Abigail Thomas, The Unsettling of America

“The nurturer ... has always passed with ease across the boundaries of the so-called sexual roles.”

I can’t see why either exploiter or nurturer couldn’t have bypassed ‘so-called sexual roles.’ Anyone can be an exploiter or nurturer and not be limited by sexual roles. I think Berry might be biased to ‘nurturers’ in as many ways. I’m not sure I believe in sexual roles anyway, don’t have to and what would be their purpose. People that believe in sexual roles make some things awkward anyways. It’s kind-of random too.

“He does not have a definition of his relationship to the world that is sufficiently elaborate and exact.”

By this Berry is saying that people shouldn’t generalize their relationship but have specific actions, habits and traditions that pertain and acknowledge a person’s effects on their place, system and world. This kind-of seems like a religious way for someone to live: it includes what they believe they should strive for and ultimately appease till the end. For instance would a person strive to be an exploiter or nurturer. In the earlier chapter The Unsettling of America Berry identified two groups of people: exploiters and nurturers. Exploiters want to get as much as possible with little cost as possible and nurturers promote health and care while using resources. He uses strip miners as his good example for exploiters and old fashioned farmers as nurturers.
But based on Berry’s choice words I think this pertains more to nurturers. The words “sufficiently elaborate” seems to fit into the characteristic of nurturers to consider carrying capacity in use of resources.
Not specifically to nurturers but Berry’s use of “exact” in this statement is to take this idea and apply it to practical uses.
I agree with this statement to ‘consider your own definition of your relationship to the world.’ It’s a good activity, practice, and start in evaluating how you want to live in relationship with everyone and everything, and considering a these relationships to their results, effects and long term. The more elaborate and considerate the more precise you can be, and the more caring and nurturing can be realized to give. Applying this statement to how someone considers themselves and the world around them, promotes awareness which if one chooses to apply, aids effectiveness in carrying out the actions one thinks they should.