September 2010
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Times Higher Education | Sex and blogs and shock... →
Great story by Kaite Welsh, who recognizes that the rise of student sex columns and blogs “is not just an exercise in pornography or titillation” but rather a reflection of the fact that “the personal is the political” — a sentiment I mentioned in my interview with her. The article was inspired in part by Dan Reimold’s new book, Sex and the University: Celebrity, Controversy and a Student...
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Anonymous asked: You've written a lot about catcalling, street harassment, etc. recently, and it's started me wondering; I've never been the type of guy to wolf whistle, catcall, or do anything overt (beyond occasionally staring a little less than discreetly) when confronted with a gorgeous stranger, but I'm curious as to whether, in your opinion, there's a non-confrontational way to...
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Things That Do Not Go Together During A Shower
Loofahs and nipple piercings.
That is all.
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I had a mini-breakdown yesterday.
Pretty much right after I got home from the airport at 10 p.m. Probably caused by the fact that I was trapped on a plane for eight hours with a broken entertainment system and no functioning light. (Was practically going blind in the name of reading Marilyn French’s The Women’s Room.)
Anyway. All I will share is that I had a domestic dispute that involved a Hello Kitty Christmas...
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WatchI tried to not sound like a valley girl. Not entirely successful. Also, I hate myself on camera and took a bajillion takes to get this right.
Shelving the self criticism for a second, if you know teen girls sick of the generic advice in newsstand glossies, send them over to gURL.com’s new Health, Sex, & Relationships blog and tell them to write me at askanexpert@gURL.com.
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“I had an ex that would actually pass out. About 5 seconds later she would wake...”
– anonymous commenter, in response to my post about holding one’s breath during orgasm
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The Next Five Months: A Not-So-Brief Itinerary
When I think about the amount of traveling I am undertaking (and the amount of work that needs to simultaneously get done), it all kind of makes me want to dry heave. For the most part, I’m super lucky to be in a profession that allows me the flexibility to visit my family and friends, plan my own schedule, and generally take opportunities as they come up. I may not have health insurance, an...
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37. real,- BERLIN-MARATHON 2010 →
Patrick just crossed the halfway mark! (I’m checking the link above to get updates on his status.)
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“Good luck! Don’t die like the original dude who ran it.”
– text message Patrick received from a friend on the eve of his marathon
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Freelance Friday: How To Work From Home Without... →
Most of the time, I love the convenience of my work-from-home job, but occasionally (particularly in the dead of Boston winter), I think I’m going to pull a “Heeere’s Johnny!” on my roommate and our unsuspecting bulldog. I’ve been working remotely since October 2008 for an education nonprofit based in the Midwest (though I’m leaving my job this fall to return to school). It’s a full-time...
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meet lena chen! | gURL →
Here’s my welcome post where I wax nostalgic about growing up with gURL. If you want to send in a question for me to answer in upcoming weeks (don’t worry, it can be anonymous), just write to askanexpert@gURL.com.
I’m also pleased to have a gURL.com email address, by the way. I made my first-ever email account on the website when I was 11! (It’s long gone now …)
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gURL's Health, Sex, & Relationships Blog... →
And yours truly is the head blogger! I’ll be answering reader questions (in writing and on camera), repurposing posts from The Ch!cktionary, and brainstorming ways to more directly engage with readers. Alloy Digital (who owns gURL.com) filmed a bunch of stuff with me last week when I was in New York, so there will be video content up too. As part of the blog’s debut, I’m working...
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tensaiproject asked: so how does one qualify as a freelance writer? just curious... I wanna be one. :)
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Things Pale People Shouldn't Do While Having...
1. Hold their breath.
You will turn the color of a cherry pie and make your partner panic.
New Discount Codes for Swirl →
If you’ve previously used my invitation link to join Swirl, the sample sale site started by Daily Candy, here’s a heads-up on two promos the website is running right now:
20% off first purchases using the code 1STBUY09
Free shipping off your entire order using the code THANKS09
Not a member yet? Join using this referral link and I get a cool $25 after your first purchase. Both of...
Email Avalanche
I’m still in the process of cleaning out my inbox, which has been clogged since my birthday last month. It’s been a busy month work-wise, so if I’m not on your payroll, please don’t be insulted I haven’t been prompt in responding!
Work is not going to get any easier soon, but if I don’t start catching up on emails, I will never recover. So, this is a public...
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First Date Etiquette: Going Dutch, Hitting The... →
First date sex is a topic close to my heart, because I’ve partaken in a lot of it and been told that this is precisely why no one wants to be in a serious relationship with me. In Sex And The Ivy’s heyday, a week never went by without some disgruntled commenter generously volunteering the advice that no guy will want to buy the cow when he can get the milk for free. (I would be the cow...
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Germany!
Bon voyage, kiddos. The Roomie is running the Berlin Marathon, and we’re flying off in less than two hours. Yes, I’m still sitting in my apartment.
The week ahead looks like a lot of catch-up work (video editing, a couple articles, and interviews) interspersed with thrift shopping. I’m simultaneously thrilled to go back to Berlin and scared of all the work I have to finish...
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Freelance Friday: Aussie Rachel Hills On...
In this installment of Freelance Friday, I chatted with one of my favorite journalists writing on sex and gender today. Rachel Hills is many things: a blogger and digital media expert, a pop sociologist, and a prolific professional writer. Since graduating in 2004, she has published over 100 articles and worked as an editor for ninemsn, newmatilda.com and Vibewire. In the following interview,...
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keepcalmandblank asked: In regards to your recent post defending previous statements against unconsented circumcision... Are you pro or con on vaccinating children? My logic is that with the studies saying it is a health benefit to have your child circumcised, it can almost be equated to vaccinating your child. I'm just wondering if you also see this as a parallel?
Gilt City Debuts With Upstairs On The Square Sale →
Um, I have NO idea how Gilt managed to score this much of a discount on Upstairs On The Square, but they’re having a sale on a five-course tasting dinner for two (with paired wines!) that’s priced at $120. It’s part of the launch for Gilt City, which delivers luxury dining and lifestyle deals to your inbox. Upstairs is my go-to brunch place in Harvard Square and probably the...
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Anonymous asked: I remember a post where you said that circumcision did not necessarily benefit one's health, but Stephen Lewis recently spoke out about studies (that are being used by the UN, NGO's, etc) that state irrefutably that circumcision reduces transmission of HIV by 60%. I wondered if you could do an updated post on new findings such as these?
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Anonymous asked: How many times has herr patrick snorted drugs out of your asshole?
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Bad Feminist Confessions: "I don't always talk...
bell hooks says that “feminism is for everybody” but could you be doing it wrong? If you wear push-up bras, partake in doggy-style intercourse, or enjoy teen vampire romance novels, then chances are, you’re unwittingly aiding the Patriarchy! Luckily for you, Lena Chen, a self-described “Bad Feminist”, is here to steer you clear of pink consumer products and strippercise classes. In this...
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Bad Feminist Confessions: Afternoon on a Workday...
I should be writing something fierce and feminist right now, but instead, I’m shopping on Etsy for new placemats.
(We really do need them, though!)
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Spontaneous New York Trip: Notes From The Road
I’m on board the Lucky Star and arriving in Manhattan in half an hour. Kind of amazed, considering that I rolled out of bed this morning and was ready to axe this last-minute trip altogether. Then I showered, got a pep talk from Patrick (who loves it when I leave town so he can “finally get some peace and quiet around here”), and packed a bag with the bare minimums (laptop,...
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The Lucky Star Chinatown Bus Has Wifi!
And it’s way better than Boltbus, because there aren’t outlets, it’s not as crowded on board, and the network is password-protected. Therefore, 25 other people aren’t slowing down my connection speed. It’s also $15 for a walk-up ticket to New York (literally just showed up to the counter at Boston’s South Station this morning), which is cheaper than Bolt and on...
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“A girl I’m rather fond of - half my age - whose blog is scattered with pictures...”
– Rachel Hills Like Rachel, I’d rather play the role of Cool Aunt than Ball-Busting Feminist in my interactions with my readers (especially the younger ones). Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy to adopt the latter personality, but when talking to someone about their body image,...
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Hate Mail of the Week / Logic Fail of the Day
I let readers submit questions anonymously because people are sometimes embarrassed by what they want to ask. Of course, this also opens the floodgates for idiots who want to clog my inbox with crap, such as the following:
Q. What’s the difference between sleeping with your TF for a grade, sleeping with your boss for a promotion, and self-publishing your sexcapades for a splashy media...
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Do We Still Think Of Dating As Pay for Play?
Rachel Kramer Bussel noted the following comment which she found under a random blog post about Google Voice:
How much did you pay for Gvoice? I thought so. One must understand that one gets what one pays. Am I to expect sex from my date if I don’t even wine and dine? i.e. there is no free love, there is no free lunch. Everything has a price.
Like Rachel, I tend to ignore most asinine...
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Did you know I'm on Wikipedia?
I totally am. And here’s the link to the entry for Lena Chen.
Full disclosure: one of my college roommates (Tara, the cheeky British one) posted my bio to Wikipedia during a particularly treacherous exam period. And there it’s remained! Random strangers have taken to editing it since, but the bio more or less remains what it was when I was a sophomore in college (and as a result, is...
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Introducing Freelance Friday!
A lot of the recent reader queries that have been landing in my big ol’ Question Queue have had to do with the professional writer’s life. The recession has not been good to the media industry, and as staff positions dwindle at the dailies and the glossies, novice writers are competing head-to-head with veteran journalists for plum freelance jobs. As a professional freelancer myself, I...
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Freelance Friday: A Beantown Social Media Maven...
Readers ask me all the time if they can turn a passion for writing into a full-time career. Today’s featured writer, Susan M. Anderson, has managed to do just that. By day, Susie juggles gigs as the Entertainment Editor for LimeLife and the Boston Community Manager for Groupon (the original deal-a-day website). By night, she’s blogging at We Are Not Martha, the food and lifestyle...
Uh, group question time.
I’m doing research for a new writing gig*, and I have a question for the masses: Do most people shower before and/or after they have sex?
Because if so, I have really failed to follow this convention.
Answer and see the results of my survey on Urtak! Have more to say? Leave a comment under this post.
* I’ll be editing the sex and relationship section for gURL.com in a couple weeks!...
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Yes, I am that creepy.
P: Have you seen my gray t-shirt anywhere?
Me: Nope. Don't think so.
P: Are you sure you didn't take it with you on a trip somewhere so you could smell me?
Me: Um ...