Theorising Environmentalism and Caregiving: A Critique of Ecofeminism

Abstract

The paper focuses on the conceptualization of care giving during ecological disasters from a gender perspective. There has not been adequate research on care from a socio cultural context (T. Revenson, 7). The cultural context of care is important as it helps to understand the different dimensions of caregiving and the experience of caregivers. The research documented by Heller and Rowitz in 1997 shows that majority of the caregivers are women especially mothers. In a cultural setting of home, it is normative for women to invest themselves in the role as a caregiver. Caregiving is perceived as a self sacrificing role that women are expected to undertake because of moral responsibility (Lefley, 443). The ethic of care is an important part of the ecofeminist practice. Women’s role as a caregiver also positions them as natural environmental carers. With reference to the socio-cultural background in the selected eco-narratives, the study intends to make a critical appraisal of the ecofeminist theory in order to understand its relation between women and nature. The study further examines how such a relationship reinforces the gendered nature of care and its impact on women at a cultural level.