Do We Know It When We See It? Ecopornography, Feminist Theory, and Ecopedagogy

Ecopornography remains undertheorized and retains its original meaning as a synonym for greenwashing. This paper conceptualizes ecopornography to enhance its pedagogical and analytic usefulness in ecocriticism. After a review of the literature on ecopornography, the paper adopts an ecofeminist frame and draws on feminist conceptualizations of pornography to clarify and develop ecopornography as a tool for critical analysis. In addition to clarifying what qualities make an environmental message ecoporn, different types of ecoporn messages are identified via an analogy to “hardcore” and “softcore” human pornography, expanding the concept’s range and conceptual coherence. Keywords: Ecopornography, ecofeminism, feminist theory, ecocriticism, ecopedagogy