Written by by Milo Guthrie at cascadiaunderground.org
This piece was originally published in Home! A Bioregional Reader, edited by Van Andruss, Christopher Plant, Judith Plant, and Eleanor Wright, New Society Publishers, copyright 1990.
Judith Plant defined ecofeminism as the coming together of ecology and feminism, and recognizing the interdependence of all life. This can be summed up as ecology being the recognition that “what we do to the web of life we do to ourselves” and feminism being the recognition that “what we do to ourselves we do to the web.” In relation to the women’s movement, ecofeminism is not just about rights, but about responsibilities as well. It is the understanding that not just women but men as well should take on the responsibility of caring for and nurturing the earth. She asked, “How can we create ecologically sustainable communities that will thrive if we can’t see that that tree is me?” Ecofeminism will help us to do that.
Dennis Jennings commented on a dangerous aspect of the bioregional movement, which is the failure to recognize that we are settlers, and lack a sense of history when we resettle the land…. It is very dangerous not to recognize your own “settler mentality” and deal with it. Dennis said that it is important to ask yourself, in relation to the land you inhabit, “Where are you from? How long have you been there?” and “How many generations have you buried your dead there?” It is critically important to “know the people who know the names of the places on the land.”