“Through traditional feminine roles as mothers and nurturers, women have been theorized as somehow closer to the natural, nonhuman world.” – (Alexandra Nutter Smith 2010)
This week I have chosen to read “The Ecofetish: Green Consumerism in Women’s Magazines” by Alexandra Nutter Smith. This article was mentioned in Dr. Vaughns “Choosing Wisley” and the topic of eco-feminism felt incredibly relevant to the subject of my work this quarter so I wanted to make sure I made time for at least one of the mentioned articles. This one struck my interest, it is about the marketing of faux sustainable and greenwashed products to women, specifically in women’s magazines. Betty Crocker was a write-in columnist, the lines of communication we use are vitally relevant to the cultures of our kitchens.
This essay further highlights a theme that I have seen reflected in the first two papers, the unfair burden placed on women to be responsible for the maintenance and results of a system in which they are expected to play a subservient role in. Specifically, it highlights two aspects.
The first is the responsibility of women to make most of the buying decisions for a household because they are doing most of the home shopping. The essay recognizes that most women are working outside of the home full time on top of these duties and that we are still complying with a male-pleasing social structure because of this division of labor. Yet women are not seen as the “providers” of the family, despite shouldering the majority of the responsibility they are still seen are the helpers, the support staff.
The second was on the way that greenwashed products and lifestyles were marketed to women in these women’s magazines. Once again the responsibility was being pushed onto women, conservation solutions that should have been done by the corporations creating the problems (or better yet not make them) were marketed into products and advertised in these women’s magazines.
I’m excited to finish this article next week, and get started on my next text which will get me better prepared for the Week 6 workshop I will be helping with!