Episode 08: The gendered identity of Sustainability

Libby and Renée unpack the identity around sustainable actions and eco-activism to question if gender stereotypes and biases are getting in the way of humanity’s progress towards sustainability. Considering that, in many societies, men 'control' the resources – whether it’s money, business, politics, or even decision-making at home – we wonder if addressing gender would help us all? We look at the energies of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’, and how branding and semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation) behind advertising and media influences our ‘truth’ of what we all think sustainability is. We propose that becoming aware of how we perceive the word 'sustainability' and the way we choose to apply ourselves to environmental actions will challenge our current western mindset and meta narratives, helping us discover creative ways to retain the lifestyle we enjoy while minimising the CO2 costs.

In a somewhat unconventional 12-episode podcast series, a Novelist and an ex-Googler – Libby and Renée, based in Switzerland – draw on science and data as well as humanity's creativity and flawed beauty to come to terms with – and find actions to address! – our global, local and personal sustainability challenges.

Reach us anytime at sustainablemailbag@gmail.com

Shownotes

Mentioned Links 

Article: Is Eco-Friendly Unmanly? The Green-Feminine Stereotype and Its Effect on Sustainable Consumption by Aaron R. Brough, James E. B. Wilkie, Jingjing Ma, Mathew S. Isaac, David Gal (Journal of Consumer Research) https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/43/4/567/2630509?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Article (Science Daily): Going Green is for Girls, but Branding Can Make Men Eco-Friendly https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160825102326.htm

Article: Brand Narratives, Sustainability and Gender: A Socio-Semiotic Approach by Nacima Ourahmoune, Anne-Sophie Binninger, Isabelle Robert https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270493518_Brand_Narratives_Sustainability_and_Gender_A_Socio-semiotic_Approach

Article (The Guardian): The Eco Gender Gap: Why Saving the Planet is Seen as Women's Work https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/06/eco-gender-gap-why-saving-planet-seen-womens-work

Article: Petro-masculinity: Fossil Fuels and Authoritarian Desire by Cara Daggett https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0305829818775817

Women's Coach: Heather Allison: https://www.heather-allison.com/ 

Which wolf do you feed?  https://urbanbalance.com/the-story-of-two-wolves/

Podcast: A New And Ancient Story — Charles Eisenstein with Alnoor Ladha https://podcasts.apple.com/ch/podcast/a-new-and-ancient-story-the-podcast/id1047290956?l=en&i=1000483375162 

The UN's Sustainable Development goals https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

SDG #5, Gender Equality: "Women’s and girls’ empowerment is essential to expand economic growth and promote social development."