Reading the Gender Equality and state environmentalism article, the discussion of women being more willing and likely to express their support for environmental concerns really perked up my ear. Overall women tend to be more open to discussion about things that matter to them than men are, especially when emotional expression is involved. However, this would make sense as to why most men I have encountered don’t really portray a care or concern for the environment and have a tendency to look down on those who do. “This second category of explanation ties both gender discrimination and environmental degradation to a common hierarchical social structure that simultaneously devalues both women and nature.” The more that I learn, the more I realize how closely women and nature are intertwined into something that seems to be as one. Just like coming across a man who values and cares for the environment, and who is vocal about it. It is just as rare to find a man who values and cares for a woman and/or women and is vocal about it. Society has a tendency to hold men very accountable for their emotions and words rather than their actions. I believe this mold to fit that society has plays a large role in the reason men have been taught or have observed to behave in this manner, the idea that they would not be accepted other wise.
Where I am from, Fall River, Massachusetts I don’t ever really hear anyone (mostly if not all) males held in a political position bring up the concern for environmental wellness. It mostly is all about capitalization, and the overall value (financial wise) of the city. Although I do not keep up with politics much, I do notice the standpoint of my environment around me and the mass amounts of liter and garbage spread throughout the streets and greenery of the city. Because of the status and cleanliness of the city I know that there is not a person nor man in a political position that is concerned about the environment. We do not have street cleaners or anyone who is responsible for cleaning up the streets. However, I do believe that their would be a higher chance of having clean, liter/garbage free streets if a woman were in a political position.
I came across and article of a female lawyer in Indonesia proposing abolition of single use plastics, something that is easy to come by various times a day almost anywhere. This is something that would have a huge impact in any region that would consider this change, but these changes take time and a lot of effort. Unlike the quick and easy, lets throw up a building and profit off of it in a months time. I believe that there needs to be patience in politics and a greater focus on what is going to last a lifetime, not something that will make a difference for the time being or while that person is in office.
I discovered another article on Women Deliver on the participation of women in politics and the percentages of how many there are currently and also the benefits of having women in politics. One of the benefits are “more attention to social issues” I do feel like the well being of the environment is a social issue! I am sure we all would enjoy and benefit from having someone in a political position to be able to listen to and create a solution for issues that affect the community and everyone in it! I do wish, for lack of a better word that women were more trusted in political positions and given the chance to see the difference that would make. I am not saying that all men in politics are non-environmentalists, perhaps they are, it just isn’t priority.
I believe these websites and articles that I have chose link to the gender equality and environmentalism reading, because in a short and easy way to understand the impact of women in politics and the broad range of possibilities can easily be considered.
Annotations
https://pages.uoregon.edu/norgaard/pdf/Gender-Equality-Norgaard-York-2005.pdf
An example of how women in power can make a small change, that will last a lifetime.
Strengthen Women’s Political Participation and Decision-Making Power
The benefits and concerns likely to be addressed by women in a political position.
Hi Juliana.
You make an excellent point about men and their emotions. Our society has created social norms and expectations that make it hard for men to honestly show their emotions without ridicule especially from other men. When I read what you wrote I was reminded of an article I read about gender stratification. Judith Lorber asserts, “the gendered practices of everyday life reproduce a societies view of how woman and men should act” (Lorber 246). She further illustrates the point you are trying to get across saying, “Gender is a construction of society that shapes the lives of us all, and defines the world of men and the world of women in opposing terms. Gender is also an important dimension of social stratification” (Lorber). I think this is clearly related to what Norgaard and York are touching on when they bring up the connection between women in political positions and environment and the amount of women in political positions when compared to men. Because very few women are in political positions of power, perhaps because of social stratification and gender roles issues such as childcare, work-family policies, and environmental laws are lacking. I agree with you, women are more likely to discuss these issues. However I think it is because of gender stratification that more men than women are in positions of political power and that needs to change. I think you chose a great website (Women Deliver) to represent how women are an important factor in environmentalism. I also appreciate that the website mentions that women are the most impacted by issues such as environmentalism and social issues, and children and families. It makes sense women would be the ones to be the biggest advocate for change. Thank you for the link to “Women Earth Alliance”. It’s a great example of the efforts women are achieving to bring more women into not just grassroots but political power to make a difference in the environment. Something Norgaard and York provide evidence that will make impact environmental laws and policy.
Works Cited
Lorber, Judith. “”Night to His Day”: The Social Construction of Gender.” Readings for Diversity and Social Justice (2003): 243-248.
Great post Juliana. What do you feel like is the cause of all this? As in, what do you think it is about women that makes them more “willing and likely to express their support for environmental concerns”. A few weeks ago, we looked at how women in the global south are in many ways more directly impacted by climate change, but that doesn’t really matter when it comes to women in the western world. Seeing as man in Canada and a woman in Canada are both equally impacted by climate change, why is it that women seem to care more? You did mention that “women tend to be more open to discussion about things that matter to them than men are, especially when emotional expression is involved.” As a man I can definitely agree with this, as I find it difficult to discuss my emotions. But, when it comes to politics I find that men have no issue bringing up their political views and often view women as less knowledgeable, particularly about things like economics. I’ve learned a lot in this class so far but I still am not convinced on the women-natures association, which still comes off to me as voodoo-esque and wrapped up in stereotypes about women being closer to nature. Such stereotypes often lead to ridiculous conclusions such as the moon controls the menstrual cycles of women.
What a great post. I enjoy that you focused on your community and talked about it from what home looks like to you and how environmental issues affect your home. I live in a small community that seems to care a great deal more about the environment, or at least our community. Families clean up the litter on the sides of the roads and you don’t really see too much thrown out anywhere. One thing I have noticed though is that the counties are getting rid of our recycling. It used to be that every township had a recycling center and now the only one I can find is almost always full and almost thirty miles away from my house.
I think if women keep running for office and eventually reach the point where we have equal representation in government, things like this will stop happening as frequently. Men seem to look at the short term cost effect while women tend to look at the long term damage of a situation. What I wonder is how long will it be before equal representation starts to happen.
Hello Juliana,
thank you for your post! Your blog reminded me of a high school teacher I had that I highly disliked because of the way he thought about certain things. One of those things was global warming, he used to say that global warming was made up, that there was no such thing as global warming and that the government just wanted to distract us from the real issues. He was completely blind about this topic and was spreading this idea to his students. When you said in your blog that most male politicians only care about building wealth within their cities and towns, I remembered this teacher because it was so obvious how careless he was about the environment. He also made comments about animals and humans and he said that we should be more concerned about humans than about animals because humans are superior. I don’t remember exactly how this topic came about, but I remember that he was completely careless about non-human animals and nature and he was vocal about it. This shows how disconnected males are from nature and non-human creatures. He was also a Trump supporter so that explains a lot.