By Isabel Madauss, Sidwell Friends School
Patriarchy infiltrates all sectors of life, including social justice movements, such as environmentalism. The case of Rachel Carson, an influential figure in the environmentalist movement during the 1960s, is a prime example of the intersection between patriarchy and environmentalism. Carson is accredited for bringing the American public’s attention to the negative impacts of humans on the environment. More specifically, her renowned book, Silent Spring, describes the misuse of pesticides and their detrimental effects on nature. After Silent Spring’s publication, Carson received extreme backlash for her critique of the chemical industry and the American government’s use of pesticides. Aside from the attacks on Carson’s research and the validity of her results, she was also berated with misogynistic commentary on her work, with many readers describing her as hysterical and emotional. Referencing Carson, an agricultural specialist told a reporter, “You’re never going to satisfy organic farmers or emotional women in garden clubs.” Furthermore, a man by the name of Benson wrote a letter to President Eisenhower about Carson, wondering why a “spinster was so worried about genetics.”
Hysteria, an imaginary mental disorder, has been used to dismiss women and their concerns throughout history. In the past, when male community leaders felt as though a woman was attempting to achieve something more than marriage and motherhood, they would diagnose her with hysteria. Some of the many treatments prescribed for a woman with hysteria were sex or sexual abstinence. By labeling Carson as hysteric, critics were implying that her autonomy was not worthy of consideration and that her work as an ecologist should be disregarded. Similarly, Benson, who employed the usage of the colloquial term “spinster,” sought to diminish Carson’s respectability by tying her worth to her status as a single woman. The term “spinster” is generally used as an insult, with the connotation that the woman being described must be so unattractive that she is unable to marry. Describing Carson in this way suggests that Benson believes that she is too old to be doing meaningful work. This re-asserts the idea that men in the media did not view Carson as a human deserving of basic respect, and much less as an esteemed ecologist. Moreover, the remarks made toward Carson insinuate that feeling emotion is feminine and is thus distasteful and unprofessional. Linking emotions to femininity and immediately thereafter labeling the action as something to be looked down upon is a prime example of the patriarchal expectations exerted on Carson.
Rachel Carson is not the only example of a woman who has faced misogyny whilst supporting environmentalism. However, she is a perfect illustration of the ways in which the patriarchy continuously seeks to subjugate women and cannot therefore be separated from their environmental work. Hence, those who wish to work for environmental justice must first address their own misogyny. Women are an essential demographic to reach in the environmentalist fight, and therefore cannot be treated as lesser than or have their authority questioned.
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