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AbstractIn this paper, I compare deconstructive ecofeminism and traditional Japanese worldviews, particularly those of Shinto. I identify similarities between the two at crucial points, and suggest that this implies considerable difficulties with deconstructive ecofeminism. Traditional Japanese worldviews, in particular those deriving from Shinto, are not unproblematic from the viewpoint of both ecology and feminism. Although deconstructive ecofeminists are eager to break through nature-women oppression, what they propose will not necessarily lead to what they want to create.

Argues against ecofeminism's dualist & essentialist assumptions while also defending ecofeminism as a serious strategic & theoretical approach to understanding the limits of gender categories. Argues that ecofeminism's critiques of dualism & essentialism nevertheless paradoxically draw on dualist & essentialist gender assumptions. Discusses theoretical relationships of essentialism & ecofeminism followed by examinations of dualistic ecofeminism, social ecofeminism, & gendered constructions of male & female in relation to epistemology, objectivity, & subjectivity. Finally, addresses women's & men's interests concluding that divided gendered subjectivities work against women's (and men's) fundamental interests & needs. Comprehending this allows for a deeper critique of all forms of essentialist & dualistic thinking in the pursuit of a unified human solidarity. R. Rodriguez

In this essay, I will argue that contemporary ecofeminist discourse, while potentially adequate to deal with the issue of animals, is now inadequate because it fails to give consistent conceptual place to the domination of animals as a significant aspect of the domination of nature. I will examine six answers ecofeminists could give for not including animals explicitly in ecofeminist analyses and show how a persistent patriarchal ideology regarding animals as instruments has kept the experience of animals from being fully incorporated within ecofeminism.2

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