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bridgetsluvsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I read this book for class. I struggled to connect with the writing and content. I thought this book's international approach limited its content. I felt like the book's essays and sections were not as engaging as other ecofeminist books I have read.
bridgetsluvsbooks's review
2.0
I read this book for class. I struggled to connect with the writing and content. I thought this book's international approach limited its content. I felt like the book's essays and sections were not as engaging as other ecofeminist books I have read.
readingfastandslow's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
kiannouri's review against another edition
4.0
I initially picked up this book thinking it would be this amazing insight into the nuanced and complicated issues surrounding gender equality and climate change. In part it was, but there is a good chunk of this book that is pretty disappointing if you come into it expecting nuanced reflections and new and constructive information.
At best I found individual chapters insightful and interesting, especially those discussing very specific problems and suggesting creative and original solutions. There were a lot of interesting perspectives and voices, and a good amount of diversity in terms of both the persons and what they were representing. Many of the essays and interviews acknowledged and reflected on the complications that occur when discussing climate change and even gender equality when other forms of marginalisation aren't being considered, but plenty others seemed to have a distinct white westerner's point of view and didn't really add anything new.
To add to this a large percentage of the essays seemed to focus on conveying the story of a single organisation or such, and often ended on some reflection along the likes of "women in government! Female business owners! Women are imperative in discussions on climate change!" First off, yes, of course we need more women in positions of power, and obviously everyone reading this book hopefully understands the importance of including women when saving the earth. But simply giving a woman a position of power means nothing if she will continue to uphold patriarchal capitalist structures, it is such a dry blanket statement that seems far more radical than it really is. Then there is the female business owner, which is ignoring the root of the problem entirely.
I liked it overall. Like I said, there are some genuinely good essays in there. But there is also an overwhelming amount of this capitalistic "Give women power! Make them bosses!" Without addressing race, ethnicity or class, or really going into the specifics of things beyond a very general idea I feel most of us would already be familiar with. It's also worth noting that some of the essays had a very poor understanding of gender as well, and was both cisnormative and at times ironically enough even played into gender roles as well.
At best I found individual chapters insightful and interesting, especially those discussing very specific problems and suggesting creative and original solutions. There were a lot of interesting perspectives and voices, and a good amount of diversity in terms of both the persons and what they were representing. Many of the essays and interviews acknowledged and reflected on the complications that occur when discussing climate change and even gender equality when other forms of marginalisation aren't being considered, but plenty others seemed to have a distinct white westerner's point of view and didn't really add anything new.
To add to this a large percentage of the essays seemed to focus on conveying the story of a single organisation or such, and often ended on some reflection along the likes of "women in government! Female business owners! Women are imperative in discussions on climate change!" First off, yes, of course we need more women in positions of power, and obviously everyone reading this book hopefully understands the importance of including women when saving the earth. But simply giving a woman a position of power means nothing if she will continue to uphold patriarchal capitalist structures, it is such a dry blanket statement that seems far more radical than it really is. Then there is the female business owner, which is ignoring the root of the problem entirely.
I liked it overall. Like I said, there are some genuinely good essays in there. But there is also an overwhelming amount of this capitalistic "Give women power! Make them bosses!" Without addressing race, ethnicity or class, or really going into the specifics of things beyond a very general idea I feel most of us would already be familiar with. It's also worth noting that some of the essays had a very poor understanding of gender as well, and was both cisnormative and at times ironically enough even played into gender roles as well.
annemariewellswriter's review against another edition
2.0
I am a feminist and an environmentalist, so you would think that I would devour this book. Unfortunately, it was painful to get through. First, there are multiple typos which made for a distracting read. Secondly, very few of the essays actually conveyed helpful, insightful, novel information. Most of the essays repeated the same things or I felt were simply cheerleading. For example:
9 "We cannot separate out the need for gender equality from other struggles for fair, equal, and environmentally sustainable society."
26 "We must ensure that legislators and media are well informed (sic)..."
49 "...representative decision-making needs to include women... with different background and life experiences."
103 "We need new economics informed by the larger picture, an economy that puts women and the Earth at the centre."
145 "If we do not act against environmental degradation, women will be the first casualties..."
Ok... so now what? Is this new information for the reader? Very few of these essays explain what should be done. Okay... legislators and media need to be well-informed, okay... what do you propose we do?
I felt like I read this book constantly asking, "so what do you want us to do? What do you suggest? What do you propose? What are you, essayist, doing about it?" And then, unfortunately, the questions aren't answered.
180 "The only way to save life on Earth is to stop the war against nature and create a totally new civilization, based on love and respect for Mother Earth."
Okay... so aside from CREATING A TOTALLY NEW CIVILIZATION... what else might you suggest? Maybe something a little more... tangible... a tad more realistic. Unless you're just saying that we're fucked so why bother trying?
I felt like I wasted a lot of time getting through the book hoping for more.
9 "We cannot separate out the need for gender equality from other struggles for fair, equal, and environmentally sustainable society."
26 "We must ensure that legislators and media are well informed (sic)..."
49 "...representative decision-making needs to include women... with different background and life experiences."
103 "We need new economics informed by the larger picture, an economy that puts women and the Earth at the centre."
145 "If we do not act against environmental degradation, women will be the first casualties..."
Ok... so now what? Is this new information for the reader? Very few of these essays explain what should be done. Okay... legislators and media need to be well-informed, okay... what do you propose we do?
I felt like I read this book constantly asking, "so what do you want us to do? What do you suggest? What do you propose? What are you, essayist, doing about it?" And then, unfortunately, the questions aren't answered.
180 "The only way to save life on Earth is to stop the war against nature and create a totally new civilization, based on love and respect for Mother Earth."
Okay... so aside from CREATING A TOTALLY NEW CIVILIZATION... what else might you suggest? Maybe something a little more... tangible... a tad more realistic. Unless you're just saying that we're fucked so why bother trying?
I felt like I wasted a lot of time getting through the book hoping for more.
joareads's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great compilation of essays and interviews by women leaders and their take on women and the environment. I really enjoyed reading the majority of chapters in this book, learning about projects taking place across the globe to empower women as well as what's being done in my own country.
It's a brilliant book to discover and reaffirm why it is so important to improve equality between genders and different peoples, and how this impacts the environment.
It's a brilliant book to discover and reaffirm why it is so important to improve equality between genders and different peoples, and how this impacts the environment.