Green is the New…Well. It’s Just New, I Suppose
March 24, 2009
So, curiously, I did a google search for “Green Feminism”. This blog is the first thing that comes up.
The second listing…and third and fourth, I believe…is about the new female Hulk comic book character, She-Hulk, which Marvel comics for some reason is calling the new “Green Feminism”. I mean, I get it, it’s a female comic book hero who has green skin. But that is it. No wikipedia entry, nothing.
Ecofeminism, however, is definitely more of a thing, with lots of websites driven by pagan devotees, along with listings of more theoretical books on Amazon. Which makes me want to talk about what exactly the difference is. What IS Green Feminism? Why do we need it if we already have Ecofeminism?
Well, for one, Ecofeminism doesn’t talk about urban gardening, or sprouting alfalfa sprouts on the kitchen table, or cooking with a solar oven. For the most part, it is more theory, underpinned with threads of Deep Ecology and sometimes eco-spirituality. Which I have the upmost respect for. Green feminism is alittle more accessible, however. It is more about action. And the awareness that hovers above that action. Green Feminism is out to educate and create. We apply it to daily life. Living Green, living feminism: living Green Feminism.
What are Green Feminists doing? We are planting tomatoes and peppers and lettuce in pots to put on our balconies. We are riding bikes and learning how to fix them ourselves. We are learning all we can about nutrition and herbalism and planting medicinal plants in parks via guerilla gardening. We are looking into implementing graywater systems in our homes and where we work. We are reading about permaculture and planting fruit trees where we can. We are figuring things out and writing about them, so we can help others.
Green feminism is new, and modern, and always evolving to make it forever applicable to life. We are also looking at things with an unflinching, media literate eye. With combinded forces we are set out to squash all forms of oppression. And having a shovel and a seed packet in our hands is always a good place to start.
