DOPE2012: Tammy Clemons: Ecofeminist Ethics and Rural/Urban Dualism

Tammy Clemons (University of Kentucky, Anthropology) Presented in Situating and Engaging with Feminist Political Ecology II: Environmental Ethics, Labor, and Dispossession at the Dimensions of Political Ecology 2012: Conference on Nature Society at the University of Kentucky As feminist women who are connected and committed to the earth and deeply rooted in place, my partner and I have been consciously attempting to embody our personal ethical ideal of ecofeminism in varying degrees for the past 17 years. When I attended graduate school a decade ago, moving to the city presented a great ethical challenge to our personal commitment to and sustained relationship with the earth and all of her life forms. It also caused us to question the value of rural/urban dualism and wrestle with the practical challenge of how we could embody ecofeminist ethics in an urban environment and also inspire others to commit to and physically perform this work in an urban setting. This ethical conundrum was the subject of a feminist ethics paper that I wrote at the time, and it also made cameo appearances in several other papers on feminist theology and community activism. I will revisit my ethics paper on rural/urban dualism, including a basic etymology and background of ecofeminism, and reflect on some of complexities of dualism that challenge and are challenged by ecofeminist embodiment. I will also discuss some of the current challenges related to my recent return to graduate school while maintaining an off-the-grid homestead with my partner. As a newcomer to the realm of “political ecology,” I also hope to engage in a dynamic discussion about whether and how ecofeminism can inform the development of feminist discourse within political ecology and vice versa.