A Woman's View

A Woman’s View

by: Deva DeAngelis

written 2012 “A woman’s highest calling is to lead a man to his soul, so as to unite him with the source; her lowest calling is to seduce, separating man from his soul and leave him aimlessly wandering. A man’s highest calling is to protect woman, so she is free to walk the earth unharmed. Man’s lowest calling is to ambush and force his way into the life of a woman.”

-Native American Cherokee Proverb The ongoing and growing acceptance of the feminine perspective is a foundational event, or course of events, in the movement towards sustainability, one that, as a foundational component, spans and fills a healthy portion of the movement. Defining sustainability is challenging, and identifying a singular event to discuss its historical importance, in relation to a movement that has a dynamic and evolving definition relative to perspective and experience, is daunting. From my perspective, and for the purpose of this discussion, sustainability can be defined as a cultural, economic, industrial and environmental systems-approach to nurturing independent systems designed to foster a web of interdependent, symbiotic, relationships. While this is a broad definition, lacking any guidance for practical implementation, it appropriately identifies the complexity of the concept while adequately illustrating the simplicity. Aldo Leopold in 1949 coined the insightful analogy of, “the watchmaker who saves all the parts,” to join the word, “sustainability,” with the preservation of the sum of our planet’s species. Leopold recognized that the achievements, and even the continued existence, of mankind, were dependant upon, and subject to, a symbiotic relationship between all of the “parts”

(Ehrenfeld 33).

We live in a male-dominated society, culture, and world. The very definition of what we consider “civilization,” includes domination, gain, profit, and control. Spirituality, compassion, altruism, and community are extracurricular; what one might focus on after profit and control have been achieved. In a great number of regions in the modern world, women are still integrated as second-class citizens, if even that, despite notable movements and accomplishments with regard to gender equality. Naturally and scientifically it can be observed that different hormones, impulses, and perspectives guide men and women. While neither of the two is predominantly more or less beneficial, both are intricate pieces of the essence of our species. As such, both are required components of any meaningfully sustainable system. As we seek to identify sustainable methods to address our current issues, it is important to consider the profound, historic and contemporary, lack of balance between these two modalities and perspectives. Historically speaking, the extent to which the female perspective has been ignored or undermined is evident in the lack of representation and importance we are afforded in the earliest written documents. In Hammurabi's Code we see that women were considered to be possessions, on par with a cow or piece of pottery. In historic texts, and even in the bible, women are mentioned seldom, and when we are, it is with diminished importance or with intent to slight. We are portrayed as simple, of diminished insight, or the harbinger of poor fate. If it were necessary to distill this point to a singular event, I would turn your attention to the accomplishments of Christine de Pizan.

Though humans have been writing for more than 5,000 years, as far as we know, Christine de Pizan was the first female to contribute to our literary history on a professional or meaningful level. She was born around 1364, and raised mostly in France. After being widowed at age twenty-five, she began writing ballads. When courtly patrons noticed her, she was commissioned to write love ballads to their mistresses. Soon after, she began participation in literary debates. Simply being invited or allowed to participate in these events, as a woman of the 14th century, was an exceptional achievement, but her ability to assert clear and concise arguments in the male-dominated world of literary texts was both noble and notable.

In one of these debates Christine de Pizan challenged a prominent male author of the time, Jean de Meun, for his use of misogynistic language in his book, Romance of the Rose. Pizan facilitated the discussion and composed her arguments such that she was able to successfully demonstrate that a biased portrayal of women in literary texts, in general, was counter productive and a disservice, turning the debate into a shared discussion rather than a questioning of her opponents ability or motivation. This established Pizan as a prominent thinker of her time, able to stand her ground in the male-dominated realm of critical thinking and literary evaluation.

Christine de Pizan was also outspoken in advocating the education of girls on the same level and subject as boys. Her home of France was changing rapidly through the famous Hundred Years War, and Pizan’s last piece of literature was a song inspired by the heroic Joan of Arc, whom she considered the embodiment of the female virtues (de Pizan). The most practical starting point to accredit the modern day movement of women and their right to participate in the systems in which they are intrinsic components, came in 1893 when New Zealand extended the right to vote to women. The United States took another 27 years to fully ratify the 19th amendment. This means that the first 144 years of this country’s history were devoid of meaningful contribution by women; a short period of time when you realize that the same date indicates that the world, for the most part, chugged along on fully one-half of it’s potential for more than 5 millennia.

More recently, Rachel Carson spoke “against the grain” of the mid-twentieth-century mindset when she wrote her book, Silent Spring. Not only an author, but also a scientist, she worked in the federal service for fifteen years, which included all of World War II. Carson then, quite reluctantly, but by a feeling of need, turned her attention to DDT, an insecticide that had been successfully used in the last half of the war to combat malaria and typhus, which was beginning to be applied for agriculture purposes. Her concerns over its indiscriminate application and its effects on humans, animals, and the health of natural environments, stirred societal curiosity regarding the impact humans may have on environmental systems; her book, and her voiced opinions, changed history, and again added a layer on which the future could stand. The Environmental Defense Fund was established a few years after her death, in 1968, consisting of a group of scientists that mirrored Carson’s opinions on the dangers of DDT; in 1972, with these combined efforts, DDT was banned, with very few exceptions in regard to disease control (Lear). More than twenty years after her death, a Rachel Carson scholar, H. Patricia Hynes, stated, "Silent Spring altered the balance of power in the world. No one since would be able to sell pollution as the necessary underside of progress so easily or uncritically" (Hynes). Carson was an incredible woman of her time, not only for her brilliance as a scientist, but her bravery in challenging humankind to reexamine how they viewed the natural world.

Paul Loeb lectured at the Colorado Mountain College, Alpine campus, September 13, 2012, and spoke adamantly about the fact that no single event stands alone. Whether it is an individual’s perspective that expands with each new experience, or cultural understanding that shifts with added movements, what is possible today relates to our history, and how we perceive it both individually and collectively. Many people have spoken out against societal “norms” of their time, subjecting themselves to criticism and diminished regard in order to elaborate on aspects of present fashions that are perceived to be harmful or misdirected. As the role of women in society has grown, so has the political, economic and cultural movement to a sustainable model. This is not to say that the feminine perspective has been the only condition that has been missing, but it is foundational in its role, which not only adds another whole side, but as the two sides continue to join, and strengthen as a whole, we will find new directions that are yet to be seen.

Whether it is the diversity of an ecosystem, combining the wedges of technologies and understandings to address larger issues, or the interpretations of, and by, both male and female perspectives, sustainability requires integrating all of the parts, or the whole, to appropriately assess and utilize the various modalities available to assist in the restoration and support of natural systems. While women are not the only ones concerned about the environment and determined to develop the concept of sustainability, our perspective is half of the picture; only when these two sides are considered, respected, and allowed to actively advise, will we have true, feasible, and applicable solutions. "de Pisan, Christine." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Sep. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Ehrenfeld, David. "Sustainability: Living with the Imperfections." Living with Sustainability . Febuary 2005: 33-35. Web. 16 Sep. 2012. <http://www3.fitnyc.edu/sustainabilityatfit/papers_of_interest/sustainability living with imperfections.pdf>. Hynes, H. Patricia. The Recurring Silent Spring. the University of Michigan: Pergamon Press, 1989. 227. Print. Lear, Linda. "The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson." Rachel Carson's Biolgraphy. (1998): n. page. Web. 16 Sep. 2012. <http://www.rachelcarson.org/Biography.aspx