World News Trust: Dystopians On Estrogen (Carolyn Baker)

Carolyn Baker -- Speaking Truth To Power

Jan. 25, 2009 -- This past week the New Yorker published "The Dystopians" by Ben McGrath, by whom I was interviewed back in October, and who allowed me to make an appearance in the article with a brief mention of my forthcoming book.

Sitting with this piece for the past seven days has been unsettling, not because I personally wanted more air time, but because of the article's paucity of references to the female perspective regarding the collapse of civilization. Although I greatly admire Dmitry Orlov and James Howard Kunstler, and while I feel camaraderie in particular with my friends in the Vermont Independence movement, Rob Williams and Thomas Naylor, I found "The Dystopians" to be an appallingly white male extravaganza.

The only other "dystopian" female referred to in the piece is Chellis Glendinning, psychologist and author from New Mexico and renowned speaker at the November, 2008 Vermont Independence Convention. Additionally, Sharon Astyk, who resides not far from Kunstler, author of Depletion and Abundance and her forthcoming A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil, and who was recently interviewed in the New York Times, as well as Kathy McMahon, psychotherapist and manager of Peak Oil Blues, were ignored in McGrath's piece.

My complaint is not about some notion of "equal time" but rather the consequences of omitting a uniquely female perspective from the discourse about collapse and the construction of a new paradigm of life on the planet. Despite my caveat, I know I will be accused of proclaiming the superiority of the female gender, but that is absolutely not my intent. In fact, quite the opposite. The conversation requires the distinct characteristics of both genders, and without it, only half the landscape of collapse can be viewed.

First, the very word "dystopian" is inaccurate. The dictionary describes "dystopian" as "a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding." I do not limit the collapse of civilization to this particular scenario. "Dystopian" also suggests the opposite of "utopia" which is an ideal place or state that is a vision of social perfection. What McGrath fails to fulfill in his report is a thoughtful exploration of the very nature of collapse-its origins, its essence, and its possible outcomes. Instead, the focus is on an implied eccentric Orlov who lives on a boat and Kunstler's quirky ways with other human beings. "Dystopian" is indeed a characteristically male term, assuming an either/or, polarizing approach, rather than a more inclusive outlook.

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http://www.worldnewstrust.com/wnt-original/news/dystopians-on-estrogen-carolyn-baker.html

makes me think of the all the hoopla for Lincoln's celebration coming up. all the words, texts, pic, etc.

one would think there were no women there at the time.

as if Lincoln and his men did it all on their own.