Lena Chen

High fashion, minus the labels | CNN.com

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:00:06 +0100

High fashion, minus the labels | CNN.com:

Here’s a quick read for your lazy long weekend! A CNN piece I was quoted in:

Twenty-year-old, 6-foot-1 Andrej Pejic is a model for success: a women’s size 2 or 4; angular cheekbones; full, pouty lips; bleached-blond hair; and impossibly long legs. Yet the walk down the runway — often squeezed into a ladies’ size 10 shoe — hasn’t always been a smooth and glamour-ridden one.

Bosnian-born Pejic grew up as the younger son to a single mother of two. He spent most of his childhood in a Serbian refugee camp before moving to Melbourne, Australia. While others are quick to attach labels to Pejic — he’s been referred to in the media everywhere from “James Blond” to “gender bender” to “femiman” — androgynous sensation Pejic isn’t so quick to constrict himself to a particular description… [continued]

I don’t think there should be an “acceptable” way to dress or to present yourself according to your gender, so I think it’s pretty awesome that Andrej Pejic has taken the fashion world by storm. As I mention in the linked article, however, visibility can only do so much to counter the existing gender binary, and let’s not forget that profit interests are the reason why Pejic’s strutting down the runway.

In fact, rather than subverting norms, might this trend in gender ambiguity reinforce them? Pejic’s look is first and foremost a source of profit for the agency and designers who employ him. There’s a big difference between appearing androgynous and being trans or gender-queer, but a fashion spread is not going to articulate all those nuances, nor does it even touch upon the kinds of prejudice or outright violence that many trans folks encounter because of the way they dress. Your average 20-year-old transgender person is not a highly sought after model, yet they’re the ones who aren’t insulated from harassment, discrimination, and physical violence. That isn’t to say that Pejic doesn’t encounter ignorance as well, but he enjoys some economic insulation, which shouldn’t be underestimated. Employment is a privilege that many trans people can’t count on (since gender identity and expression aren’t constitutionally protected rights). All in all, I have my doubts about whether this trend actually challenge mainstream ideas about beauty and gender or if it merely fetishizes androgyny.

“He Came To Stay” | Explosion Proof Fall 2011 Forgot to blog...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:28:33 +0100

“He Came To Stay” | Explosion Proof Fall 2011

Forgot to blog this when it came out last fall, but here’s a personal essay I wrote about my relationship with Patrick (for Explosion Proof’s “State of the Union” issue). Simone de Beauvoir inspired the title. I was reading Tête-à-Tête at the time.

(To read the article, click to the individual page and right-click “view image”).

Join me and XOXOSMS for Virtual V-Day! In an LDR? Totally...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:46:15 +0100

Join me and XOXOSMS for Virtual V-Day!

In an LDR? Totally bummed you can’t snuggle up to your sweet this Valentine’s Day? We’ve got something just for you! On Februrary 14th at 6pm EST, join us for the premiere of xoxosms followed by a panel about love, intimacy, sex, and the Internet (all of our favorite things!).

This is a date night for the 21st Century: fire up Skype (or gchat or oovoo!), connect with your beloved, and tune into the film together. Then stick around to have a conversation about how technology is changing the way we live and love. Panelists include director Nancy Schwartzman, Lena Chen of “Sex and The Ivy”, Twanna Hines aka “Funky Brown Chick”, writer for Ebony and Glamour, Melissa Gira Grant of The Guardian and The New York Observer, Samhita Mukhopodyay, Editor of Feministing.com, and Melanie Wallner from student focused online dating platform DateMySchool.com.

Save the date!

(I’ll be in NYC this Friday through Valentine’s Day. Join me online for the livestream!)

10 Myths About Sex and Virginity - Debunked

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:02:05 +0100

10 Myths About Sex and Virginity - Debunked:

So glad to see that people are still talking about this! Over at lipstick-feminists, a reader submitted a piece by the fab Lori Adelman about some takeaway points from the Rethinking Virginity Conference I organized back in 2010. Lori wrote:

The conference was organized by Lena Chen and the Harvard Queer Students’ Association, and brought together an incredibly diverse and impressive group of feminists, who dropped some serious knowledge on all things virgin-themed. One of the most interesting parts of the panel was learning how much misinformation exists around issues of virginity, sex, and our bodies. I’ve compiled ten myths uncovered- and debunked- at yesterday’s conference.

Virginity is a topic I’ve written a ton about - and to be honest, after spending a year researching it for my thesis, I’ve had to take a bit of a break from the subject. But I think Lori’s piece was such a great summation of the discussion that I had to repost! If you’re interested in learning about how virginity relates to slut-shaming, the institution of marriage, queer sexuality, and ideas about the hymen and female anatomy, … seriously, read it.

where is your line? | Lena Chen: Badass Activist Friday! The...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:06 +0100

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!

Upcoming Speaking/Travel Dates

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Upcoming Speaking/Travel Dates:

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...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:02:06 +0100

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.

Voice Of Russia | Violence Against Female Bloggers

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:21:06 +0100

Voice Of Russia | Violence Against Female Bloggers:

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

The Girls' State Of The Union Video Contest

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:06:00 +0100

The Girls' State Of The Union Video Contest:

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 :)

Bedsider.org Is Here For All Your Contraceptive Needs

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:35:05 +0100

Bedsider.org Is Here For All Your Contraceptive Needs:

As many of you know, the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has been a client of mine for the past two years. Today, they are launching Bedsider.org, and I’m SUPER EXCITED to introduce such a relatable and valuable resource to you guys. Given the litany of contraceptive options out there, it can be intimidating to navigate those waters on your own. Birth control is one of the number one topics that I get questions about. I hope that Bedsider will offer the answers I can’t, while allowing you to hear from real users themselves.

In coming weeks, the National Campaign, in collaboration with the Ad Council, will distribute Bedsider PSAs to more than 33,000 media outlets (in television, radio, print, and web) as part of the first-ever multimedia public service campaign aimed at addressing unplanned pregnancy among young women in America. Bedsider, a comprehensive online and mobile program, helps sexually active women 18-24 find the right birth control method for them and use it carefully and consistently in an effort to prevent unplanned pregnancy. At Bedsider, visitors can explore, compare, and contrast all available methods of contraception, set up birth control and appointment reminders, view videos of their peers discussing personal experiences, and view animated shorts that debunk myths about birth control.

Some of my previous writing for SexReally has already begun appearing on the Bedsider blog. I can’t wait to share the new ways I’ll be working with them in the months to come :)

The Daily Beast | The Reality Of Misogyny Online

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:23:59 +0100

The Daily Beast | The Reality Of Misogyny Online:

It’s been an eventful week for the targets of online misogyny. Just a few days ago, bloggers began tweeting under the hashtag #ThreatOfTheDay to bring awareness to the violent threats and harassment they face everyday on the Internet. Yesterday, Sady Doyle at Tiger Beatdown wrote about how she was completely blindsided by the extent of the sexism she encountered as a woman blogger:

What I got, friends, were comments. Comments about myself. And blogs about myself. And message-board discussions, also about myself. And e-mails. What I got was what every woman (feminist or not) and openly anti-sexist person (woman or not) on this our Internet gets: I got targeted. With threats, with insults, with smear campaigns, with attempts to threaten my employment or credibility or just general ability to get through the day with a healthy attitude and a minimal amount of insult.

She proposed a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #MenCallMeThings. (And if you click on that link, you’ll see some pretty alarming examples of how far we’ve got to go.) Though I’d agree there’s an undeniably gendered nature to many of these attacks, I find it somewhat limiting that men are being called out as perpetrators and women considered their victims. Jessica Bennett at The Daily Beast wrote a story a few days ago about how misogyny plays out on the Internet, using pro-rape Facebook pages as an example. Having received a wide range of insults (based on my race, education, gender, sexual history, etc.) in wide range of forums (email, my comments’ section, anonymous message boards, hate blogs devoted to me), I can attest that gender is not the only component at play, though it has a significant role. According to my experience and social science, the overwhelming majority of online harassers are straight, white, cisgender men, but their victims run the gamut, though they tend to be people of color, queer people, women — in other words, those who are already part of socially marginalized groups. For example, I know many men who have been called pretty nasty things by other men because of their sexual orientation, race, political views, or gender identity. If you don’t abide by the rules of the “in-group”, you’re game for attack.

I take free speech seriously, so this is not just a case of some sensitive chicks not being able to take criticism. I deal with a lot of pearl-clutching and finger-wagging in my line of work, and I don’t expect most conservative people to agree with my views or my lifestyle. This isn’t about moral judgment, but something far more sinister. The type of people who call you “Asian human garbage” or tell you to “enjoy getting fired” are not god-fearing virginity pledgers who just want you to denounce your sinful ways and accept Jesus into your life*. Trolls are not interested in your immortal soul, and they’re not even really interested in voicing an opinion. Their mission is a very specific and scary one: to tear you down however they can, not simply because they want you to know that you are wrong, but because they want to make it impossible for you to keep doing what you’re doing.

In my case, it’s clear they want to force me offline. Why else would they go from attacking me and my family/friends/partner to defaming those who read my blog or “like” my Facebook status updates? The fallout is not inconsequential. Some people are, in fact, scared off the web. (Remember the Kathy Sierra incident?) Others, like me, simply start to self-censor or roll back their “public face”, often at a professional disadvantage. There’s no framework in place to identify or punish those who use the Internet to stalk, harass, and intimidate, so the impetus is on the victims to do something about it. Is a Twitter campaign going to put an end to cyber attacks and defamation? Unlikely, since I’m sure the perpetrators are well-aware that they’re engaging in questionably moral behavior. My hope is that media coverage and public attention of this issue will mitigate damage toward victims’ reputations and that reasonable people will think twice before they believe what they read on the Internet.

* And yes, these are actual comments I’ve gotten.

Related posts on online harassment:

Slut-Shaming In Action: A Warning To Readers
Cyber-Bullying & Slut-Shaming: A Cautionary Tale
Reader Question: “Why Do You Think You Have So Many Haters?”
This Is What Slut-Shaming Looks Like

Have you encountered harassment online? Tweet it with the hashtag #mencallmethings and #threatoftheday or leave it in the comments below. Please use a pseudonym for your own protection.

MookyChick's Feminist Flash 2011 Competition

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:36:18 +0100

MookyChick's Feminist Flash 2011 Competition:

I’m judging an awesome writing contest over at MookyChick, a UK-based alternative women’s site. (You might remember this interview they did with me last month.) It’s easy to enter — the maximum word length for each entry is 200 words — and there’s a cash prize (as well as a feministy one) involved. Here are the details:

Slut shaming. Contraception. Body dysmorphia. Ladette culture. Impossible Disney princesses. The glass ceiling for women in everything from banking to comedy. Acid attacks in S Asia. Systematic rape in Sierra Leone. FGM. Saudi women permitted to vote but not drive themselves to the polling station. Being told it’s, uh, you know, dude, a little bit uncool to call yourself a feminist. Feminism is prevalent in all aspects of society and affects, ooh, pretty much 100% of the population!

To promote feminism in writing, Mookychick is proud to announce a new annual writing competition, FEMINIST FLASH 2011. It’s dead easy to enter, and you should. Right now! Channel your inner Dorothy Parker / Caitlin Moran / Margaret Atwood / Naomi Wolfe and you’ll win wealth, fame and a 1 year digital subscription to BUST Magazine.

The first-prize winner of the best haiku, poem or flash fiction (under 200 words) receives:

£100 (or your country’s equivalent)
Publication with a link to your blog on Mookychick
1 Year digital subscription to the fabled Bust magazine!

Entries accepted until November 30, 2011. Check out the runner-up prizes and full instructions on how to enter at MookyChick!

Tell your feminist writer pals and please reblog to spread the word :)

Vote for College Candy's Most Influential Women

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:19:00 +0200

Vote for College Candy's Most Influential Women:

Happy Monday! I’m nominated for Most Influential Female Blogger over at College Candy. Check out all the nominees in the different categories and fill out a survey of who you think represents the best of the best — everyone who votes gets entered to win a prize from Rent The Runway :)

Debut Giveaway For My New "Ch!ckTalk" Subscribers

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:16:15 +0200

Debut Giveaway For My New "Ch!ckTalk" Subscribers:

Listen up! If you haven’t subscribed yet to Ch!ckTalk, you need to do that like right now. All you commit to is one email per month (full of updates, awesome events, Hamlet photos, and unfinished writing I’m too embarrassed to post in public). Each month, I’ll also have a different sponsor (or sponsors) offering an exclusive discount to all list members and an awesome prize to one lucky subscriber.

The Sex Toy Stand, an online retailer of adult products, is sponsoring the debut edition of the newsletter. My first 100 subscribers will be receiving a unique promotional code for orders on their web store, and one person (chosen at random from those on the list) will win a $20 gift certificate to The Sex Toy Stand and a full set of Kama Sutra’s new Massage Candles (a $92 value!):

Sensually scented candles that melt from candle wax to a warm liquid massage oil in minutes, Kama Sutra Massage Candles are all natural and formulated with a proprietary blend of skin-conditioning coconut oil, shea butter and vitamin E. Scents include: Deep Ocean, Island Passion, Tropical Nights and Mediterranean Almond.

All you’ve got to do to receive a code and enter the giveaway (and all future giveaways) is to subscribe here to the newsletter. Next month? I’ve got an even cooler contest in store ;)

Help Me Win My Own Show On Shape.com!

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:00:05 +0200

Help Me Win My Own Show On Shape.com!:

Hi folks, I’m currently up for the Best Blogger Awards at SHAPE Magazine — and the grand prize winner gets their own web show sponsored by the magazine! If you want to see a mainstream women’s website host a video series promoting positive body image and sexuality, please take a few seconds to click over and vote for The Chicktionary.

To promote my blog’s nomination, I’ll be hosting interviews with guest experts and doing giveaways of books, sex toys, and more! Get the first scoop on my social media-specific contests by following me on Twitter, liking my page on Facebook, and signing up for my new monthly newsletter. (I’ll be announcing a giveaway for the first 100 subscribers this week.)

For a peek at some of The Chicktionary’s greatest hits, check out the following posts on fitness, sexual health, mental health, and body image:

On Harvard and (Un)Happiness
Why I Won’t Shut Up About Having HPV
What Sex Blogging & The Freshman 15 Taught Me
The Gym-A-Phobe’s Guide To Having Your Cupcake & Eating It Too
How I Dumped The Pill And Met The IUD
Bad Feminist Confessions: I Just Wish I Were Thin
The Blueprint Myth

Voting ends October 28th and I’m currently at #3. Help me get to the top spot by sharing the link with your friends :)

Vote For Me In The 2011 WMC Social Media Award

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:47:00 +0200

Vote For Me In The 2011 WMC Social Media Award:

So kids, I’m a nominee for the 2011 Social Media Award from the Women’s Media Center. If you’ve found my blogging and online communication strategy* to be helpful/entertaining/educational/etc., cast a vote for me here!

Y’all are always asking me for website recommendations, so here’s a tip: check out the other nominees in the category. According to the Women’s Media Center, “The nominees represent a diverse group of journalists, bloggers and tweeters who spread their ‘message’ by using their creativity and resourcefulness via the interwebs through social networking, blogging and mobile outreach.” I’m friends with several of the nominated women, so I can attest that they are as awesome personally as they are professionally. They do some fabulously creative work and represent a really diverse spectrum of interests (they’re not all writers, by the way). On the voting page, you can read bios for each person and click over to their site.

Thanks for voting! And because this IS a social media award after all, I encourage you to reblog, Tweet, and distribute this post widely ;)

* This “online communications strategy” largely consists of sneaking commentary about gender politics in between posts about domestic squabbles and inappropriate conversations I’ve had with my friends. Given my inability to sound or look like an adult in real life, I think I actually make a better impression from behind the computer screen.

“Confessions Of A Bad Feminist: I, Too, Wish For...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:58:00 +0200

“Confessions Of A Bad Feminist: I, Too, Wish For Beauty”
Underwired Magazine | October 2011

I have a piece reprinted in Underwired Magazine this month. I don’t write all that frequently about body image — or my body, for that matter — but it’s one of the most common topics that readers ask me about. I’ve written before that I don’t feel comfortable giving advice on exercise or diet: 1) because I’m not anyone’s doctor and 2) because I think it’s misguided to equate “being healthy” with “looking ‘good’”, especially since definitions of attractiveness are anything but arbitrary. Another reason for my hesitance, however, is the fact that I struggle with how I look myself. It’s not like I’m sooo beyond superficial concerns about my waistline simply because I’ve taught myself some feminist theory. It’s an on-going, up-hill battle, and the above essay was one step toward a healthier body image. But I’m not there yet and I wonder if I ever will be. (More on this topic tomorrow.)

For the high-resolution version of the essay, click here.

Sex Really | Are Stayover Relationships the Wave of the Future?

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:06:05 +0200

Sex Really | Are Stayover Relationships the Wave of the Future?:

What do you call it when you really like someone, spend the night together all the time, but don’t necessarily want to shack up? According to a team of University of Missouri researchers, that’s a “stayover relationship,” and it’s becoming a popular dating model for young adults …

So! This was the topic of my latest piece for SexReally.com, and I’m dying to know: has anyone heard of the term “stayover relationships” before or do you share the stance of my friend (below):

When I asked a female friend if I could talk to her about her thoughts on her own stayover relationship, she told me, “I’ve never heard of this term … i thought that’s just what couples did.”

Right?! That’s totally what I thought too, but I do think it makes some sense to distinguish the stayover model from cohabitation. As much as I cringe at trend stories, this is a social phenomenon that deserves more than a mention in The New York Times’ Style section. Why? Because it indicates that social mores and the experiences of young adults have changed dramatically in recent decades. From my article:

Plenty of people—not just young folks—do use the stayover model today with no fanfare. A couple generations ago, however, it never would have existed, at least not without some serious controversy. What changed in between? For one, women nowadays enjoy greater economic equality and no longer have to choose between living with their parents and moving in with their husband. It’s socially acceptable and economically feasible for them to live on their own, while simultaneously, the taboo against premarital sex have loosened. Young people today are also getting married later, in part because of higher education.

Call me a geek, but I’m pretty fascinated how courtship patterns evolve as a result of changes in gender equality and views toward queer sexuality. Definitely a topic worth further sociological examination.

“How To Lose Your Virginity” filmmaker Therese Shechter captured...

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:55:24 +0200

“How To Lose Your Virginity” filmmaker Therese Shechter captured some amazing footage and interviews from SlutWalk NYC, which I attended on Saturday. Check out a gal dressed as Hester Prynne (!!) at 00:23, Jenn Levya of Fat And The Ivy at 00:30, Jennifer Pozner of Women In Media and News at 00:50, Sady Doyle of Tiger Beatdown at 01:28, and feminist writer Nona Willis Aronowitz at 2:06.

I missed the sign-making portion of the event, so I hijacked someone else’s “I ask for it when I’m asking for it” poster (see if you can spot it in the video!) I think the award for geekiest/cleverest sign has got to go to Jenn for the following creation:

This post comes after many, MANY reader requests on SlutWalk coverage. I’ve been following the event quite closely, but for a host of reasons, haven’t felt qualified to comment on the it. Salamishah Tillet, a classmate from my Progressive Women’s Voices media training, wrote a piece for The Nation last week about participating as a woman of color. I share many of her mixed feelings toward SlutWalk. (I encourage you to read her essay.)

I didn’t “dress up” for the event, by which I mean that I didn’t dress down. That surprised at least a couple of my friends, since I’ve never been one to turn down an opportunity to scandalize. I didn’t see that as the point of SlutWalk, though. While I’m sure the scantily clad crowds are part of the reason why the event has attracted (often inaccurate) media coverage, the organizers encouraged marchers to wear what makes them comfortable. Had the weather not been on the chillier end, would I have gone topless? Maybe, but ultimately, what I or any other marcher wore was irrelevant, because the event itself was about why no one’s outfit — or sexual history, background, job, etc. — should ever be used as a justification for sexual harassment and assault. As Nona said in the above video, she’s even been harassed while wearing sweatpants and PJ’s. So why in the world do we still have cops telling women to “protect” themselves by not dressing like sluts? If sexual violence prevention were really that simple, rape wouldn’t exist in the Northeast during the parka-happy months of December-March.

Have you attended a SlutWalk event? I’d be interested to hear about your experience! Here are some thoughts from Therese, the filmmaker of the above clip:

This past Saturday, October 1st, Slutwalk came to New York City, and I was there with my camera to record scene at the march. Please feel free to share it far and wide!*

For me, one of the truly frustrating things about coverage of SlutWalks all over the world has been the media’s focus on the most elaborately undressed and risque marchers, leading people to believe the events are solely about demanding the right to dress like a slut. I hope this video gives people a sense of the range of participants (gender, orientation, background, race, age) that were there marching, chanting and generally raising some hell. You’ll want to hit pause over and over again to read all the signs!!

Some other coverage of the event from The Nation, RH Reality Check, NY Post (but not loving the ‘hundreds of scantily clad ladies’ line). Please send us more links to stories!

A BRIEF PRIMER:

If you’re not familiar with SlutWalk, the SlutwalkNYC organizers have lots of info on their website, but here’s quick intro:

SlutWalk has become a worldwide grassroots movement challenging rape culture, victim-blaming and slut-shaming, and working to end sexual and domestic violence. The name has been controversial, but the mission is a powerful one: to shed the stereotypes and myths of sexual assault, support a better understanding of why sexual assault happens, and put the blame where it belongs–on those who perpetrate it.

SlutWalk started in my fabulous home town of Toronto, where in January 2011 a group of York University college students asked a representative of the Toronto Police Department how keep themselves safe from sexual assault. His response of “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized” galvanized the women into creating SlutWalk in Toronto.

At the time, I’m sure they didn’t realize they were about to unleash a powerful political movement that would spread like wildfire. Marches have been held all over the world, from Delhi to Capetown, Seoul to Mexico City, and in cities all across the US.

SLUTWALK NYC’s MISSION:

No matter who you are
No matter where you work
No matter how you identify
No matter how you flirt
No matter what you wear
No matter who you choose to love
No matter what you said before:

NO ONE has the right to touch you without your consent.

*We’d love you to share and embed this video, and if you can, please link back to this blog at virginitymovie.com or to Trixie Films at trixiefilms.com. If you want to do more than embed it, like use it in your own project, please contact us and we’ll figure it out. Thanks for supporting independent feminist media!

(via SlutWalkNYC: A Video Diary | How to Lose Your Virginity)

Mookychick | Interview With Lena Chen

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:26:05 +0200

Mookychick | Interview With Lena Chen:

Magda Knight from the UK alternative women’s site Mookychick did an interview with me on sex blogging and feminism. Here’s a snippet on the politics of coming out:

Magda: We were really interested by something John Barrowman said recently in a Metro interview, that he felt it was totally reasonable to stay in the closet if you weren’t ready to come out for personal reasons, but he hoped everyone staying in the closet for career reasons would make an effort to overcome their reticence. We’re thinking of all the celebrities and politicians and religous figures out there (including the ones that might be gay but are still anti gay marriage)… Do you have an opinion on holding back from coming out?

Lena: I feel really uncomfortable with the outing of prominent people, nor do I think that anyone has an obligation to come out. Even though if someone is relatively privileged compared to the next person, sexuality is an incredibly personal thing that belongs to them and no one else. Who knows if they’re keeping quiet because they don’t want to upset their family or if they’re afraid of being fired? Employment discrimination is a very real concern, since there’s no federal law against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Outing someone for political purposes — even in the name of progress — violates their privacy and also makes it seem like homosexuality is something to be ashamed of. Beyond that, I question whether “coming out” is really the most effective way to bring about change. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to “come out”, and queer folks who are further marginalized because of socioeconomic status, disability, geographic residence, and religion may feel particular pressure to make symbolic statements, but they’re also the ones who face the greatest repercussions for leaving the closet.

We also covered my upbringing, online harassment, the pros and cons of Internet activism and the feminist blog-o-sphere, sex work, and much, much more. Check it out!