“Ecofeminism ⋆Commonspolis.” Commonspolis, 11 Nov. 1970,
The picture attached above is a great representation of ecofeminism. If you stop and look at all the details in that piece you will start to put it all together and understand what the artist was trying to portray. The girl on the bike is colorful and so is the bike while everything else is grey and black. I believe the purpose of this was to show the positive impact women can have on the environment. She looks happy, she is singing, and she is on a bike. The bike is purple and the cars in the background are black. Riding a bike is an eco-friendlier option versus driving a car. Her hair is green and that is a color that is brought to mind when you think of the environment. This piece is giving the girl the recognition that she can have a relationship with nature without destroying it. It also ties into Warren and Hobgood-Oster’s readings because we can see that she feels like she has freedom just by how her stance is and she is not letting the views of others and oppression stop her. It is important to be able to identify ecofeminism in different ways and one way is through art.
Hobgood- Oster gives the historical background of ecofeminism and how it first came to be. Ecofeminism focuses on the relationship between women and nature, but there are so many different views and directions that are seen in ecofeminism. At the core it takes into consideration feminist views and their views on the environment and nature. Humans are a major part of the environment and in many ways, humans are the result of why the ecosystem is in the condition that it is currently in. As technology grows and develops it but the environment more at risk, but this been an issue for decades. Ecofeminist try to explain that they have not always been given opportunities to protect nature and men have had more of a negative impact on the environment. One major idea that Hobgood- Oster focuses on is oppression and how women have always been underneath men. They do not always get enough credit, but it has been brought about that men may have more of a negative impact on nature then women. However, ecofeminism tries to shut out hierarchy’s because women, men and nature can all be placed together on the same level. Many other issues the racism and differences in religion can also factor into this. Who we are and what believe plays a role in this. It forces us to have different views about the world.
Karen Warren identifies eight different connections between women and nature. The one that stood out to me the most was the fourth connection “symbolic connections.” This draws upon the idea that ecofeminism can be represented in a number of ways and the four that are mentioned are religion, theology, art, and literature. Previously I explained that piece with the girl on the bike. That piece was a clear symbol and representation of ecofeminist views. Allowing people to see these types of things can give them an understanding that women do have a connection to nature. They can be compared to a piece of nature just as a piece of nature can be compared to a woman and it is not meant to be insulting. These eight connections all give us a better understanding of ecofeminism, but I think this one encourages you to think more and allows you to see different stand point.