Girl Mossing, Rotting, and Resistance: Relational Naturalism and Dying Well Together
Living and dying well together in the Anthropocene, in the context of intensifying climate crises, global pandemics, and fast-paced hustle culture, is an increasingly daunting task. While many wellness movements call for strict regimes and vigorous activity, striving for largely unattainable bodily...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/4/447 |
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| author | Hannah Gould Anna Halafoff |
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| description | Living and dying well together in the Anthropocene, in the context of intensifying climate crises, global pandemics, and fast-paced hustle culture, is an increasingly daunting task. While many wellness movements call for strict regimes and vigorous activity, striving for largely unattainable bodily norms and longevity, an emerging trend centres on embracing natural processes and temporalities of resistance focused on relaxation, rest, and even decay. So-called ‘girl mossing’ and ‘girl rotting’ encourage women to be intentionally unproductive, and to spend time instead lying on a forest floor, staring up at a canopy of trees, caressing moss. Similarly, members of the ‘death positive’ and ‘new death’ movements advocate for sensorial connection with nature at the end of life, and for an embrace of practices of decay and decomposition. Both trends are dominated by women and influenced by Buddhist and Pagan traditions. They also exemplify spiritual complexity, particularly relating to biomedicine and consumerism. Examining these interconnected lifestyle and deathstyle movements, this article considers the uptake of ‘relational naturalism’ in contemporary societies as an antidote to the personal and planetary harms of neoliberal capitalism. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-65d41e5297214e5baf35bbeee2b7d690 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj-art-65d41e5297214e5baf35bbeee2b7d6902025-08-20T02:18:04ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-03-0116444710.3390/rel16040447Girl Mossing, Rotting, and Resistance: Relational Naturalism and Dying Well TogetherHannah Gould0Anna Halafoff1School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC 3010, AustraliaSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Melbourne, VIC 3125, AustraliaLiving and dying well together in the Anthropocene, in the context of intensifying climate crises, global pandemics, and fast-paced hustle culture, is an increasingly daunting task. While many wellness movements call for strict regimes and vigorous activity, striving for largely unattainable bodily norms and longevity, an emerging trend centres on embracing natural processes and temporalities of resistance focused on relaxation, rest, and even decay. So-called ‘girl mossing’ and ‘girl rotting’ encourage women to be intentionally unproductive, and to spend time instead lying on a forest floor, staring up at a canopy of trees, caressing moss. Similarly, members of the ‘death positive’ and ‘new death’ movements advocate for sensorial connection with nature at the end of life, and for an embrace of practices of decay and decomposition. Both trends are dominated by women and influenced by Buddhist and Pagan traditions. They also exemplify spiritual complexity, particularly relating to biomedicine and consumerism. Examining these interconnected lifestyle and deathstyle movements, this article considers the uptake of ‘relational naturalism’ in contemporary societies as an antidote to the personal and planetary harms of neoliberal capitalism.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/4/447spiritualitywellnessrelational naturalismfeminismdeath positivity |
| spellingShingle | Hannah Gould Anna Halafoff Girl Mossing, Rotting, and Resistance: Relational Naturalism and Dying Well Together Religions spirituality wellness relational naturalism feminism death positivity |
| title | Girl Mossing, Rotting, and Resistance: Relational Naturalism and Dying Well Together |
| title_full | Girl Mossing, Rotting, and Resistance: Relational Naturalism and Dying Well Together |
| title_fullStr | Girl Mossing, Rotting, and Resistance: Relational Naturalism and Dying Well Together |
| title_full_unstemmed | Girl Mossing, Rotting, and Resistance: Relational Naturalism and Dying Well Together |
| title_short | Girl Mossing, Rotting, and Resistance: Relational Naturalism and Dying Well Together |
| title_sort | girl mossing rotting and resistance relational naturalism and dying well together |
| topic | spirituality wellness relational naturalism feminism death positivity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/4/447 |
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