Hello everyone! My name is Lizzy and this is my first course in women’s gender studies. I feel like I’m a little late to the game because most of what I know about feminism, or ecofeminism, I’ve learned from a few media sources but I don’t feel like I’ve truly done my duty as a woman, if that makes sense. I know I am capable of more and should know more about issues that will impact me but it’s hard to take a step out of my bubble and see things for the nasty, vile truth that they really are.
I am in my junior year working towards my Bachelor’s in English Literature. Upon completion of my degree I hope to go into the teaching field and work with high school juniors and seniors. Outside of my love for English, I am very passionate about our oceans and the life within it. I run a small activist page on Instagram, hoping to inform others of the current issues with the oceans and specifically sharks.
In developing my love for sharks, sharing as much information with others as I could, I fell quickly into the realm of activism and began to learn more about basic human rights. After doing more research on some feminist blog sites, Bitch Media stood out to me the most because they discuss all types of topics from political issues, to climate change, to feminist culture. After skimming a few articles, I’ve gathered that they simply state the fact and I can see the passion and fire behind each article. My writing, especially around topics I care about, share this same fervor. I want to be able to give as much plain fact as I can and end with something that pulls at the heartstrings, or gets the reader thinking. In any writing I do, I try to frame it as a conversation. How can I show my side of the story and leave the reader with more to think about? I hope the following can answer this question.
The ocean has always been a place where I can reset my life and find comfort. I remember being very young and watching Shark Week with my dad and immediately falling in love with these apex predators. I know what you’re thinking, “sharks eat people” and “they’re so scary”. While yes, these creatures may seem horrifying to most, statistics and other scientific studies have shown that sharks do not like to eat people. Of the 73 unprovoked bites that occurred in 2021, only 9 were fatal. Nine.
Greenpeace has estimated that roughly 100 million sharks are killed every year. Shark fin soup is often to blame when we hear these numbers but that is only a small portion of profit for these black-market companies. Some sharks are only killed based on a fear factor or prize of saying “I killed the apex predator of the ocean”. The larger majority of sharks are hunted and poached for their cartilaginous (cartilage) and oils.
To those who wear makeup, or use any other cosmetic products, check your ingredient lists! Squalane, or squalene, is an oil derived from shark liver. It can be found most often in anti-ageing products but is also used in various other creams, moisturizers, and cosmetics. Sharks are needed in our oceans. An estimated 70% of their population has declined in the last 50 years, and these numbers are only going to grow.
By the year 2040 there is a huge change that they may go extinct. These animals help control the population of other fish in the ocean, and are solely responsible for keeping our entire ecosystem alive. Without them the world is going to collapse. Do you remember the cycle charts we all learned about in our basic science courses in grade school? Small animal eats the grass, a larger animal eats the small one, and so on. It is part of nature and everything has a precise balance that keeps the Earth in order. If one thing goes out of balance then everything else follows. We must do what we can to protect our oceans and value the life within them as these things have the power to change the balance of our lives.
For more information about some of the statistics, check out these two sites.
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/yearly-worldwide-summary/
Hi Lizzy,
I loved reading your blog post! Not only did I learn so many new facts about sharks that I would have never thought to be aware of, but your tie to their importance to the environment was fantastic. It is so true that as soon as you hear the word shark, our brains immediately go to danger, fear, and all the fatal stories that dominate the media. However, as you mentioned there is so much more to all life on Earth including animals that are labeled as predators. Your tie to the ecosystem brought back my memories of studying the food chain in my ecology courses. As humans, we are too often selfish and do not think that there are other living aspects of the world that depend on these relationships in order to live. As I think about the problem in my own community with water pollution, I focused on the aspects that could harm human health, but reading your post also highlights the harm that degraded water health could also do to other parts of the ecosystem. It’s interesting how everything ultimately connects to a greater source. Your own activism page on Instagram is awesome! Bringing awareness is the first step in making a change, maybe hosting some events or live sessions on shark advocacy or “shark 101” could be another idea for the future!
I’m also glad to hear that you were interested in taking this as your first Women’s & Gender Studies course. WGS offers numerous courses that teach how various systems of oppression affect the lives of individuals. I hope that you have the opportunity to take more WGS courses in your final semesters if it interests you! Here’s the link to the UMassD site if you’d like to read more into the program: https://www.umassd.edu/cas/wms/
Best,
Kylie Coutinho
Hi Kylie,
Thank you so much for the kind words. All I really want to do, both in and out of school, is share my knowledge with others and hope to spark either a new inspiration or a lasting thought. It seems I achieved that in my post with you.
Feminism and WGS has always been something that has interested me but I (before I moved hours away from home) was surrounded by people who shut down any thoughts or new interests I had which discouraged me from looking more into it. Now that I’ve rid myself of that toxicity I feel more open and honest with myself, able to learn what I want and express myself how I want. Truthfully, all I hope to gain from this class is a new perspective on feminism and apply these teachings to my life.
If you’re on Instagram and want to check out my page, its @all.shark.no.bite
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything new but the information that’s there is still relevant.
Thanks again!
Lizzy Fletcher
Hi Lizzy,
Thanks for your passionate post. I can see that you care deeply about sharks and their impact on the environment. I appreciated the link you added to the Florida Museum’s site about shark bite information. It can be difficult to counter the media’s portrayal of sharks as extremely dangerous to humans, but contextualizing sharks in terms of data on their actions and their place in the ecosystem can help. It is also encouraging to remember that feelings about sharks have a cultural aspect. The state of Hawaii has an interesting interview with the activist Parley Kanaka‘ole on different views of sharks in the Hawaiian culture. As culture is constantly changing, it can be encouraging to see the potential flexibility on views of sharks. I look forward to seeing more of your posts in this class!
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/sharks/hawaiian-mythology/hawaiians-relationship-with-sharks/
Hi Jennifer!
Part of my love for sharks is actually because of Hawaiian culture. Their love for these animals is so beautiful and inspiring. I got a tattoo of a hammerhead because of it. Shark Week is basically my Christmas. Every year I’m excited to learn more and find other scholars or activists to learn from. As I read the article you linked, all I could do was smile because it just brings me so much joy to read that mythology. I’d like to believe there is some truth in it.
Thank you for sharing!
Lizzy Fletcher
Hi Lizzy,
My oldest son went through a shark period when he was young and spent countless hours watching “Shark Week” on the Discovery Channel, and we purchased many issues of National Geographic.
Your passion is inspiring! Growing up in Brazil, I have always loved the ocean but have not thought much about sharks. Dolphins were my favorite sea animal, and I was a huge fan of “Flipper” – an old TV series about a park keeper and his sons who had a bottlenose dolphin named Flipper as a pet. Flipper had a special bond with the youngest son and often saved him from trouble, as well as was a “hero” dolphin who helped the father fight to preserve the wildlife in the park. I used to pretend I was swimming with Flipper when at the beach. 🙂
The Amazon rainforest and the river in Brazil are home to many endangered species, including the near extinction “boto” or the Amazon (pink) river dolphin which lives in freshwater. The populations have drastically declined due to high mercury levels in the river that goes through the food chain and the destruction of their habitat.
It is so disheartening to read how much wildlife has been destroyed in the because of our intrusion.
Here is a link to the Amazon River Dolphin Conservation Foundation (ARDCF) in case you would like to read more about these beautiful creatures.
https://ardcf.org/
I look forward to your posts and our discussions!
Best,
Rose
Hi Rose,
That’s so cute that your son liked sharks! I enjoyed the anecdote about your childhood as well. The pink dolphin has always been something that fascinates me. My mom loves dolphins and growing up we would always take a summer beach trip to look for them. It is on my bucket list to visit the Amazons and see a river dolphin, I just hope their population doesn’t decrease more until then.
Thank you greatly for sharing that link. I really enjoy reading more about these types of topics. I learned so many new things. I wasn’t aware that it’s legal to hunt boto and use them as bait for fishing?! That completely baffles me and I want to read more into it to learn how I can help.
Thank you again for sharing,
Lizzy Fletcher
Hi Lizzy!
Nice to meet you. I was intrigued by your blog picture when i first come to the site. I hope that you get a really good job after graduation working with high schoolers! I liked to write in high school. Paper writing was definitely a strong suit for me!
I am glad that you also found Bitch Media useful as well! I like how the blog includes a lot of research and voices for many different IMPORTANT subject matters like sexuality, and relationships.
I had no idea that squalene from sharks are in makeup products! I will make sure to check out my own makeup and try and remember that for the future! I know that the demand for more vegan, and planet friendly products is on the rise! I try to be as vegan as I can when It comes to makeup! I mainly use the brand Tarte, and Urban Decay. I know that they are cruelty free but I didn’t think about oils from sharks, and other marine life! I agree that sharks are important for maintaining a healthy ecosystem, and if we can save them from being killed, and used then we must! I always try to donate money to charities that I don’t think will harass me for money! Maybe I can find one for sharks!
Thanks for a good read!
Thanks
Hi Alina!
Thank you so much for your kind words! ELF is a brand that I like to use because they’re not only inexpensive but it’s good quality and cruelty free and vegan.
I also have a hard time finding different charities to donate to that won’t hassle me for more money but one that I really like to support is Saving The Blue. It’s a husband and wife, Dr. Tristan and Annie Guttridge. They are both some of the most friendly, caring, and passionate people I’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to. They founded Saving The Blue to help fund their research on sharks and further educate their community. Both of them have appeared numerous times as experts on Shark Week and I have never had an issue supporting their cause. I’ll link their site so you can learn more if you’re interested!
https://www.savingtheblue.org/
Hello and welcome from your ecofeminism professor!
Hi Lizzy,
I share your passion for bringing to light some of the issues that sharks suffer from human intervention. I had read the following article and thought that it was inspiring. I did not know about this aspect of sharks and their amazing traits and benefits.
Although sharks are still killed for their meat and fins, there’s also a growing push to steal concepts and designs from wildlife instead of just taking the wildlife itself. That includes things like imitation shark-fin soup, but also far more advanced ideas that can improve a wide array of technology. Known as biomimicry, this has rapidly gained popularity in recent years, drawing inspiration from all kinds of creatures.
With sharks, the focus of biomimicry is mainly on V-shaped, tooth-like scales known as denticles. Scientists have been studying these scales for decades, and as Harvard University researchers reported in 2018, denticles offer powerful aerodynamic qualities by both reducing drag and increasing lift. Many kinds of vehicles use vortex generators to improve their performance, but scales modeled after shark skin seem to provide higher-powered vortex generation with a lower profile.
Shark-inspired vortex generators can achieve lift-to-drag ratio improvements of up to 323 percent compared with an airfoil lacking vortex generators, the study’s authors reported, indicating they can outperform traditional designs. “You can imagine these vortex generators being used on wind turbines or drones to increase the efficiency of the blades,” study co-author Katia Bertoldi said in a statement. “The results open new avenues for improved, bioinspired aerodynamic designs.”
https://www.treehugger.com/reasons-appreciate-sharks-4867868
Looking forward to reading your first ecofeminism post!