Of Birds and Boys:

Throughout the nineteenth century, women naturalists on both sides ofthe Atlantic used their ornithological nature writing to denounce huntingand promote the protection of birds, especially through environmentaleducation. Such texts reveal significant intersections between toppression of both women and other-than-human animals inandrocentric systems of domination, presenting the defense of avifaunaas an ecofeminist gesture against diverse forms of cruelty configuredtraditionally masculineactivities. Most notably, naturalists such as Neltje Blanchan, Mabel OsgoodWright, or Olive Thorne Miller published nature writing arguing for areconsideration of gender roles in animal welfare activism, especiallyregarding the role of traditional masculinity in ecological destruction. Instark contrast to other children’s books of the time, the works analyzedhere contributed to the deconstruction of the hunter discourse indefiance of gendered attitudes to animal suffering. Insteadperpetuating androcentric dichotomies connecting women to theprotection of nature and men to its domination and destruction, thesepioneering scientists developed eco-pedagogical strategies to teach bothgirls and boys to respect other species, highlighting the crucial role ofresponsible interspecies encounters in the formation of youth culturetowards the turn of the century.