Anticolonial ecofeminisms: Women’s environmental literature in French-speaking Oceania

Abstract

This article considers Oceanian women’s literature of French-expression through an ecofeminist, anticolonial lens, or through what will be termed an ‘Oceanian ecofeminist approach’. Keeping in mind Oceanian epistemological frameworks, the article examines the literary engagements of Déwé Gorodé and Imasango from Kanaky/New Caledonia and of Chantal Spitz and Rai Chaze from Te Ao Mā’ohi/French Polynesia. This article argues that while these engagements may not always resemble a Western ecofeminism, it is critical to consider Oceanian women’s voices in the ever-evolving dialogue on environmental justice and Indigenous women’s place in environmental literature, as Oceania is on the front lines of the climate crisis. These authors address the effects of settler colonialism not only on the environment, but also on the gendered socioeconomic dynamics of the Oceanian region.