Ecosexuals Want To Save Planet Earth By Making Love To It - And Why Not?

Although there are many who like to deny it, climate change is happening. The Anthropocene is upon us. And as a result of that the earth will change—carbon dioxide in the air increases, temperatures rise, ice melts, oceans rise. While some of the effects can't be stopped, depending on whether CO2 emissions can be stalled, we might still avoid the most catastrophic consequences—although as the years pass that view looks increasingly optimistic.

In the face of all this doom and inaction has arisen the ecosexual movement, a literal take on the idea that we have f*cked the planet. Because ecosexuals are people who like to have sex with the earth. A recent expression of ecosexuality came in the form of an interactive art installation at by artists Loren Kronemyer and Ian Sinclair of Pony Express at the Sydney LiveWorks Festival of experimental art.

Called the Ecosexual Bathhouse it features a range of pieces, "eco-erotic experiences," where visitors can get frisky with nature, like a composting glory hole. "Sex sells, and if humans can learn to love the environment, maybe they can learn to preserve it." say the artists.

The movement itself is championed by a range of artists and activists, notably San Francisco-based couple Annie Sprinkle and Elizabeth Stephens, who have created the "ecosex manifesto" which states that "The Earth is our lover."

A faculty member at the UNLV School of Community Health Sciences Amanda Morgan, who is part of the ecosexual movement, told VICE that defining an ecosexual is not unlike the Kinsey Scale. "On one end, it encompasses people who try to use sustainable sex products, or who enjoy skinny dipping and naked hiking. On the other are 'people who roll around in the dirt having an orgasm covered in potting soil,' she said. 'There are people who f*ck trees, or masturbate under a waterfall.'

Although many of the activities of the movement are done in good humor, ultimately their aim is serious. The VICE article says, according to Morgan, the movement's aim is the idea that "thinking about the earth as a lover is the first step toward taking the environmental crisis seriously. 'If you piss off your mother, she's probably going to forgive you. If you treat your lover badly, she's going to break up with you.'

Check out some photos from the Ecosexual Bathhouse exhibition below.