Allison Burbach (11/20): Gendered Nature

We talked early on in this class about how the words we use to describe nature carry a lot of weight in how nature is perceived. This made me question the language we use to describe nature. Mother nature is a woman. The language used to traditionally describe women in a Western society often relates to gentleness, kindness, empathy, emotional, etc. I wonder if this gendered classification has caused much of the human destruction and exploitation of the Earth. Men have long sought to ‘conquer’ nature and do not consider the potential damaging effects. If, from the beginning, nature was described using ‘male’ related qualities such as strong, courageous, and assertive, would humans be so keen to destroy it? When you look at the complexity and strength of nature, it is anything but strictly kind and emotional. It is a ruthless and unrelenting struggle to survive each day due to fierce competition. I think we need to emphasize stronger language in relation to mother nature in order to garner more respect from man.