JCAS Vol 18, Iss 3 August 2021

Issue Introduction: Protection, Care, and Activism Nathan Poirier Carol Gilligan (1982) is frequently credited with developing feminist ethics of care as both a critique and counter to more traditional ethical stances such as utilitarianism or deontology. Gilligan’s main objective was to highlight how traditional ethical theories (derived by deceased, white men), marginalized feminine virtues and values typically associated with women.

Another criticism of traditional ethical theories is that they exist in abstraction, using universalized “rules” or “codes” to determine who deserves ethical consideration. Gilligan’s ethics focuses much more on interrelationships and the role emotion plays in caring for others rather than following abstract rules. The interdependent nature of Gilligan’s feminist care ethics allowed ecofeminists to extend moral consideration to nonhuman animals (Donovan & Adams, 2007). This extension fits within Gilligan’s overarching care ethic because concern for nonhuman animals and nature is typically feminized as mere “sentimentality.” However, caring for nonhumans is a way of responding to our ecological crises and a general pattern of harm caused by humans, which is gendered and racialized.

This brings us to the first essay in this issue, by Janet O’Shea, titled “Sentimentality or Prowess: Animal Advocacy and (Human) Physical Labor.” Basing her essay on an (eco)feminist ethics of care, O’Shea describes some of the physical work involved in taking care of animals at sanctuaries.

Much of this effort happens behind the scenes, is considered less glamorous, and is therefore less high profile than tactics such as open rescues. Care work at sanctuaries is also gendered with women making up most of the staff.

O’Shea challenges perceived normalcy and embeddedness of all of these conceptions. In doing so, she labels sanctuary work “reflexive activism,” denoting the dual strategies of raising awareness of injustice while simultaneously enacting alternatives. O’Shea describes care work as emotional but physical, a different type of physical care work that gets gendered female instead of the more “masculine” work of heroically rescuing animals.

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