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A Feminist Companion to the PosthumanitiesMaterial Feminism in the Anthropocene

A Feminist Companion to the Posthumanities: Material Feminism in the Anthropocene Chapter 4 Stacy Alaimo Two works of contemporary feminist art epitomize the vexed relations between feminism and environmentalism that have propelled much of my research. Barbara Kruger’s black and white photo, featuring a woman lying upside down with leaves over her eyes, overlaid with the caption, “We Won’t Play Nature to Your Culture,” illustrates the postmodern feminist rejection of the dualisms that align “woman” with mute, passive, nature. The “we,” a collective subject, voices a political stance that distances itself from the docile, degraded image. While that feminist critique – that charismatic power of revolt – is invaluable for gender poli- tics, environmentalists may be troubled that the ground, the leaves, and what used to be known as nature, is once again transcended by the voice and the viewer. The caption calls the collective feminist subject to leave the ground behind, hailing us in a way that makes the earth a background or resource for the active political subject. Cuban-American performance artist and “earth-body” sculptor Ana Mendieta’s performances and photographs are more ambivalent about the relation between “woman” and “nature.” The cover of my book Undomesticated Ground: Recasting Nature as Feminist Space (2000), features one of Mendieta’s works from http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Feminist Companion to the PosthumanitiesMaterial Feminism in the Anthropocene

Editors: Åsberg, Cecilia; Braidotti, Rosi
Alaimo, Stacy
Springer Journals — May 18, 2018
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Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
ISBN
978-3-319-62138-8
Pages
45 –54
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-62140-1_4
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

Chapter 4 Stacy Alaimo Two works of contemporary feminist art epitomize the vexed relations between feminism and environmentalism that have propelled much of my research. Barbara Kruger’s black and white photo, featuring a woman lying upside down with leaves over her eyes, overlaid with the caption, “We Won’t Play Nature to Your Culture,” illustrates the postmodern feminist rejection of the dualisms that align “woman” with mute, passive, nature. The “we,” a collective subject, voices a political stance that distances itself from the docile, degraded image. While that feminist critique – that charismatic power of revolt – is invaluable for gender poli- tics, environmentalists may be troubled that the ground, the leaves, and what used to be known as nature, is once again transcended by the voice and the viewer. The caption calls the collective feminist subject to leave the ground behind, hailing us in a way that makes the earth a background or resource for the active political subject. Cuban-American performance artist and “earth-body” sculptor Ana Mendieta’s performances and photographs are more ambivalent about the relation between “woman” and “nature.” The cover of my book Undomesticated Ground: Recasting Nature as Feminist Space (2000), features one of Mendieta’s works from

Published: May 18, 2018

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