"Blow! Elle souffle!" So yell a group of whale-- watchers excitedly as they observe the puffs of expiration and, if they are close enough, the backs of whales breaking the surface of the St. Lawrence River. Others are far less effusive and regard the whales with arms crossed and feet resting on the side of the zodiak, almost as if they were watching television. While wary of a literal reading of these behaviours (i.e., excited equals engaged or sitting equals bored), I do think that this example suggests that nature experience may not be interpreted in the same way by each participant.
Such an observation is hardly news to critical theorists and feminists who, like Joan Scott …