Explaining The Haterade
Interesting discussions in the comments section of my latest post about the root of the online vitriol I experienced while writing Sex and the Ivy. Some thoughts about why I became a target:
You make a good point which has been a recurring theme in the rhetoric of my detractors. Most people don’t think my love or sex life is worth of any sort of attention or press, and I would concur that it’s not more interesting than any other college girl’s. The fact that SATI, for one reason or another (because of the Harvard name perhaps), got plenty of traffic really bothered those who thought I was just another famewhore slutting it up Tila Tequila-style when in actuality, I was primarily grateful for my ability to churn out so much writing, an ability I had considered dead and gone after my freshman year of college. It was never about fame because I wouldn’t have written the blog if I believed what I was writing was crap. I have too much pride for that. (And that’s also why I’ve yet to write a book, because I just don’t think what I CAN produce right now is good enough.)
And another explanation I’ve come up with for all the vitriol: I think people like taking Ivy League kids down a notch, and I can understand that given all the entitlement I witnessed at Harvard. Most of my biggest detractors assumed I came from a similarly privileged background, when my parents are actually immigrants who struggled and still struggle to support large families. The funny thing is that a lot of this criticism was of me leading a seemingly glamorous/wealthy existence when in actuality, I had to work my ass off every term to have the same lifestyle as my college friends. And of course, when I wrote about partying, shopping, going out, people assumed my money was coming from my parents.
Originally posted as a comment by lena on Sex and the Ivy using Disqus.
