“Gender and the Environment”

By: Rocheleau et al

This article by Rocheleau et al begins with an overview of the concept of gender within environmental discourse, as it has evolved over time through different theories. This overview transitions into an argument for feminist political ecology as a conceptual framework for analyzing gender/environment relations. Rocheleau describes how this framework encompasses many aspects of the previous ones, while focusing on how different identities also play a role. Feminist political ecology as a framework manages to address some of the essentialist issues of ecofeminism by highlighting the fact that not all women’s experiences of the world or interactions with their environment occurs in the same way. While I agree to some extent with Rocheleau’s claim of there being “real”, and not just imaginary ways in which gender interacts with the environment, I don’t think that has to mean that the imaginary interactions aren’t as valid. I also think the focus on “real” examples negate the idea of gender as an intangible concept, and in doing so pushes gender further into a binary. Despite this, I still think that Rocheleau’s discussion of the concepts of gendered knowledge, environmental rights and responsibilities, and politics are important topics to consider when analyzing gender in the context of the environment. Furthermore, the more inclusive nature of feminist political ecology as a framework is a step in the right direction to understanding the different ways in which gender plays a recursive role with the environment.