The sound of ecofeminism

Abstract

Feminism also actively participates in popular culture and, therefore, in musical expressions. In this respect, women singers who express feminist messages through their lyrics transcend and reformulate the ordinary by pushing the ways in which identities are identified with difference (Rivera-Velázques, 2008). In other words, many female songwriters or rappers value and empower vulnerable groups such as poor women, women of colour, urban women and women with non-normative sexuality. Among all the movements within feminism, this academic work will highlight the link between ecophenomenism and musical productions created by women. The following is a brief contextualisation of the term ecofeminism and its fundamental pillars. Many of the lyrics that highlight ecofeminism criticise capitalism, machismo and racism, highlighting the value of women's ancestral knowledge. Furthermore, the link between the exploitation of the land and the oppression of women is shown. As Ortiz Fernández (2014) puts it, "women's bodies and invaded territories have something in common, both are violated and stripped of all their energy" (p. 14). In other words, there is an analogy between the female body and usurped, devastated and ecologically abused territories. In this line, many of the songs denounce the abuse, harassment and murders that women suffer on a daily basis in some Latin American countries (this point will be developed further in the exhibition). Specifically, a relationship will be established between ecofeminism and some of the musical productions of the artists Rebeca Lane (Guatemalan rapper), Miss Bolivia (Argentinian composer), Paloma del Cerro (Argentinian composer) and Perotá Chingó (Argentinian independent band).