An ecofeminist conceptual framework to explore gendered environmental health inequities in urban settings and to inform healthy public policy

Abstract

This theoretical exploration is an attempt to conceptualize the link between gender and urban environmental health. The proposed ecofeminist framework enables an understanding of the link between the urban physical and social environments and health inequities mediated by gender and socioeconomic status. This framework is proposed as a theoretical magnifying glass to reveal the underlying logic that connects environmental exploitation on the one hand, and gendered health inequities on the other. Ecofeminism has the potential to reveal an inherent, normative conceptual analysis and argumentative justification of western society that permits the oppression of women and the exploitation of the environment. This insight will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying gendered environmental health inequities and inform healthy public policy that is supportive of urban environmental health, particularly for low-income mothers.

Factors associated with secondhand tobacco smoke in the home: an exploratory cross-sectional study among women in Aleta Wondo, Ethiopia

“…These risk factors can vary based on differences in social, cultural and physical environmental contexts [57]. Additionally, factors such as gender and ethnicity can mediate these risk factors [58]. Therefore, it is critical that tobacco control policies and interventions be informed by local data.…”

Uniting action research and citizen science: Examining the opportunities for mutual benefit between two movements through a woodsmoke photovoice study

“…Our environmental justice research design was informed by an ecofeminist framework in order to foreground the youths' local knowledge, the importance of youth collection of empirical data on the natural (air quality) environment, the potential for unjust health risks (asthma and respiratory infections) inflicted on them, and action for policy change (Chircop, 2008). The seventh principle of environmental justice adopted by the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit (1991, p. 1) states the right of people to "participate as equal partners at every level" in the design, execution, and dissemination of pollution studies (including community member sampling activities) with the goal of creating change and improving health in their communities.…”

“…After the final community event, we (the authors of this article) critically analyzed the youth selected phototexts and photos. We employed an ecofeminist lens (i.e., local knowledge of woodsmoke, responses to empirical data, awareness of structural oppressions, and calls for action) to explore the power relations between youth and other dominant (i.e., governmental/societal) discourses on woodsmoke (Chircop, 2008;Fairclough, 2009). We completed the analysis over three phases:…”

Public Policy Analysis to Redress Urban Environmental Health Inequities

“…To address my research questions and to conceptualize urban environmental health of low-income mothers, I developed an ecofeminist framework (Chircop, 2008). This framework guided the critical analysis of gendered environmental health inequities, capturing the complexity with which gender, class, and the social and physical environments interact to mediate health or health inequities.…”