“Mother Nature”

[Jane Ekhtman]

It was so interesting to learn about ecofeminist art, as I think we don’t often consider the crossover between art and science even though they work hand in hand. One thing that was mentioned throughout the presentation was the connection between women and nature. Both women and nature have been oppressed throughout history by man, so it makes sense why so many women take it upon themselves to spread awareness and inspire change through art. Thinking back to the time of hunter-gatherers, even then the role of the woman was interdependent with nature.
I was particularly interested when it was briefly mentioned how so many terms relating to nature are gendered to women, like “Mother Nature”. I found this article “Nature being represented as a woman”, which is a really interesting read and provides even more context about the relationship between women, nature, and patriarchy. For instance, in Old English, Latin, Greek, Italian, French, and Spanish, nature is gendered as female. One explanation was that women were described by men as having the qualities of nature, namely being docile, subservient, gentle, pure, and graceful. And from the patriarchal standpoint, men were the beholder and women the subject of their art and poetry. It’s an interesting, eye-opening, and short read that provides a lot of historical context for how we view nature.
Also thank you to Monika for such an insightful presentation! As I was researching ecofeminism more later on, her name appeared in so many readings and websites that it’s clear she is an important figure in the field and I’m grateful we could learn from her.

[elange]

The docile aspect of nature and the perceived place of women is a very interesting point to bring up. It is quite true that many things, like the ocean, moon, and earth itself are usually referred to as female. However, it is slightly contradictory in the case of storms, as many people often refer to hurricanes or tropical storm as female saying things like “she’s sure a-blowin!” No person would ever refer to a hurricane as docile, and yet it is still mostly referred as female. I believe that things were mostly named female so that men can feel as if they have control over it, such as naming a boat or car using a woman’s name. Then, men would be trying to take control of the dire situation that is a hurricane, making the naming still very much inherently sexist.

[Author]

Posts