Erika Eiffel Explained

Erika Eiffel
Birth Name:Erika LaBrie
Birth Date:19 June 1972
Nationality:American, Italian
Other Names:Erika La Tour Eiffel
Known For:Archery, commitment ceremony to the Eiffel Tower, Objectum sexuality
Occupation:Archer
Spouse:the Eiffel Tower (m. 2007)

Erika Eiffel (LaBrie; born 1972), also known as Aya, is an American competitive archer and advocate for object sexuality. She "married" the Eiffel Tower[1] [2] [3] in a commitment ceremony in 2007.

Military career

After serving enlisted in the United States Air Force, Eiffel entered the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1993. In her first year, she was sexually assaulted by another cadet but thwarted the attack with a training sword. She was subsequently dismissed from the Academy with a personality disorder: "I really felt that the only way for me to sleep is if I was holding onto something, like my sword, because that was the one thing that protected me. And it just got worse," she said.[4]

Archery career

Eiffel started recurve archery in 1999 in Japan, and started shooting compound bow a year later.[5] In 2003, she won first place shooting compound bow in both the FITA and Olympic rounds at all three National Cup tournaments: Arizona Cup, Texas Shootout, and Gold Cup.[6] [7] [8] Following her sweep she went on to win gold and break the FITA team record with Team USA at the 42nd World Target Championships in New York City.[9]

Eiffel, known as "Aya" in the archery world, has represented the US at the FITA World Field Championships with Olympic recurve and also the FITA Target Championships and FITA World Cup with compound bow. She also competed in the IFAA Indoor Championships, where she won gold in 2007 and set the single-round world record in Mannheim, Germany, in Freestyle Limited Recurve.[10]

Eiffel was on the 2004 and 2006[11] US National Archery Team for compound bow and also the 2009 senior National Team for Olympic recurve.[12]

Eiffel and Objectum Sexuality

Eiffel is founder of OS Internationale, an organization for those who develop significant relationships with inanimate objects.[13] She claims that her object relationship with Lance, her competition bow, helped her to become a world-class archer.[14]

She encountered the Eiffel Tower in 2004, and said that she felt an immediate attraction.[1] She told ABC News that she and others "[...] feel an innate connection to objects. It comes perfectly normal to us to connect on various levels, emotional, spiritual and also physical for some."[15] In April 2009, on the second anniversary of her marriage to the Eiffel Tower, she appeared on Good Morning America and explained how her object love empowered her. Her 20 year relationship with the Berlin Wall inspired the musical theater production Erika's Wall.[16]

In 2011, a Finnish journalist moved to Berlin for a year to write a book about Eiffel's object relationships and everyday life. Rautaiset rakastajat – matkani Erika Eiffelin maailmaan ("Iron Lovers - My trip into Erika Eiffel's World") was published in Finland in October 2012.[17]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Inanimate attachment: Love objects. The Globe and Mail. Aug 21, 2009. 2010-05-04.
  2. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2074301/Woman-with-objects-fetish-marries-Eiffel-Tower.html Woman with objects fetish marries Eiffel Tower
  3. News: 'I married the Eiffel Tower' . . 25 May 2008 . Agnieszka . Piotrowska . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080527222907/http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/sunday-review/living/i-married-the-eiffel-tower-832519.html . 27 May 2008.
  4. Web site: Cadet Who Admitted To Assault Discharged Honorably. 24 Sep 2003. John Ferrugia. 24 January 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20030925193952/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/2506759/detail.html . 2003-09-25.
  5. Web site: Archer Spotlight on Aya La Brie. 2004. Steve Ross. 24 January 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20040705054657/http://www.nccn.net/~sross/aya.htm . 2004-07-05.
  6. Web site: Archery Team Selected at Arizona Cup for Croatia Grand Prix. 17 April 2003. Mary Beth Vorwerk. 24 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110216222136/http://www.texasarchery.org/L1/naa_releases.htm#04172003. 16 February 2011. dead.
  7. Web site: Resident Athletes Come out Strong at Texas Shootout. 29 April 2003. Mary Beth Vorwerk. 24 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110216222136/http://www.texasarchery.org/L1/naa_releases.htm#04292003. 16 February 2011. dead.
  8. Web site: Four Teams Selected Following World/Pan Am Trials. 17 June 2003. Mary Beth Vorwerk. 24 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110216222136/http://www.texasarchery.org/L1/naa_releases.htm#06172003. 16 February 2011. dead.
  9. Web site: U.S. wins six medals at World Target Championships. 22 July 2003. Mary Beth Vorwerk. 24 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110216222136/http://www.texasarchery.org/L1/naa_releases.htm#07222003. 16 February 2011. dead.
  10. Web site: World Indoor Records . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724004307/http://www.ifaa-archery.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=199#fsr . 2011-07-24 . dead . International Field Archery Association.
  11. Web site: 2006 United States Archery Team (USAT) . 24 January 2011 . Arizona Junior Olympic Archery Development . Arizona Archery.
  12. Web site: 2009 United States Archery Team and Junior USAT Announced. 24 January 2011. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101201071951/http://usarchery.org/news/2008/11/26/2009-united-states-archery-team-and-junior-usat-announced/8142 . 2010-12-01.
  13. http://objectum-sexuality.org Objectùm-Sexuality Internationale
  14. Web site: Woman marries Eiffel Tower. 8 June 2008. Unexplained Mysteries. 20 December 2010.
  15. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7283494&page=1 Woman Proves Love for Eiffel Tower With Commitment Ceremony
  16. Web site: Erika's Wall. 26 May 2016.
  17. Web site: Rautaiset rakastajat. 4 January 2013. fi.