Hi ECOFEMers!
I've recently come across an excellent book which covers feminist
perspectives regarding women, environment, and development.
It includes a chapter entitled "Feminist Orientalism and
Development" on comparing WID and WED assumptions, theories,
and critiques by Frederique Apffel-Marglin and Suzzanne L. Simon. I
highly recommend it, and if anyone has read it it would be great to
have some discussion -- here or in private e-mail.
For anyone interested, the citation is:
Harcourt, Wendy, ed. 1994. Feminist Perspectives on Sustainable
Development. London: Zed Books.
Peace,
Stefanie S. Rixecker
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Mar 10 10:01:19 MST 1995
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 1995 11:56:47 -0400 (EDT)
Date-warning: Date header was inserted by acs.wooster.edu
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Susan Clayton)
Subject: responsibility
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I was glad Mark Peterson focused in on the key issue by asking what the
source of responsibility is. I agree with June Brough in identifying
awareness and power as two key components. Awareness should perhaps be
redefined as the possibility of awareness -- otherwise a person could claim
they didn't know about the consequences when really it was their
responsibility to find out. Power is important because power implies the
ability to do something -- not only the ability to affect the environment
negatively, but the ability to affect it positively. So we can't say "I
didn't do it so it's not my responsibility to fix it." Of course, each of
us IS partly responsible for environmental degradation. But even it we
weren't we would bear some responsibility for responding to it, because we
CAN.
I would like to suggest a third aspect that is relevant. In legal issues,
whether or not a person has responsibility for preventing harm to another
person is often defined by the relationship between the two -- e.g., a
parent has obligations to her/his child that s/he would not have to another
child. I think implicitly many people define their responsibilities to the
natural world as a function of how they perceive their relationship to the
natural world.
So, with regard to how we get people to accept their responsibility --
maybe by forcing them to consider and even redefine their relationship to
the natural world? This sounds hopelessly idealistic. But it may be one
component of what needs to be done. If the natural environment were a more
tangible presence in most people's lives (as opposed to a lifestyle in
which you live in the city, drive to work, spend the day in the office,
drive home, and sit inside all evening watching tv) (which describes all
too many of my own days!) they might feel more responsibility towards it.
Susan Clayton
