Ecofeminism, as an analysis and a social movement, has the advantage that it is rather simple to explain. This is a phrase that almost everybody has heard of and can provide a useful starting point to think about ecofeminist theory.
Feminists are interested in why 'women' are treated as inferior to men.
Environmentalists are interested in why 'nature' is treated as inferior to culture, and why humans have not commonly been included within definitions of what comprises 'nature'. The social movement of ecofeminism which arises out of this analysis seeks to end this interconnected oppression, and argues that you cannot have an effective environmentalism which is not feminist, or an effective feminism which is not environmentalist. However, this is simplistic and it should be said that ecofeminism has become significantly more creative and complex within the last 10 years. For example, historical and contemporary sociological analyses illustrate that it is not only 'women' that have been seen as closer to nature in the West. This association also works along lines of 'race' and class.