Grist - Brianna Baker
A new book marks the pain — but celebrates the power — of being feminists in the climate movement.
It’s no secret that the climate crisis will
disproportionately disrupt the lives of women
around the globe, especially women of color and those who live in the
global south. Women make up a majority of the world’s impoverished
population, and as the primary food growers and water collectors,
they’re hardest hit by floods and droughts. They’re also less
financially equipped to flee when natural disaster strikes — and
vulnerable to gender-based violence.Suffice it to say, patriarchy
does a number on women and anyone resisting traditional gender roles and
toxic masculinity, so as the world formulates its climate response, the
voices of those most affected are often the least heard.
That’s beginning to change, and to amplify those marginalized and undervalued voices, writer-activists
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson pulled together a formidable
roster of changemakers
and asked them to pen essays, compose poems, and create art all about
the pain and power of being feminists in the climate movement. The
resulting book, called
All We Can Save, hits shelves on September 22.
With essays by author Naomi Klein, Sunrise Movement cofounder (and
Grist 50 Fixer)
Varshini Prakash, and Natural Resources Defense Council CEO Gina
McCarthy, the anthology is a tribute to the fearless activists,
journalists, conservationists, and others who are bringing forth what
Johnson and Wilkinson call a “feminist climate renaissance,” rooted in
the traditionally feminine qualities of compassion, connection,
creativity, and collaboration.
“The feminine” is a spiritual and philosophical concept that
transcends gender identity — but what does it really mean, and why is it
crucial to the climate movement? To dive deeper, we talked to Johnson
and Wilkinson, along with
other Fixers,
about how they define and embody femininity in their work, and what we
can all do to bring more balance to climate activism and the world.
Their responses have been edited for clarity and length.
On building better, more inclusive activism
Katharine K. Wilkinson: Author, strategist, teacher, and co-editor of
All We Can Save
All We Can Save opens with the story of Eunice Newton Foote,
the amateur scientist who discovered the link between carbon dioxide
and planetary warming in 1856. She was also a signatory to the Seneca
Falls Declaration, the first women’s rights convention in the U.S. I
think of her as the first climate feminist. Her findings were published
in
The American Journal of Science and Arts, but then she was
basically forgotten until a decade ago. I take the loss of her legacy
personally, because that erasure is still happening. Women often don’t
have adequate resources for their work or platforms, or to share their
insights and visions, and they’re often stripped of credit for their
contributions.
I think about the feminine as the life-giving energy that circulates
through the world. It’s an appreciation for interdependence and the
connectedness of all things. It’s about working with the living systems
of the planet rather than trying to conquer or wrangle them. The
Feminist Climate Renaissance is not a revolution or a takeover or a war,
but rather an upwelling of a better way to do climate-oriented work.
On finding a more feminine balance
Kandi Mossett White: Native Energy & Climate Campaign Coordinator for the
Indigenous Environmental Network
People assume that, hundreds of years ago, our Native communities
were run by male chiefs. But women also had power and were respected for
their sacred ability to create life. We call our planet Mother Earth
because she nurtures us and gives us abundance: soil to grow food, air
to breathe, and water to drink. And yet America perpetuates a masculine
narrative that it’s not enough, that we need more land, more oil, more
power, and more money. That feeds the sickness of colonization and war
and climate chaos.
If we had more balanced, feminine leadership, we’d realize we already
have everything we need. A more feminine world would mean local systems
of food, so we wouldn’t need to burn as much oil and gas for
transportation. It would mean tighter-knit families, since people aren’t
constantly working to generate profit. It would mean more time to visit
your neighbors and strengthen the bond of humanity. It would mean
actually being happy and feeling comfortable with where you are and who
you are.
On focusing on people, not objects
Varshini Prakash: Cofounder and executive director of the
Sunrise Movement
I’ve heard a lot of men say our number one climate priority is
decarbonization, and the benefits of that are jobs and clean water and
livable climates. Their focus is on inanimate objects, on solar panels
and electric cars, and not on the root of the problem, which is
humanity. We need to ask ourselves: Who do these technical solutions
actually help? Are they working to eradicate the existing inequalities
in our system or to deepen them? We need policies like a Green New Deal
that aim to create green jobs that give workers a good quality of life,
sustain families, and employ communities that have suffered the longest
and hardest from environmental damage. The world’s climate response
needs to be an inclusive, collaborative process by which everyone
benefits.
When my colleagues and I founded the Sunrise Movement, we decided our
leadership team was going to be super-majority women, because we knew
that women and queer people push for holistic, intersectional solutions.
They’re also more capable of deeply vulnerable leadership that is able
to publicly admit fault and apologize, that is able to hold on to
strength and power while leaving ego at the door. One of our
organization’s core principles is shining bright even when there are
hard days. Changing the world can and should be a fulfilling process,
and women and femmes embody that by bringing jokes, laughter, and joy to
the movement, even when addressing something as terrifying as the
climate crisis.
On thinking like a mother
Jill Kubit: Cofounder of
DearTomorrow and co-lead of
Our Kids’ Climate global network
DearTomorrow
aims to help everyone think the way that mothers do about climate
change — in the form of a letter written to a child or other loved one,
to be read in 2050, on what they’re doing now to ensure a liveable
future.
The climate movement is shifting our work from a science and
data-driven perspective to a values-based approach that uses the power
of storytelling and emotion, and is driven by love. More often, it’s
women and mothers driving those solutions. They are organizing on the
frontlines, starting new organizations, forming unusual collaborations
and networks, and experimenting with artistic and cultural strategies.
Much of this work is underfunded and underappreciated, but moms do it
because they feel they have to. They hold a deep love for their children
and want the best possible futures for them and for the world.
On getting the right support
Lydia Avila: Program officer at
Climate + Clean Energy Equity Fund and board member for
The Hive Fund for Climate & Gender Justice
When I think of femininity, I think of environments that are warm,
welcoming and sensitive. I think of empathy and sympathy. There’s a lot
of trauma associated with the climate crisis, as well as poverty,
unstable homes, and gender-based violence. Women and femmes are great at
creating spaces where people can show up as their whole selves, process
trauma, engage in healing practices, and advance their common goals:
clean energy and other equitable climate solutions.
Women and queer climate leaders, especially people of color, are
often shouldering their own trauma, and the trauma of their communities.
That’s why they need holistic support for themselves, not just their
organizations. They need help with healthcare, childcare, school. They
need a massage! At the
Hive Fund,
we’re unapologetically uplifting the individual, to make sure badass
women don’t burn out and can stick around in the climate movement for a
long time. J.Lo can be J.Lo because she has a manicurist, a therapist, a
nutritionist, a personal trainer. We need similar support for our women
climate leaders, so they can keep doing their amazing work.
On bridging the leadership gap
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson: Founder and CEO of
Ocean Collectiv, founder of
Urban Ocean Lab, and co-editor of
All We Can Save
The climate crisis is a leadership crisis. There’s a growing
awareness that we need leaders from every community to represent their
people. So having a diversity of leaders, which obviously includes
women, is critical. Leaving out half of the planet’s brain power and
creativity would just be dumb. And yet, that has happened repeatedly.
I’m not sure that the patriarchy is going to go willingly. Why would
white men give up all of their power and access and money? But I will
say that in the last year or so, as a result of the confluence of the
#MeToo movement, the Movement for Black Lives, and climate strikes,
politicians and corporations are more aware that they need to at least
publicly state their support for women and people of color
and put them in leadership positions. I don’t think they’re handing us
the keys to the castle, just giving us a temporary password. But we’re
coming in and resetting the whole operating system. If they mean for it
to be tokenizing, then watch out, because we’re taking all of the
tokens.
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