Blog

She said that reconnecting with nature might help address many of the climate issues.

A self-proclaimed “ecosexual” woman from Vancouver Island, British Colombia has stated that she is in an erotic relationship with an oak tree. Sonja Semyonova, a self-intimacy coach, even claims that the romantic energy she feels with the tree is what she has always sought in a partner, as per a report in the New York Post. 

“Ecosexual” is defined as a person who “finds nature romantic, sensual and sexy” and often imagines “Earth as their lover”. The 45-year-old said, “There was an eroticism with something so big and so old holding my back. The feeling of being tiny and supported by something so solid. The feeling of not being able to fall.”

The woman relocated to Canada’s Vancouver Island in the winter of 2020 and went on regular walks during the Covid-19 lockdown. She would walk around a huge oak tree near her house. “I was walking a path near the tree five days a week for the whole winter. I noticed a connection with the tree. I would lie against it. There was an eroticism with something so big and so old holding my back,” the nature lover added.

The tree-hugger claims that although being in love with another life form can sound strange, it is not the same as being with humans. “The presence I feel with the tree is what I’m looking for but that’s a fantasy with a person. I had been craving that rush of erotic energy that comes when you meet a new partner and that is not sustainable,” Ms Semyonova remarked.

She also added that she does not engage in physical acts with the tree. “A big misconception is that ecosexuality means sex between people and nature, it’s a different way to explore the erotic. To watch the changing of the seasons is to me an erotic act. You go from death in winter and then everything comes alive in spring and mates. There are similarities between sex with people and the eroticism ecosexuals feel with nature, but they’re not the same,” the woman stated.

According to Ms Semyonova, ecosexuality “is already present in a lot of people” and reconnecting with nature might help address many of the climate issues. “There’s a reason we want to go for picnics in parks and hike in nature. What we fail to notice is that the reason we want this is to tap into the life force that comes from these things, which is the erotic. I believe that we could gain from having a more symbiotic relationship with nature,” she added.