Director's Commentary: Why Seeds?
Abstract
Why does it make sense for those interested in gender and women to be interested in "The Cultural Politics of Seeds"? Because they are potent symbols of fertility, seeds present an ideal topic through which to prompt our feminist, gender studies, and LBGTIS communities to gauge their awareness of linkages between, let's say, the devaluing of women's worth and issues of gendered violence (for example, use of amniocentesis to select for male babies) to horticulture, soil health, and labor on farms. CSW's upcoming symposium on "The Cultural Politics of Seeds" also offers the opportunity to acknowledge the immense scientific expertise held by rural women in their processes of farming -- expertise that has been hones and refined for thousands of years.