“World Petro-illiterature: An Ecofeminist Reading of Ecological Refugees in Chris Cleave’s Little Bee”

Abstract

This paper stresses the link between gender and ecology in the era of globalization through a study of Chris Cleave’s Little Bee. It starts by engaging with the theories of world energy literature. Then, it sheds light on the geopolitical context surrounding the storyline. The next section focuses on the contradiction between British companies’ free access to Nigerian oil and resources and the ban placed before the movement of Nigerian citizens to the UK. The following section explores the impact of capitalism’s decimation of the Nigerian ecology on women. Petro-capitalism’s disregard for its destruction of the Nigerian ecological scene is paralleled to its lack of regard for the forced removal of women. My discussion of the intersections between the capitalist exploitation of women and natural resources demonstrates that the British neocolonial and imperialist search for wealth in Africa necessitates the abuse of both nature and the female body.