April 2011
1 tag
saturine asked: Hi Lena! I know you're a big Hello Kitty fan and was wondering if you knew about the new Hello Kitty line at Sephora?
1 tag
Doggie War
P: Hamlet won't move.
Me: What do you mean?
P: We're having a stand-off.
1 tag
3 tags
Anonymous asked: So i'm deciding between Stanford and Harvard next year and even before seeing your tumblr, i've heard much about the horrors of Harvard. Do you think Stanford is a happier place? Or would i face the same unhappiness there too?
1 tag
Contribute To The $5 Friday Fundraiser For... →
Hey guys! It’s two weeks before the bowl-a-thon for the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund and I’ve raised $820 to help local folks obtain abortions. EMA knows that the smallest amounts of money can make a world of difference. Sometimes the only thing keeping a women from her appointment is the cost of a commuter rail ticket or a few dollars to pay the babysitter. Today is $5...
1 tag
Gender Across Borders | This AND That: Global... →
Just wanted to direct you guys to a cool series that is going on over at Gender Across Borders. I’ll be posting up links as they go live. The next series they’ll be hosting will tackle Feminism & Agriculture. Want to participate? Check out the official call for submissions (due on May 1st):
Throughout this series, readers will have the opportunity to hear stories from women whose...
1 tag
“Sometimes, our culture makes you feel like you are not Performing Femininity...”
– JGH Okay, okay, so disclaimer: JGH is totally not ripping on girly girls here. I know her and love her and rest assured that she is a bomb-ass feminist. Nonetheless, I did have to chortle at her description of the proto-typical portrayal of femininity because HELLO, AM I NOT THE EMBODIMENT OF ALL...
2 tags
Shed This Habit, Please
Maybe this is just Western etiquette, but kiddies, “Everyone is entitled to an opinion” is not some sort of justification for intellectual laziness or a conversation ended. Yes, you’re entitled to an opinion, but opinions are like assholes: everyone has one. Doesn’t mean that yours isn’t wrong.
(Just my opinion! I’m sure you have one too!)
3 tags
2 tags
“Gay people—generally speaking—have a responsibility to our own community and to...”
– Rachel Maddow, (via The Frisky) I think it’s worth noting that Maddow is speaking from a position of relative privilege (of which I suspect she’s aware). Not everyone has the luxury of being able to “come out”, and queer folks who are further marginalized because of...
5 tags
BUST Magazine | The Naked Truth
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...
1 tag
“When people feel ashamed of their STI status, or when they feel too embarrassed...”
– Charlie Glickman, PhD. From Why Shaming People Doesn’t Prevent STIs (via safersexuality)
Anonymous asked: Hey Lena, in Canada we have had this horribly undemocratic leader for the past few years. Corrupt, egomaniacal, you name it..
http://shitharperdid.ca.nyud.net/ http://www.projectdemocracy.ca/
Anyway, hope you could send out a message to any Canadians that read your blog to VOTE VOTE VOTE on May 2nd!
http://shitharperdid.ca.nyud.net/ http://www.projectdemocracy.ca/
Anyway, hope you could send out a message to any Canadians that read your blog to VOTE VOTE VOTE on May 2nd!
2 tags
Anonymous asked: What's your typical workday like? How much time do you spend writing blog posts and answering reader questions?
1 tag
3 tags
3 tags
Anonymous asked: I'm a longtime reader...and now a member of the Harvard class of 2015. So I have to ask - is there anything about Harvard that you are grateful for?
2 tags
Anonymous asked: Hi Lena.
I really appreciate your contribution/promotion of sex positivity and healthy, responsible sex and I was hoping to get your opinion on something. I recently found out that a good friend of mine had been taking plan B almost every time her and her boyfriend at the time had had sex. We'd discussed birth control but I had no idea she was doing this; I wish I had, because...
I really appreciate your contribution/promotion of sex positivity and healthy, responsible sex and I was hoping to get your opinion on something. I recently found out that a good friend of mine had been taking plan B almost every time her and her boyfriend at the time had had sex. We'd discussed birth control but I had no idea she was doing this; I wish I had, because...
2 tags
Banned
The Roomie has forbidden me from embarrassing him on his social networks. That said, I still have free reign over mine! Hah.
Anonymous asked: Hey Lena,
Any plan on traveling to Asia?
Any plan on traveling to Asia?
1 tag
“Facebook asks what I’m thinking. Twitter asks what I’m doing....”
– Tracy Morgan I AM THE INTERNET.
2 tags
2 tags
1 tag
Free $20 Credit On Rue La La →
Only valid for new members! Offer expires on April 25th, 2011. Credit should appear within 24-48 hours and must be redeemed by May 25th, 2011. Please use my invite link :)
3 tags
Anonymous asked: Lena,
Thanks for sharing your story. And the link to the article on Meggy's experience at Yale. As incredibly angry as they make me (at the administration, not you) - because I've been there too, and I honestly don't think people who haven't gone through this can understand - it helps. I'm sitting here writing the last paper of my college career - on...
Thanks for sharing your story. And the link to the article on Meggy's experience at Yale. As incredibly angry as they make me (at the administration, not you) - because I've been there too, and I honestly don't think people who haven't gone through this can understand - it helps. I'm sitting here writing the last paper of my college career - on...
Anonymous asked: A few months ago my mother's new boyfriend, who is living with her, started hitting her. I found out only recently.
I told her to go to the police or get help, but she refuses to do anything about her situation because she loves him. Is there anything I can do, or legal action I can take, because I don't know what to do and I really want to help her. I know this might not be the...
I told her to go to the police or get help, but she refuses to do anything about her situation because she loves him. Is there anything I can do, or legal action I can take, because I don't know what to do and I really want to help her. I know this might not be the...
2 tags
Without Money, There Is No Choice →
If you’ve read or appreciated my writing in the past, please considering donating what you can (whether that’s $1 or $100) to my fundraiser for national abortion access. Many of you have already offered your financial and emotional support as I shoot for my goal of $1,220 — what it would cost for two women to obtain abortions at the Planned Parenthood in Boston. I’m doing...
3 tags
aaaquelinda asked: I, too, am unhappy in the ivy league. But my biggest fear is for people to know. No one knows. How do you do it?
1 tag
Adventures On OkCupid
Dude: im working on matching theory in economics
Me: im working on dismantling capitalism
Dude: which school?
Me: school of hard knocks
Dude: are you being sarcastic?
Me: no, little orphan annie was my homegirl
I recently rejoined OkCupid to find new friends and monitor the dating activity of existing ones. The above is one transcript of many chats in which dudes unsuccessfully hit on me (despite my profile stating explicitly that I am not interested in being contacted by straight men). Shortly thereafter, he proceeded to grill me on my relationship. No regrets for fucking with fuckers on the Internet.
3 tags
LA Cabin Fever
You guys. I love my family. But I cannot, for the life of me, stand visiting LA without Patrick. Yes, this is in part because I am totally co-dependent, but mostly, this is because I DO NOT DRIVE and feel utterly STUCK whenever I’m here by myself. Right now is a pretty necessary time for me to be here, and I am very grateful that my line of work allows me to take off to be with my family....
2 tags
“I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder the summer before I was to begin at Yale...”
– Meggy Wang, Why I Left Yale: Mental Illness & Higher Education - The Novelist’s Hubris This is exactly what happens at Harvard. If you’re honest, you get kicked out. Is it any wonder that so many people suffer in silence?
3 tags
2 tags
On Harvard & (Un)Happiness
I’ve recently begun to write at length about the depression and anxiety and occasional suicidal tendencies that I and many of my friends struggled against as students at Harvard. It’s been a year since graduation and nearly three years since I moved off campus. I think time has finally given me enough perspective to approach my undergraduate experience with less bitterness and more...
1 tag
Arguments With My Mother (A Paraphrase)
Mommy: You should have a child.
Me: No. They take way too much time and energy.
Mommy: Children greatly enhance your quality of life.
Me: That is a selfish reason to have a child.
Mommy: It's selfish for you to not have kids because you think it will be difficult.
Me: I'm 23. Leave me alone.
Mommy: It's not that hard. I raised you and your sister with less money and less time than what you have. I'll raise your child for you.
Me: I know you're perfectly willing to do that, but shipping my kid off to California is NOT a sustainable mode of parenting.
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
– a particularly fitting quote for today … I paid my taxes this morning at Logan International, caught a layover in Minneapolis, and made it to LA just in time to see my grandfather before he was gone. I’m glad I can be here with my family. Thank you for all the kind words and thoughts...
I'll arrive in LA at 1:30pm PDT
It’s midnight in Boston, and I just bought a plane ticket for eight hours from now. By the time y’all read this, I’ll be on a flight or on a layover in Minneapolis. My grandfather is dying … though I suppose that he’s been in the process of dying for a while now. I don’t know if I’ll make it in time to see him tomorrow, nor do I know if he’ll even be...
2 tags
2 tags
Help DC Women Without Medicaid Pay For Abortion →
I am so, so grateful to all of you who have donated to my fundraiser for abortion access! I know that times are tough and that a lot of us are balancing school with jobs, scrapping together a living through freelance gigs, and seeking employment. We are hard-pressed for cash ourselves! So I want you to know that your contribution means a lot to me, which is why I’ve been emailing and...
3 tags
Medicaid Emergency: Urgent Request To All Readers →
As you guys know, I’m raising money for the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund, an organization that is not just about keeping abortion legal but making it accessible. There are many women (yes, even in this country!) who don’t have a real choice, because they don’t have the money to pay for abortions. Some of you may have already heard that the recent federal budget compromise...
Anonymous asked: Hi Lena. I'm a devoted reader of your blog, mostly because I found it startling at first but the more I read it the more I came to appreciate your point of view and understand what you were saying, which I think is truly the hallmark of a good writer and thinker.
I know this isn't exactly what you're doing with this blog, but I wanted to ask if you had any dating...
I know this isn't exactly what you're doing with this blog, but I wanted to ask if you had any dating...
1 tag
"No man should hang for the murder of a whore" →
A follow-up from Urtak tallying up the response to my post/poll about the Helen Jewett case:
Violences against women are probably the only crimes in which it is considered perfectly acceptable to absolve the perpetrator because of the victim’s choices. Yesterday, Lena Chen’s blog post, “What Does A 175-Year-Old Murder Have To Do With SlutWalk?” related the unpunished 1836 murder of New York...
1 tag
“Busting unions, disenfranchising voters of color, tort reform, and all the rest...”
– Sarah Jaffe
2 tags
What Does A 175-Year-Old Murder Have To Do With...
On the heels of SlutWalk Toronto (and the satellite events across America) is an occasion that’s not getting so much press play, though it’s the perfect real-life example of how violence against women is often justified by blaming the victim. 175 years ago yesterday, the body of 23-year-old prostitute Helen Jewett was found lifeless and burning in the bed of a New York City...
2 tags
Fat and the Ivy: Things fat people are told →
Reblogging from Fat And The Ivy, this genius new Tumblr where a student “writes about [her] fat life at an Ivy in New York City” and “addresses feminism, fat acceptance, privilege, social justice, and internet memes”.
The following is a fairly comprehensive list of ridiculous/insulting things that people feel totally okay saying to fat people, even if they’re strangers, because, you know,...
Anonymous asked: When I begin college, I want to start a blog that discusses gay life, culture, and issues at the Ivys - do you think this is a good idea or bad idea?
Personally, I think it could be amusing, and even enlightening (the place of gays at many colleges is often overlooked, and I've yet to find a blog solely dedicated to it), but I'd like your feedback.
After...
Personally, I think it could be amusing, and even enlightening (the place of gays at many colleges is often overlooked, and I've yet to find a blog solely dedicated to it), but I'd like your feedback.
After...
1 tag
“I speak English, Spanish, and Bro fluently.”
– a gay friend who’s successfully infiltrated bro culture
3 tags
2 tags
Bad Feminist Confessions: “I Just Wish I Could Be... →
BlogHer syndicated a post of mine from January. Here’s an excerpt:
It took me a long time to realize that there’s no magic number that’s going to make you feel content with yourself as long as you have the mindset that you can reach “beauty” like some kind of goal. As long as your self-worth is in any way connected to your weight or the quality of your skin or the contents of your...