Oral Presentations - Session 1A: UC 326
Women's Voices for the Earth: A Discourse Analysis of Gendered, Environmental Media Advocacy
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Cassandra Sheets
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Sociology
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), a Missoula based, nationally recognized non-profit, empowers women to advocate against toxic chemicals that cause individual and community health hazards. There is little analysis of the intersection of women’s and environmental subjugation and how these intersections influence women’s environmental organizations. My research examines the influence of ecofeminist ideology, as framed by Karen Warren’s ecofeminist and class analysis, in WVE’s online discourse, primarily social media. To do so I apply a Foucaultian discourse analysis to WVE’s online publications, and compare that to an analysis of the online presence of Toxics Action Center, a non-gendered activist group with a similar mission. Preliminary results show a connection between ecofeminist ideology and how these organizations address the issue of toxins. Through this analysis I hope to understand the role women’s perspectives play in environmental advocacy groups, and how a shared experience of oppression can motivate advocacy work.
Category
Social Sciences
Women's Voices for the Earth: A Discourse Analysis of Gendered, Environmental Media Advocacy
UC 326
Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), a Missoula based, nationally recognized non-profit, empowers women to advocate against toxic chemicals that cause individual and community health hazards. There is little analysis of the intersection of women’s and environmental subjugation and how these intersections influence women’s environmental organizations. My research examines the influence of ecofeminist ideology, as framed by Karen Warren’s ecofeminist and class analysis, in WVE’s online discourse, primarily social media. To do so I apply a Foucaultian discourse analysis to WVE’s online publications, and compare that to an analysis of the online presence of Toxics Action Center, a non-gendered activist group with a similar mission. Preliminary results show a connection between ecofeminist ideology and how these organizations address the issue of toxins. Through this analysis I hope to understand the role women’s perspectives play in environmental advocacy groups, and how a shared experience of oppression can motivate advocacy work.