Dissertation
Green narratives: how American industry and eco-critics appropriated what it meant to be an environmentalist
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Spring 2025
DOI: 10.25820/etd.007853
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine why, despite environmental organizations’ efforts to diversify their interests to better address issues important to the lower and working classes, perceptions of environmentalists as elitist and highly effective at achieving their goals persist in modern politics. Given the persistence of negative perceptions of environmentalists, it is crucial for historians to examine who benefits from such mischaracterizations. Most scholars agree that allegations of elitism among environmental activists continue to be “a major influence on the credibility and viability of environmentalism.”
The decline in popular support for the environmental movement after 1970 has been attributed to the energy crisis, worsening economic conditions, and working-class perceptions of the job-environment tradeoff, but this body of literature ignores how cultural perceptions of environmentalists contributed to the movements drop in popularity. Contrary to arguments that these misgivings come from the physical distance between manual laborers and environmentalists, previous studies found that the most animosity exists in industries which have been the focus of environmental activism.
Those scholars who analyze the impact that cultural perception of environmentalism have largely failed to identify the underlying reasons behind the caricature. Depictions of environmentalists as white, elitist, and feminine had to originate somewhere, and arguments that those perceptions are wholly based on reality are unconvincing. These caricatures of environmentalists are ones that were developed and nurtured by those opposed to the conservationist agenda. Such opposition started almost immediately after the idea of environmentalism was popularized and was largely the result of choices made by early environmental organizations, namely the decision to pursue litigation as one of the primary methods for effectuating environmental change.
Environmental opponents relied on messaging about masculinity and the position of wilderness advocates within societal gender norms. That usage has stretched the span of the U.S. environmental movement, from accusations that environmentalists wanted to strip the “manliness” of industrial workers to the use of homophobic epithets to describe environmental activists. These depictions of activists as feminine, or adverse to physical labor, are meant to caricature the environmental movement, to make its goals and objectives appear feminine, and therefore less significant. They categorize environmentalists as an “other,” an outsider to the places where the environmental conflict is taking place.
The development of the cultural perceptions of environmentalists is intricately linked to the areas and communities where early environmental conflicts occurred. The “politics of place,” how the social and economic characteristics of a specific geographic location shape its identity, played a crucial role in early narrative building about the fledging environmental movement. The early perception of environmentalists that emerged during the Storm King conflict was the product of the unique culture and class dynamics of the Hudson River valley. Residents of working-class communities along the Hudson had preconceived notions of their middle-to-upper class neighbors who made their living in New York City, and who formed the vanguard of this developing call for environmental protection. This sense of political marginalization fueled initial resentment toward environmental activists, which never fully dissipated. It became the foundation for the narrative of elitist environmentalism, promoted by libertarian business leaders and early anti-environmentalism advocates.
A similar politics of place emerged in later environmental conflicts, like the spotted owl conflict that took place in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980-1990s, where local communities’ resentment toward counterculture movements and flamboyant direct-action protesters was transformed into a negative portrayal of the environmental movement as a whole. Those opposed to environmentalism appeared to have a better understanding of local dynamics than major environmental organizations, which struggled to shape the public perception of their own cause. Because many of these communities were rural, the environmental movement interacted with, and was ultimately shaped by, local politics that often diverged from national trends.
Understanding the role that perceptions of activists or individual issues play in garnering support or opposition for political movements, this research project sheds light on the obstructive nature of culture war rhetoric in public policy debates. This essay explains how industry leaders and economic organizations intentionally spread stereotypes about environmentalists to divert attention from an issue that extractive corporations and other major polluters could not defend on its merits. Recognizing that their wealth-accumulation methods could not withstand a class analysis, groups like the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise sought to exploit some communities’ instinctual dislike for groups such as hippies and East Coast elites in order to discredit a movement that had once enjoyed widespread, bipartisan support.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Green narratives: how American industry and eco-critics appropriated what it meant to be an environmentalist
- Creators
- Caleb A Pennington
- Contributors
- Ty Priest (Advisor)Colin Gordon (Advisor)Ashley Howard (Committee Member)Emerson Cram (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- History
- Date degree season
- Spring 2025
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.007853
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xiv, 370 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2025 Caleb Pennington
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 04/14/2025
- Description illustrations
- illustrations
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 332-370).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
- This dissertation examines how early opponents of the U.S. environmental movement worked to create and spread negative stereotypes about environmentalists. Primarily composed of industrial leaders from extractive industries, these early anti-environmentalists portrayed conservationists as white, elitist members of the counterculture, and, ultimately, as radical ecoterrorists. By controlling the narrative around environmentalists, they shaped public perception of conservation throughout the mid-to-late 20th century. The development of the cultural perceptions of environmentalists is intricately linked to the areas and communities where early environmental conflicts occurred. The “politics of place,” how the social and economic characteristics of a specific geographic location shape its identity, played a crucial role in early narrative building about the fledging environmental movement. Understanding the role that perceptions of activists or individual issues play in garnering support or opposition for political movements, this research project sheds light on the obstructive nature of culture war rhetoric in public policy debates. This essay explains how industry leaders and economic organizations intentionally spread stereotypes about environmentalists to divert attention from an issue that extractive corporations and other major polluters could not defend on its merits. Recognizing that their wealth-accumulation methods could not withstand a class analysis, groups like the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise sought to exploit some communities’ instinctual dislike for groups such as hippies and East Coast elites in order to discredit a movement that had once enjoyed widespread, bipartisan support.
- Academic Unit
- History
- Record Identifier
- 9984830924302771
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