In “The Femivore’s Dilemma” in last Thursday’s New York Times, Peggy Orenstein looked at the surprising intersection between feminism and locovorism. Apparently, there is a noticable movement of American women leaving high-level careers to raise organic produce, home school, can vegetables, and raise chickens.
Femivorism is grounded in the very principles of self-sufficiency, autonomy and personal fulfillment that drove women into the work force in the first place…
There is even an economic argument for choosing a literal nest egg over a figurative one. Conventional feminist wisdom held that two incomes were necessary to provide a family’s basic needs — not to mention to guard against job loss, catastrophic illness, divorce or the death of a spouse. Femivores suggest that knowing how to feed and clothe yourself regardless of circumstance, to turn paucity into plenty, is an equal — possibly greater — safety net. After all, who is better equipped to weather this economy, the high-earning woman who loses her job or the frugal homemaker who can count her chickens?
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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This is an interesting trend, though I’m not sure we need to label educated women with chicken coops “femivores.” I guess writers love to coin new words.
In reality, the movement is just a new version of what used to be called “back-to-the-land-ism.” It was fueled by the desire to escape war and a growing materialism. I knew many of those families growing up in rural Nova Scotia (a popular destination for them). It was a hard life, and amateur farming didn’t pay very well, so eventually most of the idealistic and educated moms and dads returned to the cities and the 9 to 5 life. We’ll see if technology — and some new ideas — gives the femivores a better chance.
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