Taking Stands: Gender and the Sustainability of Rural Communities

Environmental activism in rural places frequently pits residents whose livelihood depends on resource extraction against those who seek to protect natural spaces and species. While many studies have focused on women who seek to protect the natural environment, few have explored the perspectives of women who seek to maintain resource use. This book goes beyond the dichotomies of pro and anti environmentalism to tell the stories of these women. Maureen G. Reed uses participatory action research to explain the experiences of women who seek to protect forestry as an industry, a livelihood, a community, and a culture. She links their experiences to policy making by considering the effects of environmental policy changes on the social dynamics of workplaces, households, and communities in forestry towns of British Columbia’s temperate rainforest. The result is a critical commentary about the social dimensions of sustainability in rural communities. A powerful and challenging book, Taking Stands provides a crucial understanding of community change in resource-dependent regions, and helps us to better tackle the complexities of gender and activism as they relate to rural sustainability. Social and environmental geographers, feminist scholars, and those engaged in rural studies, environmental sustainability, community planning, and policy making will find it invaluable.