Elizabeth Badinter is convinced that the attitudes of radical conservationists … threaten women’s hard-won rights.
Elisabeth Badinter, philosopher and feminist, bestselling author of Le Conflit: la femme et la mere (Flammarion, 2010).
Psychologies: Are you an anti-ecologist?
E. B.: No. But I reject the theses of extremists who protect nature by instructing women to return to their original destiny. For example, abandon modern «non-environmentally friendly» diapers and start washing gauze again. By agreeing to this, women voluntarily become dependent on the lofty ultimate goal of saving nature. This means that in order to save the trees, it is necessary to exploit women … Men are not ready to take on the laundry!
What else do you find controversial?
E. B.: Lactation. I did not take sides on this issue. Each woman decides for herself. But the attitude to exclusively breastfeeding the baby during the first months does not go unnoticed for the life of young mothers. They leave work for a while, and returning to work after a break is not easy. This may not appeal to lovers of all things natural and natural, but the implications of breastfeeding for women’s financial independence are very real. Under the banner of a return to nature, Rousseau urged women to stay at home. Today we see history repeating itself, this time in the name of planetary health and family happiness.