MARCH 8, 2025: For an intersectional ecology

Every year, the CELL team takes part in the March 8 feminist march (called Fraestreik in Luxembourgish, meaning: women's strike) organized by JIF (International Women's Day) in Luxembourg. Feminist reflection and commitment are an integral part of CELL's values. Last year, on this occasion, we published an article on ecofeminism: " Neither women nor the planet are territories to be conquered".. For three years now, the women in the team have been off work on March 8, in solidarity with all the women in the world who are victims of the mechanisms of domination. The aim? To build sisterhood, to create caring relationships with ourselves, others and the planet. 

The power of images

I distinctly remember the day I understood the concept of intersectionality. It wasn't by reading a definition of the word. It was during an exhibition on gender at BOZAR in Brussels.[1]. I had come face to face with a photo by Zanele Muholi entitled "Miss Lesbian". The photo shows the artist, dressed-of a Miss leotard and perched-e on stiletto heels, posing in front of the lens, hands on hips, eyes proud. The background contrasts with this varnished portrait. It reveals a faded black background, dirty carpeting and a broken office chair. Her Miss scarf, slung over her body, reads BLACK LESBIAN. 

Woman, black, lesbian: triple punishment. Quadruple even, since the artist comes from an underprivileged background in South Africa. Quintuple even, since he identifies himself as non-binary. Fivefold punishment in a society where these identities or affiliations are more often than not discriminated against, dominated and mistreated.

Thanks to this photo, I'd understood intersectionality long before I'd heard of the word: it's possible to experience not one, not two, but several or even multiple forms of discrimination at the same time.

Towards an intersectional ecology

But why am I talking to you about intersectionality on the blog of CELL, an environmentalist association? And what exactly is intersectionality?

According to the Larousse dictionary, intersectionality is the "taking into account of the accumulation of several factors of inequality or discrimination". It's a concept used in sociology and political thought, which refers to the situation of people who simultaneously suffer several forms of domination or discrimination in a society. So, for example, if a person from a poor background belongs to an ethnic minority, he or she could be the victim of both racism and class contempt. The term was coined by the American Afrofeminist scholar Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989 to refer specifically to the intersection of sexism and racism experienced by African-American women.

But what does this have to do with ecology?

Many thinkers, such as Murray Bookchin (social ecology), Carolyn Merchant (feminist ecology) or Leah Thomas (intersectional ecology), have shown that the oppression of human groups (women, indigenous peoples, working classes...) and the destruction of the environment are often the result of same economic and ideological structures. In her view, the link between the domination of human beings and that of nature is based on a common logic: a system of power based on exploitation and domination.

For centuries, Western thought has established rigid oppositions: human vs. nature, man vs. woman, civilization vs. "savagery". These dichotomies have served to justify exploitation: humans have positioned themselves above nature, just as certain categories of humans (elites, men, colonizers) have positioned themselves above others. Capitalism has accentuated this dynamic, transforming not only nature, but also certain humans into exploitable resources for profit. Colonization subjected entire peoples to exploitation, likening them to a wilderness to be dominated. Industrialization and excessive extractivism have accelerated the destruction of ecosystems. 

In his book The Intersectional Environmentalist[2]Leah Thomas develops a vision of ecology that takes into account issues of social justice. She criticizes the traditional approach to environmentalism, which often focuses on nature without taking into account the systemic inequalities that affect marginalized communities differently. 

The link between social and environmental justice 

Currents such as ecofeminism show how the domination of nature and women are linked: the exploitation of women's bodies (as reproductive resources) and that of the Earth (as economic resources) are based on similar logics of control. Intersectional ecology goes further, integrating oppressions of class and race: marginalized populations suffer the consequences of environmental degradation more severely.  

In 2005, the devastating consequences of Hurricane Katrina hit southern Louisiana in the USA. When the hurricane hit New Orleans, it caused massive flooding and the death of over 1,800 people. However, it was the poorest and predominantly African-American communities that were hardest hit. Inadequate infrastructure (the most vulnerable neighborhoods were often located in low-lying areas, with poorly maintained levees), lack of means of evacuation (many residents had no car or financial resources to flee the city, unlike wealthier populations who were able to leave in time). But also, and this is unacceptable, an uneven government response: it took several days for help to arrive in the poor districts that were the worst hit, revealing a differentiated treatment of populations according to their social class and skin color. 

This case is not isolated, and is part of a wider context of environmental injustice, where marginalized communities often live in high-risk areas, suffer more intensely from pollution (factories, toxic dumps located near poor neighborhoods) and have less access to resources to protect themselves from ecological disasters. On this subject, read the essential book "Pour une Écologie pirate" by Fatima Ouassak.[3] which describes the situation in the Paris suburbs. 

Towards a paradigm shift 

Human domination of each other and of nature is profoundly linked by a logic of systemic exploitation. To challenge this vision is not only to work for social justice, but also for a more respectful relationship with the planet. This is what we strive to do at CELL. Our challenge is to move from a model of society based on exploitation and domination, to one based on respect, reciprocity and interdependence. A world where humans see themselves as integral parts of ecosystems, rather than masters of them.

This year, in the face of the rise of fascism, many people are calling for March 8 to be a meeting of all commitments to social rights feminists, LGBTQIA+ community advocates, anti-racists, anti-validists... and, of course, all lovers.-ses of nature. (Is it worth pointing out that fascist regimes like Trump's in the US primarily attack the rights of women, minorities and nature?)

So whether you're worriedêt-e-s in the face of discrimination, climate change or the rise of fascism, join us this Saturday, March 8, for the Feminist march.