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The Politics of the Natural in U.S. History and Popular Culture

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The Politics of the Natural in U.S. History and Popular Culture

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Sturgeon believes that nature has no "true" definition that encompasses all that it means. This paper discusses the effects of this lack of definition, which has allowed many different definitions to be used. Individuals have used different definitions of nature to justify cruelty towards others for years. Sturgeon brings up roots of racism, where white individuals believe they are biologically superior to people of color. Along with this, there are the natural differences between men and women that have been used to describe women as inferior and weak. In this paper, Sturgeon seeks to uncover the prejudice within definitions of nature and to bring awareness to this lack of definition. His goal is to bring self-awareness to those who read and urges them to look deeper at the idea of nature and what it truly means.

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Beyond Consumerism: Reflections on Gender Politics, Pleasure and Sustainable Consumption

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Beyond Consumerism: Reflections on Gender Politics, Pleasure and Sustainable Consumption

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Soper believes that consumption has exacerbated the issue of global warming and ecological collapse. This seems to be an ignored topic as consumerism has taken our world by storm, but many are so distracted by the pleasures of consumerism that they disregard the issues that come with it. These issues show patterns within topics such as gender politics and how companies exploit and use it to their advantage. Along with this, there is the idea of the feminization of consumerism, and how many try to bring empowerment to consumerism to reverse stereotypes and reclaim femininity. Soper's "big idea" introduces Alternative Hedonism concerning the "work-life balance."

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Soper believes nature is within our mundane wants and wishes uninfluenced by the outside world and culture. Soper emphasizes that his idea of nature lies within ideas of Alternative Hedonism. Alternative Hedonism is the idea that human pleasures can be obtained from a less competitive/work-driven lifestyle. Soper argues that Alternative Hedonism will speak more to self-gratification of free time and rest, along with compassion for the environment and climate crisis. Alternative hedonism takes away the influence of culture on human identity and gives space to more natural instincts of happiness that aren't tied to consumerist tendencies. In the text, Soper argues, " The concern is not to prove that consumers 'really' need something...but to reflect on the hedonistic aspirations prompting changes in experiences or imagined need, and their implications for the development of more sustainable modes of consumption,"(Soper 96). The idea of "nature" to Soper is within self-reflection on present-day culture and going back to more simplistic lifestyles.

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Soper sees nature as something that can be a part of Alternative Hedonism in the sense that she hopes one day nature isn't only looked at for what it can give us to produce, but rather appreciated for the non-material happiness it can give us. She hopes the appreciation of nature can lead to a lifestyle that encompasses the habits Alternative Hedonism argues for. She believes that this can be reached by self-reflection on lifestyle habits. This conclusion will be reached by "Aesthetic Revisioning." Soper describes this as, "A fundamental revisioning of the perceived attractions of material culture, a shift of optic and hedonistic perspective,"(Soper 98). Also described as a, "consciousness-raising,"(Soper 98). Soper believes this Aesthetic Revisioning is what will give accountability to people and allow them to follow a better lifestyle. This trend of wasteful consumption is no longer healthy for the consumer and our planet. This Aesthetic Revisioning is supposed to reshape our "new" human nature of consumerism and bring us back towards a more simplistic way of life. Therefore, this change should bring us closer to nature in terms of having more respect for the environment and stopping our exploitative habits.

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Working culture gives no time for breaks, and to be on the top, you need the working class needs to work the hardest and most hours. Due to thus work-culture many individuals turn to the quick bursts of happiness that come from shopping purchases. The common advertiser feeds into this and creates new products to continue this cycle. Soper discusses this with the example for online dating, where dating is tailored to the working-class individual. When individuals no longer have time to meet people in their day-to-day lives, they look towards online dating for an easier method. Many of the advertisements these days are for products that make our lives easier but Soper addresses the idea that many of these products are tailored to the unhappy individual to give them short-term happiness. This lifestyle has become an easier way to be happy short term because many individuals don't have the time to give to the things that could make them long-term happy. Soper says these things have to do with more free time and better health/rest. She believes if the culture of the working individual was changed, such as working less or having lighter workloads, then individuals would be significantly less stressed and nature would have less stress on it.

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The culture has become "buy buy buy," especially when our culture normalizes "workaholics." Soper discusses how the "less well-off' generally suffer the most and are targeted the most. Within this pattern, lies another pattern of lower-paid women. Women are at the top of the consumption chain, and looking at the gender pay gap, we can see why this is exacerbated. If the less wealthy are most likely to be "workaholics" and most likely to be consumers, then women are most prone to this effect. Soper addresses the strengths of a post-materialist culture where the working class could work less because less would be bought and the speed of production would decline. Soper believes that culture is currently in a state where it is within a pattern of consumeristic tendencies, and to be released from this cycle, individuals must look inward toward their natural instincts of happiness.

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Sturgeon believes nature can be the biological differences that make a man and woman different, but nature may also be the artificial engineering of plants to make them more productive in human use. In this idea, nature transcends beyond simply leaves and trees and rather how the "idea" of nature has been used to justify societal norms. Sturgeon believes nature has an ever-changing definition in a sense, where it can never be described as truly one thing. However, Sturgeon has a true definition of what nature is not. Nature is not something that decides superiority, and shouldn't be used in arguments to justify such things if there is no clear definition to support this. Sturgeon believes that the idea of nature/the natural has been misconstrued to prove many things culturally and incorrectly leading to prejudices that still haunt our world today.

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Sturgeon believes ideas of nature are culturally constructed. In this sense, Sturgeon believes that culture lies in the media and what is advertised to the individual. Media portrayal has prolonged many stereotypes and warped the perception of what is nature and what is not, and how nature should be justified. For example, Sturgeon gives examples of white women in media, associated with purity and health while women of color are advertised using underlying themes of fetishization to market towards the male audience. In addition, Men are mainly portrayed as dominating and in control in advertisements related to nature. Sturgeon believes that for viewers, the embedded stereotypes associated with these ads are made to seem natural and prolong dangerous ideas. In the article Sturgeon says, "They reveal the degree to which the American psyche remains deeply riddled with prejudices that the ads rely on and reinforce,"(Sturgeon 41). This statement brings attention to the constant cycle of stereotypes that are prolonged in media using ideas of nature as justification. As the media repetitively advertises in these ways and as individuals continue to consume these forms of media, the cycle is never-ending and definitions of nature stay trapped in these culturally constructed lies.

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Sturgeon also discusses how not only is the definition of nature warped, but so is the way people perceive it. Sturgeon believes that nature has become defined within an array of social norms. Norms such as men being strong and women being seen as weak, people of color being inferior to those who are white, along with, other stereotypes. Sturgeon explores the biological aspects of our nature that have been used to help prove these ideas. The stereotypes they prove tend to create different forms of human nature that society abides by as a whole. The issue with this there is no clear definition of nature, so it can be used to prove everything giving nature this untouchable power. Sturgeon states, "Historically, calling something “natural” places it in an area of truth, inevitable and immutability, beyond the reach of social criticism or democratic dialogue,"(Sturgeon 19). Something natural is set to be pure and simply right since there is no set way to describe maturity. Sturgeon eventually concluded that human nature and biological nature are two separate forms of nature that are co-constructed. Sturgeon believes looking at, and criticizing these ideas of nature is what will eventually lead us to respect our environment.

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The "definitions" of nature are deeply rooted in the way our country was inherently built. Sturgeon explains this with the "natural rights" the founding fathers used as a base for their argument in the Declaration of Independence, emphasizing ideas such as "all men are created equal." This idea of nature was used to disprove the idea that power was "God-given" to the monarchs and that's why they should rule. However, this was only disproved to give space to the natural law that argued men were naturally equal. They had natural rights that allowed them to rule and gain independence. These men only used this power of independence directed towards them and no one else. Sturgeon states, "These revolutionary men did not intend to eliminate racial, gender, and class hierarchies that supported their privilege and power,"(Sturgeon 20). Culturally, the United States' independence was only for men at the time. These social hierarchies were intrinsic in the values our culture was built on and false ideas of nature were used as justification.