Nature is a Woman

[Compiled and arranged by researching women and nature headlines]

The earth is inherently feminine.

From nurturing

To replenishing

Mother Nature is a parental figure that sustains us in a comforting analogy

Known by many names -

Gaia

Persephone

Inanna;

She has consistently been imagined as a woman.

Our language says it all:

A 'virgin' forest

A fertile land

A blooming flower.

Just like women,

the natural world is awaiting exploitation.

While Women’s bodies are objectified,

landscapes are eyed for their resources.

While women are prized for their reproductive services,

ecosystems are valued for being productive.

The UN figures that 80% of those displaced by climate change are women.

When the air and water are polluted,

women become infertile.

When flooding and drought occur,

women become most vulnerable as caregivers.

When there are natural disasters,

women have a lower life expectancy than men.

When resources are scarce due to drought or deforestation,

women are subjected to sextortion to gain access to water or firewood.

Can a reign of women possibly be the answer to the earth's destruction

and to all the other related problems?

Women are key to effective and inclusive climate adaptation.

Yet, “psychological evidence for this association has been lacking.”

But women understand our material dependence on nature.

Not because of being in a female body,

but because of what female bodies are made to do.

---

About the Author

Jeana Prudhomme

Jeana Prudhomme is a Communications professional, as well as the Founder and Editor of Respect Your Mother Magazine. She received B.A in Communications from Alverno College in 2017, and an M.A in New Media and Professional Writing in the Spring of 2022. After years of focusing on solutions journalism and non-fiction writing related to feminism and sustainability, she has created art from her passions in the form of this ecofeminist magazine.