State/Government

We are all aware of the inequality which women face in today’s society, but I feel that I don’t usually hear about the benefits which women would have if given the same chances which men receive. This article focuses on just this, the idea that “…gender equality may influence the environmental behavior of nation-states (Norgaard 508).” I read an article a few years ago in my political policy class and it brought up how women have different priorities than men when it came to certain reformations. They found that men focused more on war and security, while women focused more on the home and schooling. When I think about each perspective, they seem like the opposite ends of the same stick. Without taking into account one side, you are losing out on potential success. Norgaard and York talk about how women seem to be the main ones concerned with our environment, so the concept of inequality could contribute to our environmental downfall.

Hunt, Elle. “The Eco Gender Gap: Why Is Saving the Planet Seen as Women’s Work?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 Feb. 2020, www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/06/eco-gender-gap-why-saving-planet-seen-womens-work.

This article is such an amazing read and I recommend that some of you look through it. I chose this article because I feel like York discusses the issue of inequality and the environment, while my article discusses the WHY? Why is it up to women to fix the environment? Why is it that the idea of being eco-friendly is something usually associated with women? If you look closely at your feminine products (any resources catered towards women), you’ll notice that more of your items are ‘going green’ compared to the products of men. I liked the way in which Hunt chose to interpret the idea of going green. She states, “The result of this is what the market research firm Mintel has termed an eco-gender gap, where green branding might as well be pink (Hunt 3).” I like this quote because it made me think of the irony behind this article. Even though we all live on this planet, it’s up to women to save and preserve it. Sound like the whole “women should raise the children” ideology all over again. It’s as though the issues which the patriarchal society can’t be bothered with just automatically gets placed upon women’s shoulders.

Holden, Emily, and Lauren Gambino. “Green New Deal: Ocasio-Cortez Unveils Bold Plan to Fight Climate Change.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 Feb. 2019, www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/07/green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-plan.

I chose this article because my last article brought up how Greta Thunberg and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are “…the highest-profile climate campaigners in the world today (18).” If you don’t know Alexandria, she is the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14^th congressional district. This article focuses on her vision to put an end to “…economic and racial injustice while also fighting climate change (Holden 1),” it was labeled as the Green New Deal.

This last image I chose because it shows the understanding of global warning between men and women. The first bar graph is relatively equal, but when you look at our ozone layer and acid rain, the gap begins to grow. There were other graphs that should the comparison between men and women when it comes to our environment, but I chose this one because, I feel like it shows multiple examples of the environmental gender gap which we face. Even when it comes to the idea of environment, its very existence is seen as being that of a women. Think about the idea of MOTHER Nature. How can an inanimate object magically belong to a specific gender? Without equality, men will never understand their obligation to our environment and women won’t have the proper tools to save it. Both sides must come together and understand that nature belongs to no one, we need it to survive and vice versa, we must come to terms with this ideology and work together to implement eco-friendly lifestyles.