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.
(I’ll be in NYC this Friday through Valentine’s Day. Join me online for the livestream!)
(Source: xoxosms)
Whew, it was great to see my mom in LA, but now it’s time to play catch-up with work. I just flew back to Boston yesterday, and I’m only going to be home for a hot second. This Sunday, I’ll be in Connecticut for a talk at Yale. After overcoming some conflicts with the administration last semester, Sex Week is now officially on and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it.
Here are the details for my event:
“WRITING SEX”: A PANEL ON SEX-POSITIVE WRITING @ Sex Week 2012
Sunday, February 5, at 6:00 PMFeaturing Riese Bernard of Autostraddle, Lena Chen of The Ch!cktionary, & Miriam Zoila Perez of Radical Doula.
Let’s be honest, talking about sex can be really difficult. Talking about sex in an inclusive, sensitive, and informative way is even more difficult. This panel, made up of prominent feminist and queer writers who tackle the world of sex with their words on a daily basis, will provide a space in which to explore the question of sex-positive advocacy through writing, a highly relevant issue for many students on this campus. Panelists will offer their own experiences of the challenges and successes of writing about sex, and then enter into a discussion of relevant questions: what is sex-positive writing? How can we write in sex-positive ways? And, perhaps most importantly, how can writing about sex be a form of activism in and of itself? This event is co-sponsored by Sappho, MEChA de Yale, CAUSA (Cuban American Undergraduate Student Association), Despierta Boricua, Asian American Cultural Center, the Women’s Center, and Q Magazine, which will be moderating the panel.
I’m very excited to see my awesome co-panelists. Miriam and I have spoken together before, but I’ve never actually met Riese, even though Autostraddle is one of my favorite sites (and one of the few I bother reading regularly). You guys always ask me for sex-positive and feminist blog suggestions. Go check this one out ;)
(For the full Sex Week schedule, go to the official website. Bostonians, mark your calendars: Harvard’s having its inaugural Sex Week this March with many events open to the public. Stay tuned for more details!)
Possibly the best promo poster I’ve EVER encountered for a queer event, haha :) Out For The Holidays is for anyone who is …
- Thinking of coming out at home as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, or whatever
- Planning on heading back into the closet while they’re home
- Worried about maintaining multiple levels of outness at home
- Or simply interested in hearing about others’ experiences going homo … ahem … home for the holidays?
It’s open to the public*, plus there’s free food and prizes from Good Vibrations, so definitely check it out!
Also, tonight I’ll be at the opening reception for Faces of Gender @Harvard, a photography exhibition by my friend and Feminist Pride Day** co-founder Abby Sun. In collaboration with the Trans Task Force, she examined the varied experiences of gender and explores the diversity of gender identities and expressions within the Harvard community. It’s part of the university’s Gender Diversity Week, and if you can’t make the physical event, you can see some of the portraits and hand-written participant statements on the website.
* Due to increased security because of Occupy Harvard, only Harvard affiliates are being allowed into the Yard until further notice. (You will need a Harvard ID to get in to both events - I’ve been using my expired one.) The event organizers are working on making it possible for everyone to attend. Details TBA.
** Abby and I worked together on what was formerly known as Feminist Coming Out Day - I’ll have more details to post soon about the 2012 event!
Hi folks! I’m headed to New York for Halloween and if I find an early enough ride (*fingers crossed*), I’ll be volunteering as a model for the first annual STOP TRAFFIC Fashion Show this Friday night. One of my favorite independent designers in NYC, Kate Goldwater of AuH2O, will have her pieces in the show. I encourage you to come and check it out!
As part of Brooklyn Fashion Week, The Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ), CUNY Law chapter are hosting the event to raise awareness of human trafficking within the fashion industry. The show will feature local designers including AuH2O Designs, chromat, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, Nelesc Designs and Anthony Posada. Models, entertainment and refreshments will be from the local community.
Tickets to the event are $10.00 and items will be available for a silent auction. Proceeds will benefit LSRJ and Kamisetas, a women’s collective in Medellin, Colombia in support of labor and fair trade.
STOP TRAFFIC FASHION SHOW
Friday, Oct. 28th at 7pm
YWCA of Brooklyn
30 Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
“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)
Hi Yalies! I’ll be in town this Friday to discuss my experiences writing from a feminist perspective and and the challenges therein. How has the rapid proliferation of feminist blogs and “women’s” sections of online magazines changed activism, the reach of feminist commentary, and discussions of sex? Is a career in feminism the most effective way to bring about social change? What does being a “professional feminist” even look like?
I’ll be answering these questions with feminist group Broad Recognition as part of a public lecture series hosted by St. Anthony’s, a society at Yale. Hope you join us on Friday, and leave a comment if you have a related topic you think I should discuss :)
(And yes, this event, as well as the other lectures in the series, is open to the public, so even if you’re not a Yale affiliate, definitely drop by!)
If you plan on attending, RSVP on Facebook here.
Hey Bostonians - my friend Lux Alptraum will be in town tomorrow night to give a sexting workshop at the Brookline location of Good Vibes! She’s a fabulous speaker*, and I trust that she’ll give a sex-positive spin on the topic.
* I know this first-hand! Lux spoke at Rethinking Virginity last year :)
Sexting 101
Monday, August 1, 8-10 pm
$20 in advance, $25 at the door
Brown Paper Tickets
Workshop Registration Information
Your new favorite sex toy might be as close as your phone or computer! The digital revolution has given us a lot of ways to express and explore sexuality and Lux Alptraum will tell you about your options. You’ll learn how to talk about it with a partner, get tips on crafting sexy messages that’ll turn both of you on, hear about the different tech tools available to you, find out about safer sexting and security steps to make sure you’re protected, and more! Whether you’ve sexted before or you’re thinking about it, come discover how to make sexting hot, fun, and safe.
Hey Yalies in the city! Looking forward to meeting y’all and chatting freelance writing this Monday in the Lower East Side. (I’m leaving for New York in an hour!) While we’re at it, why don’t we just forget this whole school rivalry thing and just agree on the common enemy: Princeton.
A Conversation with freelance writer, Lena Chen.
8pm on Monday, June 6, 2011
Antibes Bistro, 112 Suffolk Street, New York
Hosted by Yale In New York.
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of moderating a talk with Anna Holmes and Jessie Daniels at Ain’t I A Woman: Women Of Color Speak On Activism. Our panel focused on the intersection of race and social media in the feminist movement. (Jessie is a professor at Hunter College and the author of Cyber Racism. Anna is the founding and former editor-in-chief of the women’s website, Jezebel.) For those of you who couldn’t make the event, here are some of the themes that we explored:
Online media is often heralded as being more democratic and progressive than mainstream media, since it allows marginalized groups and those without the power of capital to establish a platform for their ideas. The reality is more nuanced. How is the Internet both a tool for social change and a weapon against it? Does the anonymity afforded by the Internet encourage the voicing of racist or homophobic views that might not be welcome were these conversations to take place in the real world? Even in progressive communities, the feminist blogosphere can replicate the same power structures that exist in mainstream feminist activism, giving a privileged few a louder voice while silencing less powerful/mainstream-friendly groups. How can we prevent digital spaces from becoming hierarchical and oppressive?
While it is now acknowledged that feminism is lacking when addressing marginalized identities beyond gender, bringing up the notion of intersectionality is often just paying lip service to inclusion without taking active steps toward it. Cedar/Hazel Troost writes in “Beyond Inclusion” of how feminism fails to address the needs of trans people: Let’s make the record clear: there is virtually no women’s space extant today. Michfest is not women’s space, nor would it be even if trans women were allowed—it’s cis, white, middle class, able women’s space. When one group controls a space or institution, when only its members’ voices, concerns, and perspectives are relevant to the determination and organization of that space—that is to say, when that group ‘owns’ the space—it is their space, regardless of who else may enter. So when allies to trans women demand our inclusion without simultaneously demanding that that space be accountable to us—including that trans & cis women be equally in charge of what constitutes women’s space and feminism—they are not demanding fundamental change, only a softer supremacy. Is the trend in feminist media to attempt inclusion or to aim for accountability? To which extent are Internet “call-outs” effective and to which extent do they deter those with white privilege from engaging in discussions of race?
Sometimes, people of color are mistaken for white in online communities, due to the anonymous nature of the Internet. This is an experience that resonates with Anna, who is biracial but founded Jezebel, which is frequently thought of as a “white blog”. How is it that even when WOC do engage in mainstream movement-building that their contributions get white washed so that it’s not about a WOC speaking her truth but rather a WOC lending her voice to white feminists? Is participating in mainstream media necessarily selling out? What happens when other WOC don’t consider you one of their own as a result?
Creating a truly representative feminism online is as difficult as creating it off-line. Can we encourage the mainstream (BlogHer, Bitch Magazine, big feminist pubs/sites, etc.) to become more inclusive or is the only way to give non-white issues adequate coverage to create spaces specifically for women of color/other minorities (Autostraddle, The Root, Blogalicious, Racialicious, etc.).How does one straddle the need to include without tokenizing? Where does that line get drawn?
Feminist media faces a tough Catch-22 when it comes to balancing ideals and money. For example, adhering to a feminist ideology eliminates taking ad revenue from most major advertisers, and a publication may get criticized for lack of diversity only to find that less mainstream posts get fewer page views and comments than the ones targeting a white/cis/straight audience. Is a nuanced portrait of feminism even possible in a free market economy?
