Soundscapes of ecofeminism. Negotiating gender and environment through pop music

Abstract Femininity and metaphors of motherhood have always determined the perception of nature and environment. With the rise of the ecological movements, they have also accompanied political eco-activism and nature conservation regimes. In this context, ecofeminism emerged as an academic, intellectual and social movement to critically question environmental conflicts and their interrelatedness to gender norms and power constellations. To what extent is ecofeminism a topic of pop music? Showcasing selected pop music examples from Tracy Chapman, Björk, Marina, Anohni and others, this article identifies four major thematic strands of narrating ecofeminist positions through pop music: (1) violence and vulnerability, illustrating the contrast between female nature and male culture; (2) strength and togetherness, focusing on the ontological connection between female bodies and nature; (3) protest and empowerment, drawing an activist demarcation against patriarchy and binary thinking; and (4) transecology and gender-queerness, crossing both heteronormative boundaries of bodies and dualistic nature conceptions.