Last winter I took a course called Law & Society. It was an intensive, engaging study of how law is intertwined with society. One of the assignments was to read a book called The Alchemy of Race and Rights by Patricia J. Williams, which is a diary-like account of how the language of law and rights shapes our culture and perpetuates inequalities. The overarching message of the book, and the course itself, is that legal rights are not enough to effect social change because they are limited in the scope of what they can accomplish. As Kimberlé Crenshaw highlighted in her essay “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics”, for example, anti-discrimination laws do not properly protect affected groups because they only account for one identity at a time. With these ideas in mind, I’d like to examine ecofeminism through the lens of intersectionality, a concept that Crenshaw coined and has since elevated feminist discourse beyond essentialist framing.

At its core, ecofeminism regards life on earth not as an exercise in domination but as an interconnected, interdependent, and dynamic web. This perspective has allowed the evolution of the theory of intersectionality, which helps us understand how we are comprised of many overlapping, and sometimes hypocritical, social identities. In her essay “The Ecology of Feminism and the Feminism of Ecology,” Ynestra King explains the core beliefs of ecofeminism: modern society is inherently degrading to nature, life on earth is not a hierarchy, biodiversity is essential, our survival depends on a fundamental reshaping of how we interact with nature, and ecofeminism must account for multiple social identities. In other words, it must be intersectional. The interconnectedness of life forms on earth is complex and meaningful, and King reiterates that in order to effect change, the material conditions and symbolic narratives that sustain harmful systems must be dismantled in full.
Intersectionality is therefore essential for recognizing compound effects of simultaneous forms of oppression and privilege. Within ecofeminist theory, intersectionality makes clear how environmental harm is distributed unequally between race, gender, physical ability, and socioeconomic circumstances. Climate change, for example, disproportionately affects women in rural areas of the Global South. As water resources dry up due to pervasive droughts, Black women and girls, the primary water-fetchers, are forced to walk longer and hotter distances, exposing them to dangerous conditions (UN 2019). Intersectional ecofeminism moves beyond universal claims of “women” and “nature” and instead centers on the lived experiences of those most impacted by environmental degradation.
A central theme of ecofeminism is that biodiversity and interdependence is essential for all species’ survival. Similar to how biological monoculture weakens ecological resilience, ideological and cultural homogenization chips away at our compassion for crisis. Intersectional approaches remind us that the domination of nature is not an isolated phenomenon but a result of advantageous power structures that benefit some while displacing others. It also calls attention to how some environmental “solutions” often reinforce existing inequalities. For example, consider the menstrual hygiene interventions in India as described in A.E. King’s “Intersectionality and the Changing Face of Ecofeminism”. Western projects that offered disposable sanitary products ignored local dynamics and introduced environmental consequences. Instead, targeted, intersectional efforts like locally-made compostable products were more effective in resolving ecological inequalities among rural women and girls. In this way, intersectionality is not just a theoretical framework, but a pragmatic tool for effective change. It ensures that responses to environmental degradation are inclusive and culturally appropriate.

To address environmental crises, we need frameworks that can engage in depth. Intersectional ecofeminism is adaptive, dynamic, and asks us to question the systems that structure our society, as true transformation requires dismantling sexist, ageist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic, and categorical oppression. It doesn’t reduce people to single groups, but encourages us to view the “web” in full and to act from within it. In doing so, we confront systems on a micro/personal level, and acknowledge our own positions of power and seats of oppression, allowing us to take apart and co-create a world that values all life.
Works Cited
A.E. Kings “Intersectionality and the Changing Face of Ecofeminism.” Ethics and the Environment 22 (1) Spring 17
Crenshaw, Kimberlé (1989) “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics,” University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989: Iss. 1, Article 8
King, Ynestra (1989). “The Ecology of Feminism and the Feminism of Ecology”. https://libcom.org/article/ecology-feminism-and-feminism-ecology
United Nations (2019). “Water and Gender”. UN Water by United Nations. https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/water-and-gender
Williams, Patricia J. (1991) The Alchemy of Race and Rights. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard University Press.