Feminism's critique of the Anthropocene

Walton, S (2020) 'Feminism's critique of the Anthropocene.' In: Cooke, J, ed. The new feminist literary studies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 113-128. ISBN 9781108471930

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108599504.009

Abstract

The Anthropocene is the new designation for our current geological epoch in which human activity has decisively altered earth ecosystems and the fossil record in ways that will be measurable by the geologists of our uncertain future. This chapter investigates the relationship between feminist thinking and the Anthropocene, establishing the gendered dimensions of environmental crisis, and considering how feminist thinkers have approached a range of ‘environment’ topics, including feminised constructions of ‘Nature’; the masculinism of capitalism, technology, science, and environmentalism; and the colonial erasures of the ‘Anthropocene’. This critical work is part of a long-tradition of intersectional environmental activism, which intersects with wider gender-rights campaigns, including reproductive rights and health, autonomy and equality, representation and participation, struggles against class oppression and racism, and feminist and queer critiques of militarisation, extractionism, and colonialism. Ultimately, new feminist understandings of the Anthropocene investigate and further intersectional ecological activism and seek to improve the material conditions of women’s lives.

Item Type: Book Chapter or Section
Keywords: Anthropocene, feminism, eco-feminism, Capitalocene, Cthulucene, Plantationocene, Ecocene, ecocide, Donna Haraway, Anna Tsing
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism
P Language and Literature > PR English literature
P Language and Literature > PS American literature
Divisions: School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities
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Date Deposited: 21 Nov 2019 17:08
Last Modified: 15 Aug 2021 09:53
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/12848
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