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 environmentalismvirtuous 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 worlds 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, 1819). 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 eartha central element of Morriss 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 naturethrough 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 Go?mez-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 Stephenss mobile jewel box theater, dressing room, parade float, and art installation. Photo is from Sprinkle and Stephenss 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 O? 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 ecofeminisms concern with the destruction of the natural world in the context of unequal gender relations, and queer ecofeminisms 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 Morriss scholarship, academics from a variety of different disciplines are also contributing to the growing body of ecosexual research and theory. Serena Anderlini-DOnofrio, 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). TallBears 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-DOnofrio 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 Sof??a 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 Sof??as 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- liberalthat is, free-market capitalistextraction 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 MountainAn Ecosexual Love Story. 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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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 roses 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 individuals 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 cant live without you. At first you may feel embarrassed to be lovers with the Earth. Relax, let it go. Its OK. Spend time with her. Ask him what he likes, wants, and needsthen 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 shes 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 entitiesto 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
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