Feminism and Climate Change

[ByGrabtharsHammarWhatASaving]

I've been thinking a lot about climate change recently with all the Xr protests going on. Call me naive but I really didn't realise things were that bad. I mean, I knew they were bad, but I thought we were on track to fix it. I thought we had time to fanny around with recycling and reusable coffee cups. Reading the Xr website and seeing the phrase "mass extinction event" used over and over really got to me. I thought things were going in the right direction, but it turns out we're at ground zero. My own fault for having my head in the sand and not looking deeper into it. Anyway, I was thinking about the ways this all intersects with feminism:

1. Reproductive rights . Clearly over population is a big problem here. On the one hand, increasing access to abortion, contraception, and sex education helps with this. But any attempts to limit population growth in a more active way, such as through legislation, will necessarily infringe on women's rights. China's "single child" policy is an obvious example of this, with it's double effect of not only controlling women's reproduction but also increasing sex selective abortions/ the murder of female infants.

1. Consumerism . Rightly or wrongly, when it comes to things like food shopping, gift buying, and fashion, women have a lot more consumer power than man. Obviously this ties into patriarchal expectations such as women being "just better" at gift buying, women doing the food shop because they're SAHPs, and pressure on women to wear the last fashion which lead to the rise of cheap "fast fashion" like Primark. Under patriarchy we earn less of the money, but in many ways have a lot more say in how it's spent.

1. Unpaid labour . A lot of the stuff we're encouraged to do at an individual level to halt CC comes down to an increase in unpaid labour. Off the top of my head this includes sorting and cleaning things to be recycled, washing reusable nappies, researching and buying eco friendly products, and taking longer over cleaning jobs from using less effective but greener cleaning products. This increase in labour disproportionately affects women.

1. Politics . The main green political party in this country has aligned itself against women and alienated thousands of it's female voters. Women are being excluded from women only short lists. The ability of girls to participate fully in education is being reduced. We are seeing first hand how poorly female activists are treated by the police. In short, climate change activism and feminism have a large cross over, and in many ways a lot of the power for change is in female hands, but women are being excluded at a political and social level, and being discouraged from activism. We need more power but even the small amount we have is being taken from us.

So, those were my thoughts so far. How do we re-engage women in green politics? How do we make the changes that we need to make as a society when many of those changes will disproportionately disadvantage women? How do we balance our fight for women's rights with our desire to not go extinct?

Kids toys for example. It's madness.

Does anyone remember that AIBU thread a while back with an eco conscious woman requesting no one bought plastic toys for her kids party, but instead gave something like a packet of seeds if they wanted? Such a reasonable request but she got ripped to shreds - she was accused of being smug, elitist, rude, depriving her child etc etc. It ran to about 1000 posts I think, it really wound a lot of people up. If women are going to make changes on this front, it's going to be an uphill battle. I never buy plastic toys for my kids but we still get an influx from some relatives and any attempts to curb this get labelled snobby and ungrateful.

You know what I think has affected things - community breakdown and splintering.

Yes!!!! There are still communities that are very pro active and sharing! Like the permaculture community, I know in NZ there are perma blitz groups that come round and sort your garden! Freecycle.org is very cool, we always chat with the people we collect off or who come to get stuff from us. One told us about Olio, a free food app! We now know a local lady from there, she collects food every day from a health shop and pret and then pops it on for others to collect, she signed up with businesses and they call her to tell her about food that is going free. She lets us know when vegan stuff comes up.
The cob house, straw bale community is helpful too. Allotments are good spots to strike up friendships or create swap meets etc one up the road has days you can go and get free things or drop stuff off.
More of this kind of thing would be good!

Great post OP. I’ve been thinking about this for a long long time. Still haven’t squared it and all the whole Green Party stuff has made me distance myself from it too.

I’m 45. My generation were supposed to be the ones that sorted this out. MY parents knew about and spoke about this stuff in the 70s and eighties. My mum is 80 and yesterday I had to remind her of how much ‘credit’ she has in the bank from fifty (yes) years of protesting about this. Friends of the Pratt’s and other environmental groups were aware of all of this stuff in the 70s. As I child I had nightmares and as a young adult I’ll admit to disengaging from it from actual fright.

What I’m now finding a massive dilemma is the venn diagram of the flaky ‘tin hat’ brigade and the believing of woo and anti vaccine, homeopathic etc etc stuff intersecting with the science backed stuff about what we’re actually doing: along with the left wing/right identity - which hasn’t split along the lines I expected.

I think the Green Party and other groups aren’t engaging really seriously with what’s actual science and what is not, and so many of them aren’t able to make critical judgements about what really needs doing.

They don’t do themselves any favours entertaining ideas about vaccines and homeopathy if they want to win over the people that matter. (The whole plastic straw things is a case in point - it’s a distraction to the point of obfuscation IMHO - does anyone really think forgoing a plastic straw will make a dent in the sort of plastic waste we’re seeing?).

Thinking about interactions between climate change and feminism I don’t think anyone has mentioned that women are affected disproportionately. 70% of the world’s poor are women, and I have read some distressing articles about girls in southern Africa trading sex for food during drought. There was also a statistic about flooding in Bangladesh where thousands died and 90% were women - they couldn’t swim.

I am so happy to see this thread! I lying awake again last night worrying if my children will ever be able to forgive me for knowing and not doing enough.

Grabtharhammar totally get your point about how it creeps up on you. I think it's only in the last couple of years that timeframes like "12 years left" have been in the media.

On reproductive health, I agree with the sense of the discussion above that education, women's employment rights and opportunities, and continuing to improve access to reprodutive health services are all important campaign points related to population. Contraception and safe abortion need to be made available but the main gaps for that are in countries with other issues which make health systems dysfunctional, like conflict or poverty. (See World Bank map for unmet need for contraception here: data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.UWT.TFRT?type=shaded&view=map) And there is plentiful global evidence that education leads to girls/women delaying pregnancy, so education and jobs are win-wins.

The other dimension of population is people living longer and colour me shocked, but elder care tends to be women's work too. So I'd like to see more focus on that from government and civil society, about how to solve elder care challenges in ways which are equitable and reduce our use of resources.

On the distribution of work among women, I've noticed that too. Like many here I get annoyed with the middle classness of much eco chat, and at the same time recognise that it's on me to do a lot of that stuff, pay the premium for green energy etc, because I can. And not get preachy with other people who have much less time and more demands on their life. So I like the use of intersectionality here, and also agree that we need to push the decision-making to where there are bigger wins than sewing our own sanpro; energy, infrastructure, land use, incentives for more plant-based food etc.

I do think the private sector can sometimes play a positive role, the green energy supplier for example. And it can be part of those job opportunities for women.

I'm pretty clear that we can't leave it to the kids. They can hold us to account but it's our mess, and also if we wait for the kids to sort it out it'll be too late.

Kizzywayfarer great point.

Thinking about interactions between climate change and feminism I don’t think anyone has mentioned that women are affected disproportionately. 70% of the world’s poor are women, and I have read some distressing articles about girls in southern Africa trading sex for food during drought.

Exactly.

Climate change will not be challenged at the level of the individual household - not a reason to not have as eco a household as possible, but it won't.

"Climate change will not be challenged at the level of the individual household "

Yes and no. Plastic straws may seem petty, but it caught the imagination and raised the issue of single use plastics in a way that hadn't been managed before despite all efforts. When people rally around a symbol, change happens more widely.

I think I read a statistic that single use plastics had been reduced by 50%. Now it was a useless statistic- where? But still a significant reduction somewhere.

Another woman to celebrate: Polly Higgins. I'd never heard of her, either.

Polly Higgins, lawyer who fought for recognition of 'ecocide', dies aged 50
Campaigner and barrister attempted to create a law to criminalise ecological damage

Plastic straws may seem petty, but it caught the imagination and raised the issue of single use plastics in a way that hadn't been managed before despite all efforts. When people rally around a symbol, change happens more widely.

But that's not at household level!

I'm about as green as I can be on a household level - solar panels, monitor food miles, got an allotment, compost heap, only buy second hand electronics, almost all second hand clothes, work from home, husband rides bike to work etc etc.

It makes me feel better but it's not going to arrest climate change even if half the UK population did the same.

It makes me feel better but it's not going to arrest climate change even if half the UK population did the same

So I guess things like the Xr protests are the way forward? Pressuring government to regulate industry better?

And YY to the earlier point about the green movement embracing anti science bullshit like homeopathy and thereby damaging their credibility

It makes me feel better but it's not going to arrest climate change even if half the UK population did the same.

Idk, Lang, I tend to think that once one commits to personal change, the choices one makes begin to affect the world, and this multiplies powerfully as numbers grow.

We don’t fly for recreation and it’s not part of our work. I think more people doing the same would have a major positive impact, because it’s not just the flight, it’s the whole set of supply chains.

All the big stuff beyond household level happens because, on some level, we commission it.

Population Matters are holding a public conference this Saturday in central London, called HUMAN POPULATION AND THE SIXTH MASS EXTINCTION. The day is chaired by Sara Parkin, formerly of the Greens but now unaffiliated. The organisation used to be known as the Optimum Population Trust and as far as I can see from their website is sort of low-key feminist, by which I mean that they know educating girls and giving women access to contraception is the best way forward, but shouting "feminism" will scare the horses.

populationmatters.org/conference-2019?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIybP1vPDl4QIVLbHtCh1bOAz5EAAYASABEgLLWfD_BwE

There is widespread consensus among scientists and conservationists that we are in the midst of the Sixth Mass Extinction, and that human beings are its cause.

As the world’s population grows, so does demand for food, water, land, and other resources, while carbon emissions increase with each new carbon emitter. While many scientists and conservationists acknowledge the link between human population growth and shrinking biodiversity, few mainstream conservation organisations are calling for action to address it. Population Matters' 2019 conference brings together scientists and campaigners to examine the problem, and discuss the solutions.

So I guess things like the Xr protests are the way forward? Pressuring government to regulate industry better?

Honestly? I don't think anything will happen (too many vested interests) until climate-related disasters - domestic as well as international migration flows, destroyed cities, etc - become so pressing that there's no choice.

JessicaWakefieldSV wrote I also thought we were in population decline now?

The world's population is still growing, by about 83 million people per year (more births than deaths). A few countries are declining, mostly by emigration (Syria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Latvia, Lithuania and Georgia are all down more than 1% per year) and a few by long-term low fertility, notably Japan.

Projections of population growth established in 2017 predict that the human population is likely to keep growing until 2100,[1] reaching an estimated 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100, while the 7 billion milestone was reached in 2011.[2] As the demographic transition follows its course worldwide, the population will age significantly, with most countries outside Africa trending towards a rectangular age pyramid.[3] From
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_growth

See also
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_decline

Things have got to happen at a household level for the government to be convinced that state-level intervention will be accepted without loss of votes and/or rioting.
We need things like carbon rationing, free public transport, large-scale divestment from fossil fuels and so on.
We need people to pay more for fuel on cars and flights, pay more for food and energy, water etc. Perhaps then people will be more efficient. Coupled with that we need better state support for disadvantaged families who do not have the means to pay more - and I whole heartedly agree that this burden falls mostly on women.
It's going to be tough.

Yes, yes to the anti science anti vac stuff being shot through the eco movement damaging credibility, along with other assorted oddities.

I know all about a million starfish on the beach and saving one - I'm a big believer in each person having integrity in their personal lives and thus affecting the rest of society. I love optimism, even though I am by nature a dreadful cynic.

But... But.. But.. this shit is systemic, and humans are a curious mix of innovative and lazy, and I'm not at all convinced that anything truly helpful long term is going to come through governments making sensible, equitable decisions just because it's the right thing to do.

And women always, always bear the brunt of crappy, ill thought out emergency measures.

I tend to think that once one commits to personal change, the choices one makes begin to affect the world, and this multiplies powerfully as numbers grow.

I agree. Actually Lang, if even half the population lived like you, it would have a big impact. Any policy or law changes would reflect cultural change that had already happened.

The industry’s that we want to make better choices, are in business because of consumers. If consumers make different choices and reduce consumption, then industry is affected without them actually having done a thing. The power is in the hands of ordinary people, we just don’t realise it.

This si worth a listen - its on Radio 4 yesterday 'The Fast and the Curious' - 'Tom Heap sets off on a guilt trip road trip to find out why people like him won't give up the things they know are destroying the planet.'

Although lacking in the feminist slant it is very interesting on why we don't do stuff personally, and how we can change things and make the right choices (spoiler: change attitudes, make the right choice more attractive)

I think the "change on an individual level doesn't help" argument is similar to the "one person's vote doesn't matter" argument. Societal change is basically just lots and lots of individual level activity. If everyone protest voted for the Greens it wouldn't be a protest vote, they'd win. If everyone made eco changes it would stop being an individual level change and become a population level change. Also, every little shift left has a ripple effect I think. I've always been vegetarian with my mum and brother being pescatarian and my partner eating meat. Last year my mum went vegan and the ripple effect of that was that I also went vegan and my brother and partner went vegetarian. We all shifted up one place. The more people do it the bigger the ripples get. But there are always going to be twats who do damaging things on purpose as an "in your face" to green activism. You probably can't stop those people, you just have to work twice as hard to cancel them out.

Very good point about the care of the aging population falling on women. And also about the rise of sex work in a post disaster barter economy - one of the many reason's I don't want it being seen as "normal" and legitimate in our society.

And I really think we've got to get ahead of the curve in this one because it's going to affect us one way or another, and we can either have some control and direction over that or we can get royally fucked by the "emergency response" when it comes. Of course a lot of the burden doesn't have to fall on women - men are just as capable of washing cloth nappies and darning clothes - but realistically, under our current system, that's not how it will play out for most women.

The power is in the hands of ordinary people, we just don’t realise it.

Precisely.

And because ‘government’ and ‘big business’ is made of us. They’re not separate god-like entities to whom we must pray for guidance in order to know what to do and when to do it, ffs.

I think a lot of the time it's people doing what they already want to do and thinking that makes the "bad" things they do OK. My brother is vegetarian/ mostly plant based, and goes on loads about the evils of cattle farming from an eco perspective, but takes probably 5/6 short haul flights a year. We make lots of eco friendly choices but I have to think really hard in order to not just buy all the kids clothes from supermarkets. I always find my trolly full of them because I've though "ooo ds needs a new jumper". Buying stuff like that second hand is something I have to actively think about rather than an autopilot thing. And for most people, if they have to actively think about something in order to accomplish it, they won't bother. The bar for people's tolerance on putting in effort is extremely low.

Another thought about how this might end up limiting women's opportunities and rights is breast vs formula milk. The formula industry is plastic bottles, plastic pumps, plastic packaging, plastic "perfect prep" style machines, plastic storage bags etc. Not to mention the links between formula and the dairy industry. If everyone on the planet breastfed apart from those who needed formula for medical reasons we'd make a big dent in plastic consumption. Well maybe not a big dent, but a dent. But exclusive breastfeeding without even using bottles limits the freedom of women and their ability to work massively, especially in places like America which have basically no maternity provisions.

The kind of things that would make a significant impact on carbon emissions would be taking all petrol and diesel powered cars off the road, stopping non-essential air travel and closing down all fossil fuel power stations.

Making small individual lifestyle changes is a decent and worthy thing to do, but those changes are going to have very little impact on carbon emissions unless they lead to the above outcomes happening within the next decade or so.