Jade Sasser | University of California, Riverside (original) (raw)
Papers by Jade Sasser
Journal of Health and Climate Change, 2024
Increasing attention is being paid to the relationship between climate change, emotional and ment... more Increasing attention is being paid to the relationship between climate change, emotional and mental distress, and feelings about raising children. These studies often overlook the role of demographics, race in particular, despite evidence that racial minority groups in the U.S. experience more detrimental climate impacts and express more climate concern than do white communities. This survey was conducted to elucidate the relationship between race, climate emotions, and parenting plans in the U.S. Methods: We surveyed 2489 people in the U.S. between the ages of 22 and 35 in September 2021. Because we were interested in the role of race, we oversampled those who identified as non-white/people of color. The survey assessed participants' emotions with respect to climate change, and their emotions with respect to birthing and raising children (parenting) in the context of climate change. Results: Nonwhite respondents were more likely than white respondents to report feeling traumatized as a response to climate change, and to plan to have fewer future children than they wanted as a result of their climate-related emotions. They were also more likely to report feeling more optimistic and hopeful in response to climate change and in response to raising existing children in the context of climate change. White women were least likely to report any positive emotions with respect to parenting during climate change. White men were most likely to report non-feeling emotions such as numbness, indifference, or being checked out. Christian respondents were more likely to report feeling positive emotions overall. Conclusion: This study highlights race as a statistically significant factor in the reporting of climate emotions and parenting plans. It demonstrates that climate change has contradictory impacts on the emotions of nonwhite people of color, while having a negative impact on childbearing plans. We call for further research into the role of race in climate-related emotions and parenting plans, particularly with respect to the impacts of traumatized feelings, as well as the roles of religion and positive emotions.
WIREs Climate , 2023
Climate justice and reproductive justice are distinct scholarly and activist frameworks that have... more Climate justice and reproductive justice are distinct scholarly and activist frameworks that have received significant attention in recent years-particularly with respect to how they might be linked together. In this overview, I survey the main lenses through which various actors have linked climate justice and reproductive justice in the United States. First, I review the literatures: on climate justice, the perspective that those who are least responsible for the conditions causing climate change are disproportionately impacted by it; and on the reproductive justice, which focuses on rejecting reproductive oppression to achieve comprehensive reproductive autonomy for individuals and communities. Next, I analyze frameworks that seek to reframe reproductive justice through a populationist, climate-centered lens. I contrast these framings with new approaches focused on racial health disparities and intergenerational justice. The article ends with questions about the next directions in climate justice and reproductive justice linkages: in particular, the role of eco-anxiety in shaping reproductive futures. In so doing, I argue for approaches that challenge mainstream framings focused on population size and growth, and instead foreground the embodied reproductive outcomes of climate-impacted communities.
The Geographical Journal, 2013
In recent years, young activists under 25 have increasingly advocated slowing global population g... more In recent years, young activists under 25 have increasingly advocated slowing global population growth through family planning as a climate change strategy. While this approach is developed and disseminated by population and development NGOs, young advocates transform the debate by asserting their role as activist leaders on issues of climate change, population, and women's empowerment. This article explores the logics and discursive strategies employed by a group of transnational youth during a workshop at the sixth annual Climate Change Conference of Youth (COY) as well as training workshops in the USA. It tracks the practices through which young climate change activists engage demographic‐climate studies and broader development discourses as a basis for advocacy to influence international population and family planning policies. I argue that development paradigms, activist discourse, and new demographic‐climate studies represent both an expansion of the range of issues consid...
American Journal of Sociology, 2021
Systemic Crises of Global Climate Change
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology
Gender, Place & Culture
In this themed section, we identify three forms of populationism and bring them into conversation... more In this themed section, we identify three forms of populationism and bring them into conversation, which allows us to mount feminist challenges to present day forms of population control. These interventions are timely and necessary because of the continued prevalence of population control ideology and population alarmism in sustainable development and climate change policy and programs. We issue a direct challenge to scholarship that links population reduction with climate change adaptation and mitigation and the survival of the planet. The introduction provides an overview of our key argument, that seemingly disparate phenomena—technocratic approaches to fertility control, climate change securitization, Zika assemblages, neo-Malthusian articulations of the Anthropocene, and ‘climate-smart’ agriculture—are entangled with and expressions of demo, geo and biopopulationisms. We employ feminist critiques to contest these manifestations of population control that restrict bodies, reinforce boundaries, and create spaces of exclusion and violence.
Ecologie Politique, May 1, 2011
Gender, Place & Culture
Following the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 in Cairo, which prom... more Following the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 in Cairo, which prompted a discursive shift from population control to reproductive health and rights in international development, policy experts and scholars have relegated population control to the realm of history. This presents a unique challenge to feminist critics who seek to identify manifestations of population control in the present. In this article, we consider the potential of ‘populationism’ as terminology that may assist in clarifying varied new manifestations of population control. We explicate three interrelated populationist strategies that focus on optimizing numbers (demo), spaces (geo), and life itself (bio). Through our elaboration of these three populationisms and their interaction, we seek to inspire feminist, intersectional responses to the pernicious social, economic and environmental problems that technocratic populationist interventions obscure.
Gender, Place & Culture A Journal of Feminist Geography , 2019
Hegemonic narratives and practices around environmental change, even when coming from concerned a... more Hegemonic narratives and practices around environmental
change, even when coming from concerned and seemingly
progressive fronts, often contribute to a larger project of
population control. The Malthusian specter of overpopulation looms large in pervasive images of imminent ecological disaster in ways that are profoundly depoliticizing
and that serve projects of militarization, misogyny, and
racism. In this paper, we expose and challenge problematic
discourses of neo-Malthusian environmental change, paying
particular attention to discourses surrounding climate
change. Aiming to bring history, geography and politics
back into public debate on environmental change, we
argue for the destabilization of neo-Malthusianism and see
this as key to building a (feminist) political ecology of climate change.
Gender, Place & Culture A Journal of Feminist Geography, 2019
Following the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 in Cairo, which prom... more Following the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 in Cairo, which prompted a discursive
shift from population control to reproductive health and
rights in international development, policy experts and
scholars have relegated population control to the realm of
history. This presents a unique challenge to feminist critics
who seek to identify manifestations of population control
in the present. In this article, we consider the potential of
‘populationism’ as terminology that may assist in clarifying
varied new manifestations of population control. We explicate three interrelated populationist strategies that focus
on optimizing numbers (demo), spaces (geo), and life itself
(bio). Through our elaboration of these three populationisms and their interaction, we seek to inspire feminist, intersectional responses to the pernicious social, economic and environmental problems that technocratic populationist
interventions obscure.
Journal of Health and Climate Change, 2024
Increasing attention is being paid to the relationship between climate change, emotional and ment... more Increasing attention is being paid to the relationship between climate change, emotional and mental distress, and feelings about raising children. These studies often overlook the role of demographics, race in particular, despite evidence that racial minority groups in the U.S. experience more detrimental climate impacts and express more climate concern than do white communities. This survey was conducted to elucidate the relationship between race, climate emotions, and parenting plans in the U.S. Methods: We surveyed 2489 people in the U.S. between the ages of 22 and 35 in September 2021. Because we were interested in the role of race, we oversampled those who identified as non-white/people of color. The survey assessed participants' emotions with respect to climate change, and their emotions with respect to birthing and raising children (parenting) in the context of climate change. Results: Nonwhite respondents were more likely than white respondents to report feeling traumatized as a response to climate change, and to plan to have fewer future children than they wanted as a result of their climate-related emotions. They were also more likely to report feeling more optimistic and hopeful in response to climate change and in response to raising existing children in the context of climate change. White women were least likely to report any positive emotions with respect to parenting during climate change. White men were most likely to report non-feeling emotions such as numbness, indifference, or being checked out. Christian respondents were more likely to report feeling positive emotions overall. Conclusion: This study highlights race as a statistically significant factor in the reporting of climate emotions and parenting plans. It demonstrates that climate change has contradictory impacts on the emotions of nonwhite people of color, while having a negative impact on childbearing plans. We call for further research into the role of race in climate-related emotions and parenting plans, particularly with respect to the impacts of traumatized feelings, as well as the roles of religion and positive emotions.
WIREs Climate , 2023
Climate justice and reproductive justice are distinct scholarly and activist frameworks that have... more Climate justice and reproductive justice are distinct scholarly and activist frameworks that have received significant attention in recent years-particularly with respect to how they might be linked together. In this overview, I survey the main lenses through which various actors have linked climate justice and reproductive justice in the United States. First, I review the literatures: on climate justice, the perspective that those who are least responsible for the conditions causing climate change are disproportionately impacted by it; and on the reproductive justice, which focuses on rejecting reproductive oppression to achieve comprehensive reproductive autonomy for individuals and communities. Next, I analyze frameworks that seek to reframe reproductive justice through a populationist, climate-centered lens. I contrast these framings with new approaches focused on racial health disparities and intergenerational justice. The article ends with questions about the next directions in climate justice and reproductive justice linkages: in particular, the role of eco-anxiety in shaping reproductive futures. In so doing, I argue for approaches that challenge mainstream framings focused on population size and growth, and instead foreground the embodied reproductive outcomes of climate-impacted communities.
The Geographical Journal, 2013
In recent years, young activists under 25 have increasingly advocated slowing global population g... more In recent years, young activists under 25 have increasingly advocated slowing global population growth through family planning as a climate change strategy. While this approach is developed and disseminated by population and development NGOs, young advocates transform the debate by asserting their role as activist leaders on issues of climate change, population, and women's empowerment. This article explores the logics and discursive strategies employed by a group of transnational youth during a workshop at the sixth annual Climate Change Conference of Youth (COY) as well as training workshops in the USA. It tracks the practices through which young climate change activists engage demographic‐climate studies and broader development discourses as a basis for advocacy to influence international population and family planning policies. I argue that development paradigms, activist discourse, and new demographic‐climate studies represent both an expansion of the range of issues consid...
American Journal of Sociology, 2021
Systemic Crises of Global Climate Change
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology
Gender, Place & Culture
In this themed section, we identify three forms of populationism and bring them into conversation... more In this themed section, we identify three forms of populationism and bring them into conversation, which allows us to mount feminist challenges to present day forms of population control. These interventions are timely and necessary because of the continued prevalence of population control ideology and population alarmism in sustainable development and climate change policy and programs. We issue a direct challenge to scholarship that links population reduction with climate change adaptation and mitigation and the survival of the planet. The introduction provides an overview of our key argument, that seemingly disparate phenomena—technocratic approaches to fertility control, climate change securitization, Zika assemblages, neo-Malthusian articulations of the Anthropocene, and ‘climate-smart’ agriculture—are entangled with and expressions of demo, geo and biopopulationisms. We employ feminist critiques to contest these manifestations of population control that restrict bodies, reinforce boundaries, and create spaces of exclusion and violence.
Ecologie Politique, May 1, 2011
Gender, Place & Culture
Following the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 in Cairo, which prom... more Following the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 in Cairo, which prompted a discursive shift from population control to reproductive health and rights in international development, policy experts and scholars have relegated population control to the realm of history. This presents a unique challenge to feminist critics who seek to identify manifestations of population control in the present. In this article, we consider the potential of ‘populationism’ as terminology that may assist in clarifying varied new manifestations of population control. We explicate three interrelated populationist strategies that focus on optimizing numbers (demo), spaces (geo), and life itself (bio). Through our elaboration of these three populationisms and their interaction, we seek to inspire feminist, intersectional responses to the pernicious social, economic and environmental problems that technocratic populationist interventions obscure.
Gender, Place & Culture A Journal of Feminist Geography , 2019
Hegemonic narratives and practices around environmental change, even when coming from concerned a... more Hegemonic narratives and practices around environmental
change, even when coming from concerned and seemingly
progressive fronts, often contribute to a larger project of
population control. The Malthusian specter of overpopulation looms large in pervasive images of imminent ecological disaster in ways that are profoundly depoliticizing
and that serve projects of militarization, misogyny, and
racism. In this paper, we expose and challenge problematic
discourses of neo-Malthusian environmental change, paying
particular attention to discourses surrounding climate
change. Aiming to bring history, geography and politics
back into public debate on environmental change, we
argue for the destabilization of neo-Malthusianism and see
this as key to building a (feminist) political ecology of climate change.
Gender, Place & Culture A Journal of Feminist Geography, 2019
Following the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 in Cairo, which prom... more Following the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 in Cairo, which prompted a discursive
shift from population control to reproductive health and
rights in international development, policy experts and
scholars have relegated population control to the realm of
history. This presents a unique challenge to feminist critics
who seek to identify manifestations of population control
in the present. In this article, we consider the potential of
‘populationism’ as terminology that may assist in clarifying
varied new manifestations of population control. We explicate three interrelated populationist strategies that focus
on optimizing numbers (demo), spaces (geo), and life itself
(bio). Through our elaboration of these three populationisms and their interaction, we seek to inspire feminist, intersectional responses to the pernicious social, economic and environmental problems that technocratic populationist
interventions obscure.