Relational activism: Reimagining women's environmental work as cultural change

Abstract

We introduce the term "relational activism" to call attention to the way that relationship-building work contributes to conventional activism and constitutes activism in and of itself. In so doing, we revisit Mohai's paradox-a long-standing "ironic contrast" that notes that women's environmental concern is not reflected in greater contributions to activism than men's. We position relational activism as comprising an overlooked and underrecognized dimension of traditionally defined "activism" and highlight its role in bridging the private and public spheres. Relational activism differs from conventional activism in its location, recognition, and temporal scale. To support these claims, we draw upon 26 ethnographic interviews conducted with families who strive to reduce their environmental impact. © Canadian Journal of Sociology.