Gendered elements of the alternative agriculture paradigm

Abstract

This article explores the significant perceptions of women within the agricultural movement to develop and practice sustainability. Their purpose was to discover which elements within the alternative agricultural paradigm, women find important and compare those to the Beus and Dunlap alternative paradigm, in order to see the gendered perspectives of sustainability. In interviews of 25 women farmers, they revealed that women identified with all the elements within the patriarchal alternative paradigm. However, there were two additional elements the women identified as important to their perspective on sustainability: quality of life and spirituality. These findings have significant potential in the alternative agriculture paradigm, and sustainability. It is an example of the urgency to consider women's standpoints within any social change and/or action.