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C H A P T E R 2 1
Ecosexuality
Beth Stephens
Professor of Art
University of California, Santa Cruz, and Artist
Annie Sprinkle
Artist, Sexologist
In consultation with Michael J. Morris, Dancer, Scholar
Ecosexuality is a new sexual identity, an environmental activist strategy, and an expanded
concept of what sex is (and can be) in our culture. Ecosexuals imagine the Earth as a lover, a
romantic partner, and experience nature as sensual, erotic, or sexy. Ecosexuality is a way of
being in the world, wherein giving and receiving love with the Earth increases pleasure. Sex
with humans is also part of ecosexuality, as humans are part of, not separate from, nature.
As artists and educators, we are exploring and researching ecosexuality through multi-
media art projects, international symposiums, walking tours, and workshops. In 2008,
we married the Earth in a large, collaborative performance art wedding. This inspired
us to become involved in the development of ecosexuality. We have participated in and
watched this relatively new identity concept pollinate and cross-pollinate across continents
and grow into a vibrant community, an exciting environmental movement, and a new field
of research to which we have applied the term sexecology. This chapter offers an overview
of various aspects of ecosexuality, from its origins to where it is currently situated and to
where it will evolve.
Based on the number of people who have directly participated in our work, as well as in
related projects of others (such as those at the annual Ecosex Convergence in the state of
Washington), we estimate that between 12,000 and 15,000 people around the world
currently identify as ecosexual. Ecosexuals have varying interests, styles, motivations, and
practices. What most ecosexuals have in common is a love, passion, and interest in the well-
being of the Earth, and they find ‘‘nature’’ sensually pleasurable; what that means to different
ecosexuals varies. The term nature has been discussed, theorized, problematized, and con-
tested by countless feminists, ecofeminists, queers, and scholars who have claimed that nature
is both within and without the ‘‘human.’’ When we use the term throughout this chapter, we
use it to indicate the broad more-than-human and nonhuman world of which human life and
culture is always already a part. Ecosexuality is also informed by the current moment of late
neoliberalism, as it overlaps the era known by some as the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene,
a term coined by Dutch chemist Paul J. Crutzen and American biologist Eugene F. Stoermer
(2000), is the current geological epoch distinguished by the role of humans in making a
distinct, and even destructive, geological mark on the earth.
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The new identity concept and sexual orientation of ecosexuality is meant to encourage
people to become more aware of, and connect more fully with, both living beings and
seemingly inanimate things beyond themselves. It also encourages humans to show a deeper
appreciation of those beings. One of the main tenets of ecosexuality morphs the metaphoric
archetype ‘‘Earth as mother.’’ Generally, in Western culture, people imagine the Earth in two
related ways: (1) as a generous ‘‘mother’’ that takes care of us continuously or (2) as a resource
that can be endlessly exploited, dominated, and controlled. Humans cannot, however, really
dominate and control the Earth, as massive fires, floods, volcanoes, tidal waves, and even
anthropogenic climate change remind us. Despite our best efforts, the environment always
exceeds our ability to control it, and this inability is coming into particularly sharp focus and
hence destabilizes the dominant discourses of early modernity through postmodernity.
Furthermore, many humans (especially those in Western modernity) do not fully appreciate
all that the benevolent ‘‘Earth as mother’’ provides. Mother Earth has been abused, exploited,
and overburdened with toxic waste, systematic pollution, and resource extraction that
destroys mountains and plains alike, not to mention the perils of overpopulation.
In order to create more mutual relationships between humans and nonhumans that can
potentially lessen destructive and controlling practices, such as mining or the damming of rivers
and streams, that are carried out under the guise of the kinds of caretaking relationships in which
the mother is obliged to serve, ecosexuals propose a metaphorical shift from ‘‘Earth as mother’’ to
‘‘Earth as lover.’’ The lover archetype is potentially more sustainable, more equal, and more one
in which humans might desire to give as well as receive both love and support to and from the
Earth. Furthermore, ‘‘mother’’ represents that with which most human beings are already
familiar, whereas ‘‘lover’’ represents the as-yet-unknown; a lover is one that we want to get to
know better, spend more time with, treat well, pamper, romance, and pleasure. Most impor-
tantly, if someone does not treat a lover well, the lover will likely leave for someone who will.
We are aware that as ecosexuals we are anthropomorphizing the Earth by giving it
human qualities. Nevertheless, anthropomorphizing can be a useful strategy to help both
others and ourselves connect with that which can hardly be described by language and as such
extends beyond human understanding. Ecosexuals would likely agree with French social
scientist and philosopher Bruno Latour, who in his 2010 essay ‘‘An Attempt at a ‘Compo-
sitionist Manifesto’’’ recognized that refusing to anthropomorphize a nonhuman is the
height of human arrogance because it makes the nonhuman less than human. In her 2010
book Vibrant Matter, American political theorist Jane Bennett suggests that as scholars and as
human beings we take seriously all things human and nonhuman; their vitality and agency
wields influence on how we navigate, feel about, understand, and are in the world. Anthropo-
morphism can be used to take seriously the agency of nature and to position it as an active
participant in the ongoing development of life on this planet, but it also means that we seek to
understand nature on our own terms, yet again.
Through our ecosexual art and performances, we can explore and embody ecosexuality as
an alternative to mainstream environmentalism, and our practice creates spaces where those
who do not fit into hegemonic culture can express and practice their thoughts and feelings
about the environment. Feminist and environmental humanities theorist Stacy Alaimo
(2016, 541) has described our work by saying that ‘‘their playful, sexy performances make
environmentalism a bit less dour, offering abundant pleasure rather than what we expect from
environmentalism—virtuous self-deprivation within a horizon of impending doom.’’ In this
manner, we are trying to make the environmental movement more sexy and fun, as well as
diverse, rather than repeating the alienating apocalyptic narrative of the world’s end.
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TERMS
The word ecosexual emerged around the beginning of the new millennium, first as a dating term
to describe a person who was perhaps interested in vegetarianism and/or environmental causes,
or someone who did not use leather, enjoyed nudism, or evoked whatever the prefix eco- (from
Latin oeco, meaning home, household) brought to mind. Different people have long held their
own personal definitions of the word ecosexual, and its use circulated both online and in print
among the environmentally conscious before we began using the term. Michael J. Morris, a
dance scholar, defines ecosexuality as ‘‘any sexuality that encompasses and exceeds both human
and nonhuman life, an orientation toward the intra-activities within which the human is not
finally separable from the nonhuman and all sexuality is already populated by that which is not
human. Ecosexuality is an insistence that sexuality has always been an ecological affair’’
(2015, 18–19). In other words, ‘‘Ecosexuality is a term used to indicate the ecological
entanglements of sexuality. The concept of ecosexuality indicates the ways in which sexuality
is already ecological, and the ways that recognizing and appreciating ecological entanglements
can affect understandings of sexuality’’ (Morris, August 13, 2015, e-mail to the authors).
For several years, we have been developing a lexicon of ecosexual terms indicating the
entanglement of sexuality and the earth—a central element of Morris’s definition. A few
examples include:
Ecosexuality: Imagines the Earth as a lover to create possibilities for a sensual, erotic,
romantic connection with nature; an expanded notion of sex and eroticism to include
an energetic exchange with all living things and, in its more expanded form, even
nonliving things, such as minerals or buildings.
Sexecology: A field of research that explores the places and ways in which sexology and
ecology intersect in art, theory, practice, and activism.
Sexecologist: A person who does research in the field of sexecology and who researches
ecosexuals and ecosexuality.
Ecoromantic: A person who has a romantic, heartfelt connection and relationship with
nature.
Ecosensual: A person who enjoys connecting sensually with nature—through smelling,
looking, listening, tasting, and touching.
Ecocurious: Someone who is interested in ecosexuality but not yet self-defined as such.
Ecosexual gaze: The awareness that sex is happening everywhere, all the time in nature;
sensing and imagining the eroticism and sexuality of just about everything. An
embodied gaze that might begin with the eyes but also involves all the senses.
WHO ARE THE ECOSEXUALS?
Anyone and everyone who wants to be ecosexual can be. It is a self-identified and self-defined
movement. Part of the appeal of this new identity is that it can be radically inclusive. From
our point of view, all humans are already in any number of long-term, intimate ecological
relationships; anyone can choose to identify or understand these relationships through
adopting ecosexuality for her or himself.
Ecosexuals are comprised of all genders and sexualities, including heterosexual, homo-
sexual, bisexual, celibate, and asexual. Being ecosexual can sometimes (but not always) be akin
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to identities such as pomosexual (the postmodern challenge to the assumptions of gender and
sexuality), pansexual (the perceiving of all activities as sexual), queer (meaning outside of or
not recognized by heteronormativity), metamorphosexual (referring to a person who sees
sexuality as always being in state of change and who evolves from one choice to the next), or
omnisexual (entailing sexual attractions that go beyond gender). Each of these identity
concepts emerged and has circulated within different contexts and communities, often
responding to different concerns, and sometimes with correlation to distinct understandings
of similar or intersecting experiences of sexuality. We view ecosexuality as an identity capable
of including or complementing these and other sexual orientations and identifying terms.
In 2011, we presented a visual art exhibit and introduced our Ecosex Manifesto 1.0,
which laid out a set of values that we associate with ecosexuality and functioned as an
invitation for others to identify as ecosexual. The exhibit was held at the Center for Sex &
Culture in San Francisco. It was produced by the art organization Femina Potens and funded
in part by the San Francisco Arts Commission and the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Many members of our community signed our Ecosex Manifesto. Subsequently, in 2015,
Chicano performance artist and writer Guillermo Gómez-Pen~a collaborated with us to
update the Ecosexual Manifesto to 2.0, a more condensed and poetic version. We then
presented this version to the public at the San Francisco Pride parade in June 2015 as part of
The Pollination Pod. The Pollination Pod functions as artists Sprinkle and Stephens’s mobile jewel box
theater, dressing room, parade float, and art installation. Photo is from Sprinkle and Stephens’s San
Francisco Pride parade ecosexual contingent, where Guillermo Gomez Pena and the Pocha Nostra
Performance Troup officially added E to GLBTQI and released the Ecosex Manifesto 2.0 to the public.
ª A N N I E S P R I N K L E A N D E L I Z A B E T H S T E P H E N S .
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our ‘‘Here Come the Ecosexuals’’ parade contingent of 130 ecosexuals. To kick off our
contingent, we held a ribbon-cutting ceremony where we marked the official addition of the
letter E, for ecosexual, to the acronym LGBTQI. We now encourage everyone to write the
acronym as LGBTQIE. Both versions of the manifesto seek to bring visibility and recog-
nition to ecosexuality, to provide the public with sites of identification, and to position
ecosexuality within the larger world of sexual politics.
ECOSEXUAL MANIFESTO 2.0
We are Ecosexuals: the Earth is our lover.
Fiercely in love, we are permanently grateful for this relationship. To create a more
mutual and sustainable union with our lover, we collaborate with nature. We treat
the Earth with respect, affection, and sensuality.
We are aquaphiles, teraphiles, pyrophiles, and aerophiles.
We are skinny-dippers, sun worshippers, and stargazers.
We are artists, sex workers, sexologists, academics, environmental and peace activists,
feminists, eco-immigrants, putos y putas, trans/humanistas, nature fetishists, gender
bending gardeners, therapists, scientists and educators, revolutionaries, dandies, pollen-
amorous cultural monsters with dogs and other entities from radical ecologies . . .
Whether LGBTQI, hetero, asexual or ‘‘Other,’’ our primary drive and identity is
being Ecosexual!
Viva la ECOSEX REVOLUTION!
( A N N I E S P R I N K L E & B E T H S T E P H E N S I N C R O S S – P O L L I N A T I O N W I T H G U I L L E R M O G Ó M E Z – P E N~ A )
THE INTERSECTION OF ECOFEMINISM, SUSTAINABILITY,
AND QUEER THEORY IN RELATION TO ECOSEXUALITY
Ecofeminism emerged in the 1970s as a critique of both the oppression of women and the
destruction of the earth as mutually reinforcing systems of oppression (for thorough accounts
of the emergence and development of ecofeminism, see Plumwood 1986; Warren 1997;
Sandilands 1999). In the late 1990s, American feminist author Greta Gaard explored the
conceptual connections between ecofeminism and queer theory and called for both move-
ments to learn from and connect with each other, stating the following:
A queer ecofeminist perspective would argue that liberating the erotic requires
reconceptualizing humans as equal participants in culture and in nature, able to
explore the eroticism of reason and the unique rationality of the erotic. Ecofeminists
must be concerned with queer liberation, just as queers must be concerned with the
liberation of women and of nature; our parallel oppressions have stemmed from our
perceived associations. It is time to build our common liberation on more concrete
coalitions. (1997, 133)
Similar to ecofeminism’s concern with the destruction of the natural world in the context of
unequal gender relations, and queer ecofeminism’s pursuit of liberating the erotic and queer
as a necessary requirement of defending the earth, ecosexuality considers the complex
interconnectedness of ecological relations in terms of sexuality, and sexuality in terms of
ecological relations.
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Ecosexuals who are feminists are interested in many of the same issues raised by ecofemin-
ism. But not all ecosexuals are feminists. Nor are all ecosexuals interested in sustainability based
on a whole-systems approach to ecosystems of which humans are a part. Our brand of
ecosexuality takes a whole-systems approach, and we value the human and the nonhuman
equally; some ecosexuals, however, might simply have a nature fetish and prioritize pleasure
and/or are not activists. Not all ecosexuals are involved in the environmental movement, which
generally focuses on reducing the impact of humans on nature. While some ecosexuals engage
with other movements and groups, such as the sex-worker rights movements, nonmonoga-
mous movements, and environmental or ecofeminist movements, this is a developing field
made up of diverse groups of people, and as such we continue to discover what defines us,
makes us unique, and what traits and influences we share with other groups.
Alongside our own work and Morris’s scholarship, academics from a variety of different
disciplines are also contributing to the growing body of ecosexual research and theory. Serena
Anderlini-D’Onofrio, a humanities professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez,
related to the authors in an August 14, 2015, e-mail that ‘‘ecosexuality is the cultural practice
that enables our species to reconnect our metabolism to the metabolism of the Earth.’’
Additionally, sociologist and human rights activist Jennifer J. Reed describes ecosexuality as
‘‘an emerging grassroots social movement that begins at the intersection of environmental
and sexuality issues’’ and traces the ‘‘conceptual antecedents of ecosexuality from a social
scientific perspective,’’ showing ‘‘how the ecosexual movement resists dominant modern
ideology in a quest for social change and social justice’’ (2016, 3).
Indigenous studies scholar Kim TallBear (whose work is discussed in more detail below)
asks, ‘‘How can ecosexual thinking be in conversation with indigenous and feminist critiques
[of] colonial and chauvinistically scientistic approaches to articulating and studying this
thing we call ‘nature’ and its close relatives, ‘environment’ and ‘race’?’’ (TallBear 2012).
TallBear’s efforts to theorize ‘‘ecosexual thinking’’ from an indigenous perspective are
particularly valuable given the tendency of various environmentalist movements to appro-
priate Native American cultural imagery. More research is necessary on ecosexuality as an
anticolonial philosophy and practice.
Performance studies scholar Joy Brooke Fairfield proposes an ecological approach to
conceptualizing nonmonogamous erotic and familial affiliations. She draws on the non-
hierarchical root system found famously in the ginger plant to replace the normative Western
kinship structure of the ‘‘family tree.’’ Fairfield suggests that ‘‘rhizomatic intimacy’’ is an
embodied practice that cultivates ‘‘an awareness of multilateral mutual sustainability on the
intimate, interpersonal level [that] is not separate from the kind of consciousness necessary
for global sustainability’’ (quoted in Anderlini-D’Onofrio 2015, 237).
Other academics that do not necessarily label themselves ‘‘ecosexual’’ are interested in and
supportive of this emerging movement and practice. Spanish philosopher, curator, and activist
Paul B. Preciado has been a strong supporter. In 2013, Preciado produced a two-day research
symposium featuring our work at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofı́a in Madrid,
Spain. Our presentation and workshop titled ‘‘Ecosex in the Age of Neoliberalism’’ included a
screening of our documentary feature film about mountaintop removal coal mining, Goodbye
Gauley Mountain: An Ecosexual Love Story, our ecosex walking tour with a wedding to the Earth,
and a performative lecture. The Reina Sofı́a’s website, on the page titled ‘‘Annie Sprinkle and
Beth Stephens,’’ describes this symposium as exploring ‘‘implications of the neoliberal con-
dition, by introducing new forms of activism and critical languages as responses to the collapse
of disciplinary institutions and the revision of medical, socio-political and audiovisual
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discourses centered around the body.’’ About fifty activists and scholars participated in our
events, and many said that our ‘‘ecosexual activism’’ could potentially help destabilize neo-
liberal—that is, free-market capitalist—extraction of culture, the environment, and more.
Assuming the Ecosexual Position, our forthcoming book from the University of Minnesota
Press, will contribute to these debates. This book will chronicle our ongoing collaboration
(since 2002) and the development of our ecosex art, theory, practice, and activism. Our book
will explore what combining sex and gender activism with environmental activism looks like as
we construct ourselves as ‘‘sexecologists.’’ As we discuss our work, we posit a radical relation-
ship with environmentalism that is nonheteronormative and nonhuman centered.
ECOSEX PRACTICES, PROCLIVITIES, NATURE FETISHES,
AND FANTASIES
A wide range of activities can potentially be ecosexual. Generally, as human beings, we engage
our surroundings aesthetically, energetically, and through our senses. We also use our bodies
and our imaginations to interact with natural entities of all kinds. Ecosexual practices can run
the gamut from mild to extreme. Some experiences can be subtle, sensual, and soft, such as
rubbing a velvety sage leaf and inhaling its scent, hugging a tree, or enjoying the feel and taste
of a sweet, juicy strawberry. Some practices are more intense, extreme, and even kinky, such
as running naked through a field of stinging nettles, getting pounded and submerged by big
Film still from Goodbye Gauley Mountain—An Ecosexual Love Story. ª A N N I E S P R I N K L E
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ocean waves, or hang gliding off the edge of a cliff. Some can be dangerous, such as climbing
Mount Everest, swimming with whales, or tornado chasing. Ecosexual practices can be quite
innocent, such as squishing wet clay between your toes, and also quite taboo, such as ‘‘getting
off’’ on the grain of a wooden conference table during a faculty meeting. Some people might
assume that sex has to be genital sex or that ecosexuals primarily engage in physical sexual acts
with nonhumans, but these are not necessarily part of the evolving identity and practice of
ecosexuality. In terms of engaging with nonhumans, many ecosexuals take a more concep-
tual, playful approach, contrary to the notion that ecosex requires literal human/nonhuman
acts involving genital sex. Taking a broader view of ecosexual activities allows people to
connect with nature, derive pleasure from nature, and ideally give something back to nature.
A large part of our own ecosexual practice is the cultivation of more mindful, present,
and conscious relationships with nonhumans as we navigate our human world. For example,
when we sniff a rose, we can sniff it unconsciously and simply enjoy its aroma, or we can
throw ourselves into the full experience, thinking about how the rose is actually the sex organ
of the rose bush. We can fantasize about the sting of the thorns, notice the soft silkiness of the
petals, which mimic human labia, and take in the rose’s magnificent color, to the point of
getting turned on. We can open our hearts, feel the life force emanating from the living rose,
and let in its energy as we give the rose our deep love and appreciation.
Ecosexuality provides alternative ways of thinking about sexuality that go beyond human
reproduction, genital sex, and human exceptionalism. Ecosexuals privilege all parts of the body
as potential sexual organs and potential sites of pleasure. We also see the body as not being
fully contained by its own skin, but rather as expanding beyond, in forms such as biome clouds.
(A biome cloud is the unique cloud of bacteria and other microbes that surround each
individual’s body.) Ecosexuality privileges different ecologies and recognizes everything from
the most miniscule, such as the bacteria that make up much of our physical bodies, to our most
expansive energetic bodies, such as our life force radiating out for unknown distances. As we
imagine it, ecosexuality is an expanded notion of human sexuality that goes beyond physical
human bodies coming together. Yet, ecosexuality does also include human-to-human genital
sex, because humans are part of, and not separate from, nature. Furthermore, when one has sex
with another person, one is having sex largely with water (as our bodies are approximately 65
percent water), as well as with common minerals and even with stardust.
TWENTY-FIVE WAYS TO MAKE LOVE TO THE EARTH
(As we think of the Earth as all genders, we use multiple pronouns.)
Tell the Earth, ‘‘I love you. I can’t live without you.’’
At first you may feel embarrassed to be lovers with the Earth. Relax, let it go. It’s OK.
Spend time with her.
Ask him what he likes, wants, and needs—then try to give it to him.
Massage the Earth with your feet.
Admire her views often.
Circulate erotic energy with him.
Smell her.
Taste her.
Touch her all over.
Hug and stroke her trees.
Talk dirty to her plants.
Swim naked in her waters.
Lie on top of him, or let him get on top.
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Do a nude dance for her.
Sing to her.
Kiss and lick her.
Bury parts of your body deep inside his soil.
Plant your seeds in her.
Love her unconditionally even when she’s angry or cruel.
Keep her clean. Please recycle.
Work for peace. Bombs hurt.
If you see her being abused, raped, or exploited, protect her as best you can.
Protect her mountains, waters, and skies.
Vow to love, honor, and cherish the Earth until death brings you closer together
forever.
From 2008 to 2014, we had nineteen large-scale weddings to nature entities—to the Earth,
Sky, Sea, Sun, Coal, Lake Kallavesi in Finland, the Appalachian Mountains, and numerous
other nonhuman entities. Thousands of people participated in these events and took vows
‘‘to love, honor and cherish’’ with us. We asked for no material gifts but invited everyone to
collaborate in the creation of the weddings. Our ten-minute Ecosex Wedding Project (2014)
video documents some highlights from these performance art happenings.
We also produced a series of charts and graphs mapping out various aspects of
ecosexuality, including: (1) ecosexual proclivities, a list of various nature fetishes and
Ecosexuality chart. Ecosexual proclivities, fetishes, and paraphilias chart, created by artists and
sexecologists Elizabeth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle. ª A N N I E S P R I N K L E A N D E L I Z A B E T H S T E P H E N S .
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activities divided into four main categories: terraphilia, aerophilia, aquaphilia, and pyro-
philia; and (2) the Sprinkle/Stephens scale, a chart measuring the degree to which a person
might identify as ecosexual. The latter is modeled after the famous Kinsey scale, which
depicts the range between heterosexuality and homosexuality and allows sexologists to chart
how gay, straight, or bisexual an individual might be.
The Stephens-Sprinkle branch of ecosexuality incorporates humor alongside serious,
thought-provoking artistic content and performative action. This multipronged approach
creates spaces within which one can remain open to possibilities for acknowledging, refram-
ing, and possibly remediating environmental devastation. We invite audiences to be part of
the process of finding sustainable alternatives to human-caused ecological harm. These spaces
allow viewers and participants to make up their own minds about given issues rather than feel
coerced into accepting dogmatic rhetoric or stereotypical conclusions. As part of the artistic
branch of ecosexuality, we use creative license and improvisation. We also embrace an ars
erotica (erotica as an art form) approach rather than one centered on scientia sexualis (the
science of sexuality). French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926–1984) distinguished these
two approaches in volume one of his History of Sexuality (1978).
Ecosex can have potential benefits for a range of people. Ecosex can make lonely people
feel less alone because being lovers with the Earth means you always have a lover. People with
low libidos, people with differently abled bodies, and those who are dealing with debilitating
illnesses and medical treatments can use ecosexuality to empower themselves as sexual beings
The Sprinkle/Stephens Scale. The 1–6 scale can be used to measure how ecosexual one is or is not.
ª A N N I E S P R I N K L E A N D E L I Z A B E T H S T E P H E N S .
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because ecosex can range from conceptual practices to ones involving the body but in ways
different than that of sex performed by the more able bodied. People in prison can
imaginatively engage their ecosexuality to feel more connected both to other humans and
to nature entities beyond the prison walls. Ecosexuality can be a form of safer sex and can be a
great way to expand limited ideas of what sex itself can be. Ecosexuals get the ‘‘lay of the
land,’’ literally and figuratively. Also, ecosex can be a potential alternative to reproductive sex,
which concerns environmentalists given the problems of overpopulation. At the request of
feminist biologist and technoscience scholar Donna Haraway, we designed an ecosexy sticker
with her slogan ‘‘Make Kin not Babies’’ (see Haraway 2015) to help make this point.
Part of the practice of ecosex is self-critique. In conjunction with the many ways in which
ecosexuality and its associated practices can enrich perceptions of the nonhuman world,
expand understandings of sexuality, and inspire more love, respect, and care for the planet,
we recognize that human beings and human actions are part of the problem that ecosexuals
address. As modern subjects we are ‘‘eco-sinners,’’ who leave huge carbon footprints from the
resources we extract, use, and then discard. This is especially true for US citizens, who
consume disproportionate amounts of the world’s energy resources. We simply must
acknowledge how our own consumption is contributing to climate change. For example,
flying from California to Spain to present our work is not eco-friendly, yet it is an expected
practice for artists and academics to travel extensively to present their work. Planes consume
huge amounts of fuel, and environmentalists would better serve their environmental aspira-
tions by paying attention to their own fuel consumption, as well as that of others. So even as
ecosexuality provides both practical and erotic resources for reorienting our relationship to
the planet, it is still necessary to recognize that none of us is innocent and that we must
constantly consider the ecological impacts of our actions and vigilantly pursue methods for
living our lives that contribute to the livability of the multitudes of other forms of life.
THE ECOSEX MOVEMENT
The ecosex movement is an expansive international network made of up individuals, groups,
institutions, and organizations dedicated to maintaining and improving the well-being of the
Earth’s ecological systems and to promote ecosensual pleasures. Just as there are several
branches of the environmental movement, there are also different branches of the ecosex
movement. One mission of our branch of the ecosexual movement is to reach an untapped
audience of people who might not feel comfortable in mainstream environmental groups,
such as the Sierra Club (a North American environmental group that was founded in 1892),
or who do not want to join more militant groups or New Age groups. Part of our ecosexual
vision is to create an environmental movement in which people of color, queers, sex workers,
punks, transgendered folks, drag queens, artists, and others outside of the hegemonic system
feel welcome and empowered.
The ecosex movement is not only an environmental movement but also a new sexual
movement aimed at redefining what sex is, what it looks like in our present culture, and what
it can be in the future. Sex has become commodified and stereotyped. We are led to believe
that as lovers we must buy the right sex toys, purchase the right lingerie, or have sex like
a porn star to have a satisfying sexual experience. In her online profile on the Green Divas,
a radio show and blog that shares ‘‘low-stress ways to live a deeper shade of green’’ and
includes an eco-sexy segment, Jennifer J. Reed describes the ecosex movement as ‘‘a growing
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grassroots transnational social movement that blends sustainability, environmental and
climate justice with gender, sexual and reproductive rights activism’’ (Reed 2015). She argues
that rather than creating temporary coalitions among single-issue movements, the ecosexual
movement provides a model of intersectional activism that blends multiple issues as its
starting point.
Lindsay Hagamen, coeditor with Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio of the book Ecosexuality
(2015), explains on her website My Lover Earth how she got ‘‘the call’’ to help create an
ecosexual community. Lindsay was already living at Windward, a polyamorous commune
founded in 1980, when she identified it as the first ‘‘ecosexual community.’’ Windward has
130 acres (53 hectares) of forest and farmland, and the people living there practice perma-
culture, a whole systems approach to sustainable farming that combines agriculture and
design to benefit ecological systems. The Windward community has a variety of farm
animals, and it is involved in an array of back-to-the-land practices, including so-called
green burials (where toxic chemicals are not used to preserve the body and where the casket
and the body will both eventually return to the Earth via decomposition). From Hagamen’s
perspective, ‘‘The movement arises out of a deep understanding that the ecological crises and
the erotic crises that alienates humans from their own sexuality, share a common root—
disconnection—and that to heal our relationship with the ecosystems that sustain us, we are
called to heal our relationship with our bodies, sexuality and erotic lives’’ (Hagamen, ‘‘What
Is Ecosexuality?’’). Hagamen, Gabriella Cordova (a sex worker and pleasure activist), and the
Reverend Teri Ciacchi coproduced the first Ecosex Convergence in 2013. This event is now a
popular annual gathering at Windward.
ECOSEX IN SEX-POSITIVE CULTURE AND THE SEX INDUSTRIES
Ecosexuality has begun to penetrate sex-positive culture and the sex industries, informing
how sexually aware people practice sex and expanding how sex can be understood as
contributing to ecological processes. The first book on the market about ecosex was Stefanie
Iris Weiss’s Eco-Sex: Go Green between the Sheets and Make Your Love Life Sustainable,
published in 2010. This green sex guide invites readers to ‘‘Renew your passion for the
environment while you recharge your love life—with green sex toys, low-impact lingerie,
fair-trade condoms, bamboo bed linens, conflict-free diamonds, and much more. Eco-Sex
will help you avoid the sins of green washing while you probe the deeper underpinnings of
healthy, chemical-free sex’’ (Weiss, back cover). In early 2015, a second book on the topic
emerged. The aforementioned Ecosexuality: When Nature Inspires the Arts of Love is an
anthology of essays and poems related to ecosex, with contributions from thirty people.
The Sex and Pleasure Book (2015), by Carol Queen and Shar Rednour, has a section titled
‘‘Ecosexual and Ecorotic’’ and includes our ‘‘Vows for Marrying the Earth.’’
There are also a number of sex toy shops that cater to ecologically minded clients. These
businesses sell solar-powered sex toys, fair-trade condoms, and vegan aphrodisiacs. Smitten
Kitten, a certified green business based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, started a recycling
program for sex toys. Good Vibrations, a US retailer founded in 1977 that has several stores
in California and Massachusetts and an e-commerce site, has a line of ‘‘ecorotic�’’ products.
The sex industry is beginning to recognize that consumers want to do things to help slow
down the environmental demise of this beautiful planet, and as a result they are providing
‘‘green products.’’ Some are even explicitly catering to the ecosexual community.
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Kim Marks, a long-time environmental activist and an activist trainer based in Eugene,
Oregon, created As You Like It, described on its website as a ‘‘pleasure shop which strives to
be the leader in Eco-Sexuality!’’ Marks is critical of most manufactured products because they
are not eco-friendly and suggests that through wiser choices consumers can use more
environmentally friendly products with reduced impacts on the biosphere. The higher
quality products she offers last longer than cheap plastic toys and are intended to help
minimize Americans’ ‘‘disposable’’ mentality. Her store also practices local sourcing to
minimize its carbon footprint. As she networks and collaborates with other adult product
companies, she challenges them to raise the bar on making their products more eco-friendly.
With her extensive knowledge of environmental issues, Marks models ways in which
ecosexuality can influence not only sexual practices but also environmentally friendly busi-
ness models and consumer responsibility.
A growing number of sex workers are beginning to identify as ecosexual and offer
ecosexy experiences to their clients and fans. On her website, Australian sex worker Helena
May has an ‘‘Eco Sex’’ page where she asks potential clients the following questions:
Does the sun and the air on your naked flesh get you hard or wet? Do you want to
feel the grass and the earth against your back as we get off? Do you want to feel
exposed and vulnerable in the outdoors, or totally free and liberated? Do you enjoy
sensation play and would like to experience the joys of being tied to a tree while I use
tree branches and flowers, water and mud to stimulate and arouse your senses?
Likewise, San Francisco–based burlesque queen Lady Monster has been performing ecosex-
ual routines on the neo-burlesque circuit. She plans to put together a troupe featuring acts
referencing and eroticizing natural entities.
The first ‘‘ecoporn’’ was created by Fuck for Forest (FFF), a nonprofit ecological
organization founded in 2004 by an artist couple from Norway, Leona Johansson and
Tommy Hol Ellingsen. Started with seed money from the Norwegian government, FFF
makes porn that they put on their Fuck for Forest website for pay-per-view as a way to raise
money for ecological causes. San Francisco–based ecosexual feminist porn maker, artist, and
performer Madison Young incorporates ecosex into her feminist pornography by portraying
her own deep pleasure in, and connection to, rain, dirt, mountains, trees, lakes, and oceans.
By sharing her connection, intimacy, and affection for these entities, as well as for other
humans, she creates room to imagine sharing her desires with the other-than-human
organisms with whom we share the Earth. She and her husband married both each other
and the trees at an ecosexual wedding near Napa, California, in October 2014. We officiated
the wedding, and guests were instructed to ‘‘dress for the trees.’’ Young also performs a
powerful ‘‘ecosex magic ritual’’ in her one-woman theater piece Reveal All Fear Nothing, an
adaptation of Annie Sprinkle’s show Post Porn Modernist (1989–1994). Young has a huge
porn fan base that is being exposed to ecosex practices through her sexually explicit work,
increasing audience interest in these concepts.
ECOSEXUALITY AND INDIGENEITY
The first, and possibly only, person who has written about ecosex and indigeneity is Kim
TallBear, who is a Native studies scholar at the University of Alberta in Edmonton,
Canada. While she does not identify as ecosexual, she did write a blog about ecosexuality
after she marched in the 2012 San Francisco Dyke March with us while holding a sign that
read ‘‘ECOSEXUAL—THE EARTH IS MY LOVER.’’ TallBear takes seriously the
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liberatory possibilities of ecosexual ideas while warning against the dangers of appropriat-
ing indigenous practices and beliefs.
There are occasional references in ecosex literature to Native American knowledges
in ways that are what I would classify as ‘‘New Age,’’ and I would advise caution
around the appropriation of Native American knowledges and motifs to the
ecosexual ceremonial and artistic repertoire. . . . There are no easy, literal trans-
lations between indigenous ontologies and ecosexuality, at least among the
indigenous people I run with. Rather, there are careful conversations with much
careful thought to be had. (TallBear 2012)
TallBear’s statements show that ecosexuality, as it is practiced today, is a new field that
needs additional theorization and analysis. Ecosexual theory has a gap with respect to
indigeneity, but this does not mean that the only issue is the appropriation of Native American
knowledges and motifs. TallBear has also commented that ecosexual art and ideas create some
tensions in indigenous communities. Her indigenous studies students critiqued a scene in
Goodbye Gauley Mountain when an anti-MTR activist referred to strip mining as a form of
genocide, did not really believe that white people can have deep knowledge of land, and did
not like the sexualizing of Mother Earth (conversation with authors, November 2015). To
address these issues, more dialogue is needed with members of indigenous communities in
other venues and gatherings, such as in future ecosexual symposia.
CRITIQUES OF ECOSEXUALITY
Plenty of people—indigenous and nonindigenous—are critical about ecosexuality and have
strong opinions against it for a wide variety of reasons. General critiques that we have heard
include: ‘‘It’s perverted,’’ ‘‘Too weird,’’ ‘‘Not in God’s plan,’’ ‘‘It’s not real sex,’’ ‘‘Anything ‘eco’
is boring,’’ ‘‘It’s too granola,’’ and ‘‘Ecosex sounds so hippie-dippie.’’ As virtually all mainstream
organized religions preach that sex should be only between a man and a woman, it is
unsurprising that they have a real problem with the concept of ecosexuality, just as they do
with any other forms of alternative or queer sexual activities. Additionally, some people are
opposed to it because they consider it a label. Marty Klein, a sexologist and psychologist from
Palo Alto, California, feels that labels limit people. ‘‘So many people want to announce what
kind of person they are, instead of revealing who they actually are,’’ he said to us in a November
2, 2015, e-mail. ‘‘and labels can give the illusion of consensus where there isn’t any. And finally,
since sexuality is inherently so complex and fluid, labeling ourselves can be a lazy way of ending
our self-exploration.’’ Both socially conservative and socially progressive people can have issues
with ecosexuality. A student from the queer community at the University of California, Santa
Cruz, once told us that developing ecosexuality was ‘‘undermining the LGBTQ movement.’’
We are still not certain how this is so. Some people feel that ecosexuality is simply ‘‘too kinky’’
and ‘‘abnormal,’’ or that they cannot imagine the Earth as lover because they are very attached
to the idea of Earth as mother and are consequently averse to eroticizing Mother Earth. Some
think it sounds ‘‘too spiritual’’ or ‘‘too conceptual’’ and ‘‘not physical enough.’’
In the face of a general sense of erotophobia (fear of erotic subjects, practices, or
aesthetics) in US culture, ecosexuality is considered by some to be too overtly sexual, to be
inappropriate, and to sexualize the Earth in a disrespectful manner. During one environ-
mental justice gathering we attended, we were warned to tone down our enthusiasm about
ecosexuality at environmental activist gatherings and protests, lest we provoke or alienate
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local people or even other activists. Members within some communities of color are also
reluctant to engage ecosexuality because of centuries of systematic oppression deriving in part
from being more closely associated with animals instead of humans or having been consid-
ered fungible objects rather than living beings at all. Given that—and in the face of daily
systematic discrimination (including sexual objectification and simultaneous vilification that
erase intellectual, creative, and political agency)—the desire to step away from an already
contested category of sex conflated with nature is understandable, especially within a culture
that commodifies and demeans both.
Some people ask, ‘‘What about consent? Can nature consent?’’ Ecosexuals take these
questions seriously. For example, how do we know if a tree really wants to be hugged? We
admit that we can never know for sure. But we do know what the Earth’s entities do not want.
For instance, if a tree is girdled, meaning that its bark is cut and removed in a band that circles
all the way around the tree, the tree will die. Some studies, however, have shown that plants
(Tompkins and Bird 1973; Pollan 2013) and even the crystals that make up water (Emoto
2004) do respond well to human love. This response has the appearance of vitality, as
opposed to death or damage. In some of our theater pieces, such as our ecosex walking tours,
we try to connect with trees by consciously asking for consent and then listening carefully to
attempt to get a sense of what the tree may or may not desire. We get the feeling that some
trees apparently do not want to be hugged, whereas others invite us to hold them in our arms.
We engage our imagination and go by our intuition, which of course could be misguided, but
we do try our best to sense and be aware, respectful, and loving in the ways in which we
approach and interact with all nonhuman beings.
Summary
Ecosexuality as a term, an identity, a theoretical stance, and a set of practices is still relatively
new, as it emerged only around the beginning of the twenty-first century. As such, it is
constantly evolving within the work, lives, and ideas of artists, academics, people working in
the sex industries, and others. By being oriented primarily toward ecological awareness
through art practices, environmental activism, theoretical discourse, and pleasure, ecosex-
uality has the potential to reorient how we understand both sexuality and our relationship
with the Earth.
There is still work to be done toward understanding the relationship between ecosex-
uality and other ways that human/nature relations have been characterized, including such
areas of study as indigenous perspectives, queer theory, materialist feminism, ecofeminism,
posthumanism, biology, and deep ecology. We hope that as these potential connections and
alignments, as well as possible disagreements, become articulated, ecosexuality will continue
to develop as both an inclusive, critical field of study and a pleasurable practice. This is
particularly so as individuals, organizations, and even some world powers begin to acknowl-
edge anthropogenic climate change and realize that we must address environmental crises
and ecological destruction soon, if not immediately.
In the face of this, we believe that ecosexuality can offer valuable ways to address the
condition of the Earth now and in the future, by building communities of hope in which
human beings, working in collaboration with nonhuman beings, are able to think and act
alongside self-serving systems, such as capitalism and human exceptionalism, rather than
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thinking of those systems as being inevitable. Even if we cannot ‘‘save the world,’’ we can at
least entice and empower untapped populations of potential environmental activists; gen-
erate love and hope; contest and resist destructive systems; engage and use our imaginations
to envision a brighter, more sexually satisfying future; lubricate serious issues with humor;
and have mountains of ecosexual fun, as we face and embrace the unknown.
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F I L M S
Balkan Erotic Epic. Dir. Marina Abramović. 2005. This art
installation film portrays ancient Balkan fertility rites that
depict the enactment of sexual performances between
humans and nonhuman entities.
Community Action Center. Dir. A. K. Burns and A. L. Steiner.
2010.
Ecosexual. Dir. Antonio Da Silva. 2015. A short film depict-
ing a man exploring various ecosexual delights.
The Ecosex Wedding Project. Dir. Annie Sprinkle and
Elizabeth Stephens. 2014. A compilation of Stephens
and Sprinkle’s ecosex wedding performances.
Fuck for Forest. Dir. Michal Marczak. 2012. Follows FFF
members as they raise money for environmental causes
by making porn and having public sex, as well as their
attempt to donate this money to a Peruvian indigenous
ecologist to help his village.
Goodbye Gauley Mountain: An Ecosexual Love Story. Dir.
Elizabeth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle. 2013. This
feature-length documentary film follows Sprinkle and
Stephens as they join the fight for social justice in the
face of mountaintop removal coal mining in West
Virginia.
Green Porno. Dir. Isabella Rossellini and Jody Shapiro. 2008.
http://www.sundance.tv/series/greenporno. A series of
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short films in which Rossellini acts out the sexual mating
rituals of a variety of insects.
What the Bleep Do We Know? Dir. William Arntz, Betsy
Chasse, and Mark Vicente. 2004. A documentary explora-
tion of quantum physics and information about how water
responds to love and hate.
W E B S I T E S
As You Like It. http://asyoulikeitshop.com. Website of a
pleasure shop in Eugene, Oregon, owned by
environmental activist Kim Marks.
Bike Smut. http://www.bikesmut.com/. Sexy bicycle culture
with Reverend Phil and Poppy Cox.
E.A.R.T.H. LAB. http://earthlab.ucsc.edu/. Our center at
UCSC that produces and supports art that collaborates
with the Earth.
Eco Sex. http://www.mshelenamay.com/eco-sex/. Helena
May’s website.
Here Come the Ecosexuals. http://theecosexuals.ucsc.edu/.
Our website for our current project.
Orgasmic Yoga. http://www.orgasmicyoga.com. Sex educator
Joseph Kramer has produced several ecosex education
films. We recommend Ecosexual Feast with Diana Porno-
terrorista, http://orgasmicyoga.com/class/2165/.
SexEcology. http://sexecology.org/. Our primary website.
64 Dakini Oracle. http://www.64dakinioracle.com/. A
website of eco-erotic art by Penny Slinger.
The Young Mogul Love Ritual. https://theyoungmogull over-
itual.wordpress.com/call-for-collaborators/. Madison
Young’s website for her tree-centered wedding.
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