Gender and Nature

BINARY OPPOSITIONS

MEN WOMEN

Culture Nature

Human Animal

Mind Body

Civilization Forest

MAN and NATURE

Men were seen as ;• hard-working,• industrial, • rational, • assertive,• hunter,• independent and proud; none of them is easily connected with nature.

Men usually want to dominate nature. They just create artificial things by using

technology and science.

Men vs. Nature conflict

MOBY DICK

ROBINSON CRUSOE

WOMAN and NATURE

Nature being represented as a woman;sacrifice, against violence,solidarity,

Women were seen as being;• domestic,• pious, • moral, • pure, • gentle,• kind, • graceful, • beautiful

The references to reproduction and fertility may symbolize the continuity of nature; the continuity and change of seasons indicate that the earth continues in a balanced cycle, similar to the life cycle of humans.

Womb and breast Women are aware of that nature is living thing. Women feel secure in nature. Nature gives power and comfort to women. Disasters often blamed on Mother Nature; hurricanes

named after women. Ex. Emily,Isabel,Katrina(2015)

The concept of connecting women with nature dates back to the times of ancient classical mythology, with several goddesses being strongly connected to the earth, ex. Persephone and mother Demeter

Early classical mythological connections between goddesses and nature

Languages with gendered nouns Latin: la natura Italian: la natura French: la nature Spanish: la naturaleza

A WHITE HERON

Ecofeminism is a term that links feminism with ecology. Its advocates say that paternalistic/capitalistic society has led to a harmful split between nature and culture that can only be healed by the feminine instinct for nurture and holistic knowledge of nature's processes.

ARE GENDER DIFFERENCES NATURAL OR CULTURAL ?

BIOLOGY or CULTURE?

It is social factors determine gender differences . It is not biology.

If biology was the sole cause, there should be less variation among genders.

Nature vs. Nurture debate: The nature argument is often simplified to Sexism(the

belief that women are inherently inferior to men, even if for benevolent purposes)

The nurture side argues that gender socialization leads different gender roles.

«If you can’t tell whether a toy was made for a girl or made for a boy without looking at a sign, perhaps there wasn’t a difference to begin with.» -John Marcotte, Heroic Girls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGMYdalClU