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The World is on Fire

feminine and masculine in the experience of climate change anxiety

Aleksandra Rayska, PhD & Marisa Mabli, LCSW

One of us works at a mental health clinic for female identified college students, the other one at a clinic that serves primarily males, of whom the vast majority are middle-aged. As we talked about clinical struggles and compared notes, we noticed that only one of those populations expresses concerns and worry about the climate change and destruction. We started to wonder about that discrepancy and explore some of the possible reasons behind it. Planet Politics Manifesto prompts us to wonder about the fact that “the planet is telling us that there are limits to human freedom; there are freedoms and political choices we can no longer have” p. 507 (2016). Yet making sacrifices for the shared good is not coming easily, even if the price is a livable Earth for all of us.

Climate denialism, as research shows, is most common in the US amongst white men (McCright, Dunlap, 2011). It is white men that most commonly express conservative political views as well as engage in denial of existence and impact of climate change. Historically having benefited and controlled most of the natural resources, white men seem least concerned about the destruction of the environment. It is those that are not in power that see the world as more precarious and will ultimately be impacted sooner by the consequences of climate change (McCright, Dunlap, 2011). Climate deniers seem not to be concerned about the loss of a livable planet but rather about the shift away from a culture founded on dominance of masculinity (Anshelm, Hultman, 2014).

The model in which masculinity dominates operates on the male-female binary, where social and cultural roles of males and females are strictly defined and separate from one another. Climate change denial and disregard for conservation efforts can be interpreted as a reaction to racial and gender equality movements that are experienced as threats to traditional white male privilege and power (Nelson, 2020). In the world of the binary, caring behaviors, including caring for the environment, are seen as “feminine” (Gillis, Hamaty, 2020). Feminine is less than masculine and being perceived as “feminine” is an insult. Researchers suggest men can shy away from green behavior such as recycling or shopping with a reusable bag out of fear of being seen as having feminine attributes (Gillis, Hamaty, 2020).

The worldview that sees a sharp distinction between male and female, also ascribes similar power dynamics to the separation between humans and nature (Anshelm, Hultman, 2014). From that vantage point nature, the “nonliving world” is a playground for humans to use, exploit, and to obtain resources from, rather than a partner or a guarantor of our continued existence. In that strict masculine world view, ecology becomes feminized and as such viewed as in contradiction to male dominance (Pule, Hultman, 2019).

Aleksandra Rayska, PhD is a clinical psychologist at Mt. Sinai Hospital. She is a graduate of WTCI. She also works in a private practice where she specializes in working with psychosomatic disorders.

Marisa Mabli, LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice with specialties in body image/eating concerns, substance use, and sexuality and gender identities. She is also a therapist at the counseling center at The New School. She is a graduate of WTCI and is a member of the Climate Psychology Alliance.

References

Ashlen, J., Hultman, M., A green fatwa? Climate change as a threat to the masculinity of industrial modernity, International Journal of Masculinity Studies, 9 (2), 2014, 84-96.

Burke, A. et al., Planet Politics: A Manifesto from the End of IR, Millennium, Journal of International Studies, 44 (3), 2016, 507.

McCright, A.M., Dunlap, R.E., Cool dudes: The denial of climate change among conservative white males in the United States. Global Environmental Change, 21 (4), 1163-1172.

Nelson, J., Petro‐masculinity and climate change denial among white, politically conservative American males, Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 17 (4), 282-295.

Pule, M., P., Hultman, M. Industrial/breadwinner masculinities, In: Climate Hazards, Disasters, and Gender Ramifications, 2019, 86-97.

Swim, J.K., Gillis, A.J., Hamaty, K.J., Gender Bending and Gender Conformity: The Social Consequences of Engaging in Feminine and Masculine Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Sex Roles 82, 2020, 363–385.