By Kerry Parnell

SYDNEY -- The fundamental cause of world environmental destruction, according to environmental activist Georgina Abrahams, is heteropatriarchy. She says that the key to a green future lies in phasing out masculine values on both a personal and public level.

“I want it recognised that male sexuality premised on the humiliation of women is no more sustainable for this planet than the mining of uranium is for the ecology of Kakadu”, she declares.

Abrahams works in the antinuclear and environmental movements as a member of a national network, the Green Lesbians. Established at the national lesbian conference in Adelaide in 1989, the Green Lesbians will be taking a high profile at the July national lesbian conference in Sydney.

Abrahams claims that the lesbian perspective “is often somewhat more radical because we know what it is to live on the fringes. We know what it is to face discrimination and so, often the actions that we take are more bold and more courageous”.

She sees ecofeminism as a school of thought that does not support the concept of biological determinism (that women as carers are exclusively responsible for saving the planet). It supports a revolutionary focus on feminine values. “Ecofeminism is not for women; it's for all people and its impact benefits the whole planet”.

For those lesbians working in environmental organisations other than the Green Lesbians, it is crucial to address the traditional lesbophobia. “I send out a cry to lesbians to be visible when they are working as political activists, because it benefits all lesbians.”

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