Lena Chen

As I mentioned, I’m doing some catch-up blogging at the moment! Here’s a much belated copy of the February/March issue of BUST Magazine, which featured me in a story by Emily McCombs about sex bloggers who have been outed or subjected to harassment as a result of their writing. I’ve already blogged quite a bit about the vicious attacks that my friends and family have suffered over the years, but when interviewed for this piece last fall, I had no idea that some of my online stalkers would also be soon going after my readers. (I’m glad that this bullying has dwindled down the past few weeks, and I’m grateful for all the support that you guys have expressed!)

Next to some of the ladies in the above piece, I feel downright lucky. Melissa Petro was fired from her job as a teacher when she was outed as a sex worker. Zoe Margolis was relentlessly pursued by a tabloid that outed her. Most recently, Kendra Holliday is being sued by her ex-husband for full custody of her children because of her sexuality. Since I’ve always been self-employed, childless, and public with my identity, I haven’t had to deal with these problems (though I’m not sure “At least I’m not being canned!” is much of an upside to the situation). Nonetheless, it’s hard to explain to people why I continue doing what I’m doing. Isn’t writing about sex just attracting negative attention and bad publicity after all? This is actually  the precise topic about which I’m writing a personal essay right now … perhaps, I’ll share some of those thoughts on the blog when I’m feeling less vulnerable to misinterpretation.

In the meantime, you can read the full story from BUST. (Hint: you won’t be able to click through to the hi-res images on the Tumblr dashboard, so refer to TheChicktionary.com if you’re interested in reading):

Check out my interview with the Toronto-based Dollmag.ca! I talk about the impetus behind Feminist Coming Out Day and lament the highly idealized version of sex depicted in popular culture. An excerpt:

“Real sex is sometimes messy and embarrassing and doesn’t always work out the way you planned. Treating it like it’s something that’s perfect all time (makes) people feel like there’s something wrong with them if they don’t like vanilla sex, or if they can’t come, or if they’re not as great in bed as they’d like to be.”

Number one reason why I call myself a “reluctant sexpert” on my professional website: I’m not here to tell you the secret formula for amazing sex or true love. In fact, I think the overemphasis in our society on achieving both leaves way too many people feeling inadequate for not wanting or being able to.

(Source: lenachen)