indigenous woman and defending the land (territory) is a fight in sacred unity, because they are defending their own spirituality and the ancestral connection with their environment.[48]​ In this way, the connection between environmental sustainability and preservation of cultural identity is highlighted, evidencing how attacks on the land directly impact bodies and communities.

In Brazil, resistance linked to the body-territory is led mainly by indigenous women and traditional communities that face the expansion of agribusiness, mining and deforestation in the Amazon. These struggles combine the defense of the environment with the demand for human and territorial rights.

Likewise, quilombola communities, descendants of enslaved Africans, also face forced displacement due to agribusiness. In regions like Maranhão, soy plantations have displaced numerous communities, generating an active struggle for the preservation of the body-territory and collective rights to land.[49]​.

Criticisms of ecofeminism are related to the following points:

• - The essentialist character and the polarization of genders: The main criticism of ecofeminism has to do with its essentialist character, which is a dichotomous reading of women and men in their relationship with nature and culture, creating a dualism that is too strict and focused on gender differences.[50] It also refers to the fact that ecofeminism correlates the social status of women with a supposed ecological status, instead of the non-essentialist vision in which both women and nature have both masculine and feminine qualities.[51]​.

• - The arbitrariness of the man-pollution relationship and female supremacism: the prejudice that entails generalizing social damage to the male figure rather than to the figure of power and elite that traditional ecological circles point out is pointed out. In turn, ecofeminism is accused of being sexist, by showing the masculine "with an innately inferior capacity in areas of performance considered significant", and arbitrarily giving ecological moral superiority to the female counterpart, without taking into consideration free will and individual quality in the ecological decision.[51]​.

• - The divergent view on participation in eco-oppressive structures: Mainstream feminism, most closely linked to hegemonic social status, strives to promote equality within the existing social and political structure, so that women occupy positions of power in business, industry and politics today. In contrast, many ecofeminists oppose active engagement in these areas, as these are the very power structures that the movement seeks to dismantle.[51] In this regard, social ecologist and feminist Janet Biehl has criticized ecofeminism for focusing too much on a mystical connection between women and nature, and not enough on the actual conditions of women.[52] She also stated that, rather than being an advancing theory, ecofeminism is a movement. anti-progressive for women.[52]​ For her part, Rosemary Radford Ruether criticizes the focus on mysticism over work that seeks to help women, but argues that spirituality and activism can be effectively combined in ecofeminism.[53]​.

• - Lack of breadth in the ecological perspective: A. E. Kings") has criticized the limitation of ecofeminism, focusing only on gender and the environment, while neglecting more intersectoral and multifactorial approaches.[54]​ Kings says that ecofeminists claim to be intersectoral, however, they have fallen short in proposing a more global commitment.[54]​.

Vandana Shiva, Indian ecofeminist, philosopher and anti-globalist activist, was one of the first to denounce the deterioration of the living conditions of Third World women caused by poor development. She is a pacifist, follower of Gandhi, alternative Nobel Prize winner and 1993 Healthy Life Prize winner. She mobilized 5 million farmers in her country against the General Trade Tariff Union (GAT) and led the great mobilization against the globalization of trade in Seattle at the end of 1999. She founded Navdaya"), a women's social movement to protect the diversity and integrity of livelihoods, especially seeds. Currently, her activism is focused in the fight against GMOs.[55]​.

Wangari Maathai, one of the main figures of ecofeminism and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya in 1977, with which he planted more than 50 million trees to prevent deforestation and desertification. This program was carried out by women, who received payment for planting trees so they could support their children. In 1986, the Movement established a pan-African network (Pan African Green Belt Network). She had a holistic vision regarding sustainable development that encompasses democracy, human rights, and especially women's rights.[56]​.

• - Judi Bari - American environmentalist, was one of the main organizers of the Earth First movement and experienced sexist hostility.

• - Françoise d'Eaubonne - Writer and feminist who coined the term "ecofeminism." She called on women to lead an ecological revolution to save the planet, which involves revolutionizing gender relations and human relationships with the natural world.

• - Greta Gaard - American academic and ecofeminist activist. His main contributions to the field connect the ideas of queer theory, vegetarianism, and animal liberation. Her main theories include ecocriticism, which works to include literary criticism and composition to inform ecofeminism, and other feminist theories to address a broader range of social issues within ecofeminism. She is an ecological activist and leader of the Green Party of the United States and the Green Movement.

• - Susan Griffin - Radical feminist philosopher, essayist, and playwright especially known for her innovative hybrid ecofeminist works. A Californian, she taught as an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley, as well as at Stanford University and the California Institute of Integral Studies.

• - Sallie McFague") - Prominent ecofeminist theologian, McFague uses the metaphor of God's body to represent the universe at large. This metaphor values ​​inclusive, mutualistic, and interdependent relationships between all things.

• - Carolyn Merchant - Science historian who taught at the University of California, Berkeley, for many years. Her book The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution is a classic ecofeminist text.

• - Mary Mellor") - British sociologist who approached ecofeminist ideas from her interest in cooperatives. Her books Breaking the Boundaries and Feminism and Ecology are based on a materialist analysis.

• - Maria Mies - German social critic who participated in feminist work in Europe and India. She works especially at the intersections of patriarchy, poverty and the environment on a local and global scale.

• - Adrian Parr") - Cultural and environmental theorist. He published eight books and numerous articles on environmental activism, feminist new materialism and imagination. Most notable is his trilogy: Hijacking Sustainability, The Wrath of Capital and Birth of a New Earth..

• - Val Plumwood - Australian intellectual and ecofeminist activist who was prominent in the development of radical ecosophy from the early 1970s to the end of the century. In her work Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, she describes the relationship of humanity and the environment in relation to an ecofeminist ideology.

• - Alicia Puleo - Spanish philosopher and thinker, author of several books and articles on ecofeminism and gender inequality.

• - Rosemary Radford Ruether - American theologian who wrote 36 books and more than 600 articles exploring the intersections between feminism, theology, and creation care. Ruether was the first person to connect the domination of land to the oppression of women.

• - Ariel Salleh - Australian ecofeminist with a global perspective; founding editor of the magazine Capitalism Nature Socialism; author of three books and 200 articles examining links to deep and social ecology, green politics, and ecosocialism.

• - Charlene Spretnak") - American writer known for her writings on ecology, politics, and spirituality. She wrote books addressing ecological issues in terms of effects with social critiques, including feminism. Spretnak's works had a major influence on the development of the Green Party. She won awards for her views on ecology and social issues, as well as for her feminist thought.

• - Starhawk - American writer and activist focused on spiritualism and ecofeminism. Advocates for social justice in issues related to nature and spirit. These social justice issues fall into the realm of feminism and ecofeminism. She believes in fighting oppression through intersectionality and the importance of spirituality, ecological awareness, and sexual and gender liberation.

• - Vanessa Lemgruber") - Brazilian lawyer, writer, activist and ecofeminist who defends the Doce River in Brazil and advocates for water quality and zero waste movements.

• - Douglas Vakoch") - American ecocritic, author of Critical Perspectives on Sex, Technology, and Discourse (2011), Feminist Ecocriticism: Environment, Women, and Literature (2012), Dystopias and Utopias on Earth and Beyond: Feminist Ecocriticism of Science Fiction (2021), Ecofeminist Science Fiction: International Perspectives on Gender, Ecology, and Literature (2021) and, together with Sam Mickey"), Ecofeminism in dialogue (2018), Literature and ecofeminism: intersectional and international voices (2018), and Women and nature? Beyond dualism in gender, body and environment (2018).

• - Karen Warren - Philosopher from the University of Minnesota (1970) and received her PhD from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1978. Prior to her time at Macalester College, which began in 1985, Warren was a professor of philosophy at St. Olaf College in the early 1980s. Warren was an ecofeminist fellow at Murdoch University (Australia). In 2003, she was a Round Table Fellow at Oxford University and in 2004 she held the Women's Chair in Humanistic Studies at Marquette University. She has given numerous lectures on environmental issues, feminism, critical thinking skills and peace studies at many international venues, including Buenos Aires, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Oslo, Manitoba, Melbourne, Moscow, Perth, the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992) and San Jose.

• - Laura Wright&action=edit&redlink=1 "Laura Wright (literary scholar) (not yet written)") - Wright proposed vegan studies as an academic discipline.

• - María Luisa CAVANA, Alicia PULEO, Cristina SEGURA, Women and Ecology. History, Thought, Society, ed. Almudayna, Madrid, 2004.

• - Verónica PERALES BLANCO, "Artistic practice and ecofeminism", Creativity and Society Magazine, No. 15, November 2010.

• - Alicia PULEO 'Ecofeminist keys. For rebels who love the Earth and animals' ed Plaza y Valdés. Madrid, 2019.

• - Alicia PULEO 'Ecofeminism for another possible world' ed Cátedra. Madrid 2011.

• - Alicia PULEO (ed), From classical to deconstructive ecofeminism: main currents of a little-known thought, in Celia Amorós and Ana de Miguel (ed.), Feminist theory. From the Enlightenment to globalization, ed. Minerva, Madrid, 2005, pp.121-152.

• - Alicia PULEO,"Gender, Nature and Death" in Elisabeth de Sotello, ed., New Women of Spain, Lit Verlag Münster- Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University, New Brunswick & London, 2005, pp.173-182.

• - Alicia PULEO, “Oppressive dualisms and environmental education”, in Isegoría. Journal of Moral and Political Philosophy n°32, June 2005, pp.201-214.

• - Alicia PULEO,"Ecofeminism: towards a philosophical-political redefinition of Nature and the human being", in Celia Amorós(ed), Feminism and Philosophy, Síntesis, 2000, Madrid, pp.165-190.

• - Alicia PULEO, "Rights versus contextualism: People, apes and ecofeminist ethics", Journal of Philosophy of the University of La Laguna no. 7 (2000), pp.353-357.

• - Alicia PULEO, "Ecofeminism. The gender perspective in ecological consciousness", VV.AA, Keys to social ecologism, Libros en Acción, Editorial de Ecologistas en Acción, Madrid, 2009.

• - Ana SABATÉ MARTÍNEZ, “Gender, Environment and political action: a pending debate in current Geography”, Annals of Geography of the Complutense University, Vol.20, pp.177-191.

• - Ariel SALLEH, “Nature, women, work, capital: the deepest contradiction”, Political Ecology No. 7, Cuadernos de Debate Internacional. Icaria, Barcelona, ​​1994.

• - Cristina SEGURA, “Women and the Environment in the Castilian Middle Ages”, in VV.AA., Women's trades and knowledge, Publications Secretariat of the University of Valladolid, 2002.

• - Vandana SHIVA, Stolen harvest. The hijacking of the world's food supply, ed. Paidós, Barcelona, ​​2003.

• - Wiktionary has definitions and other information about ecofeminism.

• - Ecofeminist Network.

• - Women who changed the world.

• - There is an ecofeminism of equality in the future development model.

• - , resource, debate and training center on Political Ecology.

• - Interview with Vandana Shiva.

• - Interview with Yayo Herrero, ecofeminist.

• - Interview with the doctor in Philosophy from the Complutense University of Madrid and Head of Moral and Political Philosophy at the University of Valladolid, Alicia Puleo.

• - Vandana Shiva: That the earth is alive should be part of everyone's language.