is a reluctant sexpert, a feminist and queer advocate, and a walking case study on bad publicity. As a Harvard undergrad, she authored the blog Sex and the Ivy about her college sexcapades and misadventures. Her reputation has never quite recovered. Want to give her a book deal, send her hate mail, or misquote her in an article? Read her daily musings at The Ch!cktionary and check out her full bio.
where is your line? | Lena Chen: Badass Activist Friday!
The Line Campaign chatted with me for their feminist interview series. I talked about my ambivalence toward the “sexpert” label, dating while feminist, and my upcoming web series on gURL.com. Check it out!
(via lenachen)
Holy crap, traveling for the past month has totally done a number on my skin, immune system, and sleep schedule. Three more days in China and then I’m off to LA for a week - yet another climate and time change. Never thought I’d be looking forward to returning to the frigid New England winter, but I’m longing for some normality (and a wardrobe change) after weeks on the road.
After I get back to Boston on the 30th, I’m going to be in proposal writing mode for the indefinite future so there will be fewer new articles and blog posts coming up. Though most of my literary output will remain private for a while, I’ll have a web series coming out soon and I’ll be doing sporadic speaking gigs. That said, I’m trying to cut down on travel and extraneous obligations, so I can spend as much time as possible in Boston and not get sick like I did last year when I was running about doing Feminist Coming Out Day. I only have half a year before my Berlin move, and I have to seriously reorganize my life to make writing and my codependent relationship with my best friend my two top priorities :)
Here’s an incomplete list of where I’ll be in upcoming months …
JANUARY 22-30
Visiting Family in Los Angeles, CA
FEBRUARY 5
Panel for Sex Week At Yale in New Haven, CT
FEBRUARY 14
Panel for XOXOSMS Internet Premiere in New York City, NY
MARCH 9-13
SXSW Interactive/Film (for Sex in the Digital Age panel) in Austin, TX
APRIL 1-3
Sex::Tech 2012 (for XOXOSMS screening and panel) in San Francisco, CA
I also have to visit LA one more time before I move to Germany (or my mother will actually kill me) and I may make it over to DC at some point, but that’s all to be determined. I was also originally supposed to do a reunion with friends in New Orleans in early March, right before SXSW, but sadly, I don’t think I can afford that at the moment. (Unless someone wants to fly me over to speak, pretty please?)
Due to lack of time/money/energy, I don’t think I’ll be adding much more to my plate this spring, but as always, shoot me an email if you’re interested in hosting me as a speaker. I’ll update the above list as details get solidified (there’s a few Harvard events and some local stuff I’m still getting confirmation on). Also, for everyone who’s been inundating my inbox, I’ll be back in civilization this weekend and hope to have a handle on late emails by next week.
Now … it’s time to end this Asia trip on a high note! It’s right before Chinese New Year, and I can think of no better place to start the Year of the Dragon than in Shanghai :)
How The Internet Changed My Sex Life | Audrey Magazine
I was a guest columnist for Audrey Magazine’s Fall 2011 issue. Here’s a snippet of my piece on how online dating has altered the way we choose partners:
With the array of choices online, it’s tempting to rely on search features that comb through user databases to spit out results based on age, ethnicity, religion, education and even dietary preferences. The criteria with which you can assess potential partners range from the trivial (pet ownership status) to the maddeningly obscure (foreign languages spoken). Should a romantic decision really come down to whether someone is more of a dog person or a cat person? The Internet can make dating seem like an interview process. It’s easy to get caught up in looking for the next best thing or to falsely believe that you don’t need to compromise on your vision of an ideal partner or relation- ship, because there’s always that elusive better offer.
In this day and age, what happens virtually isn’t distinct from “the real world”; it’s part of it. I think OkCupid, Grindr, and similar services can be really fantastic ways to meet people (as long as you don’t get addicted, as SO many of my friends have). I know plenty of folks who have turned online flirtations into offline relationships, but just as many who end up in unfulfilling cycles of serial dating.
The article’s not up on the magazine’s website yet, but my editor just sent the PDF to me. To read the whole thing, click here.
(Source: lenachen)
Following up on my post about the recent Twitter campaigns to bring awareness to gendered cyber harassment, here’s a link to a radio segment I did on the topic as part of Jamila Bey’s SPAR (Sex, Politics, and Religion) show, airing on Voice of Russia’s American outlet (AM 1390 in DC / AM 1430 in NYC). Rebecca Watson, the founder of Skepchick and co-host of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe, was also a guest on the show. Rebecca discussed her own experiences with online harassment, which included a troll who was eventually arrested for making death threats against her.
Check out the audio recording of the show at the link above.
For related posts on online harassment, check out the “haterade” tag on TheChicktionary.com
UPDATE: The Women’s Media Center has extended the deadline for its Girls’ State Of The Union contest to December 12th.
The Women’s Media Center invites girls from all over the United States, ages 14-22, to create a 1-5 minute Girls’ State of the Union video in response to the President’s speech. Like the President’s report, the Girls’ State of the Union will sum up the condition of the country—with special emphasis on the welfare of girls—and an outline of what the President’s legislative agenda and priorities for congress should be.
Five finalists will be highlighted on the Women’s Media Center’s YouTube channel and a group of diverse and talented celebrity and new media influencer judges (including yours truly) will choose the winner. The winner, along with her parents or guardians, will be flown to Washington, DC to present her State of the Union report at the National Press Club in January. For more details on how to enter, check out the official webpage.
Don’t forget that I’m also judging the Feminist Flash Fiction contest over at MookyChick. The prize is £100 and a one-year subscription to BUST Magazine for the writer of the best submission under 200 words. Think: haiku, six-word memoir, etc. Just make it short and sweet. Best part? You can enter more than once!
Good luck, and please reblog and spread the word widely :)
(Source: lenachen)
Here are some snippets from Ain’t I A Woman: Race In The Feminist Movement, an event organized by Morgane Richardson, Jamia Wilson, Shelby Knox, and Ileana Jimenez:
On April 11th, 2011 in Brooklyn’s Galapagos Art Space, a group of women came together to ignite a discourse about the experiences of women of color in the feminist movement and beyond. On this night, six outstanding feminists and activists went head-to-head to discuss race in the feminist movement today.
I’m in a teeny segment (where I’m moderating the last panel) — check out the whole thing if you weren’t able to come out! There were some rad moments that made it in film. (I also wrote about some of the conversation topics in a previous recap post.)
Video Production Credit: Ashley Tyner
