Earth as Mother

From the 2022 TIME100 NEXT honoree, 2026 TIME100 CREATOR honoree, and author of The Intersectional Environmentalist, comes a fresh exploration of one of humanity’s most enduring metaphors and the implications on our planet—our vision of Earth as mother. The concept of “mother nature” has a history spanning thousands of years. This association between women, motherhood, the feminine, and the earth remains consistent across cultures and decades, even when no geographic borders are shared. In Earth as Mother, leading environmental educator Leah Thomas dives into mythology, feminist movements, and environmental literature to explore why womanhood, motherhood, and the planet have been so consistently intertwined. You’ll learn: Where “Mother Earth” comes from—the role of myths, language, and pop culture have played in the association between earth and the feminine The ways in which we treat women reflect the way we treat the planet The cycle of abuse that women face when trapped in unhealthy relationship, and how the earth faces a similar cycle in its degradation How women are more heavily impacted by climate change than their male counterparts How society frames women as more responsible for saving the planet than their male counterparts Including interviews with revered experts and influencers like Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Amanda Montell, Hayley Kiyoko and Dr. Jessica Hernandez, Earth as Mother demonstrates how understanding the relationship between the feminine and the earth can aide the next generation of activists looking to create meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable change.