Anne Statham
University of WI-Parkside
Box 2000
Kenosha, WI 53142
U.S.A.
TEL: 414/595-2162 FAX: 414/595-2630
This paper uses field data collected from participant observation with several groups and semi-structured interviews with 33 individuals in southeastern Florida to examine gender differences in the construction of personal notions of identity. While the propensity to see the self as connected to others and environment varies across gender lines according to general life philosophies, women show some tendency to use unique strategies in fashioning those identities. Adopting certain identity constructions -- the western notion of individuated self vs. the indigenous/eastern notion of self as connected -- is argued to be related to stances toward environmental issues. This personal connection between large scale environmental issues and individual action is often ignored by environmentalists. It may not be only a matter of communicating information on an intellectual level, but of modifying often emotionally-charged notions of self definition, that is necessary to bring about wide-spread behavioral change. Eco-feminist philosophy about the nature of society and possibilities for change provide the framework for these considerations.
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