December 2009

December 23rd 2009

Surprise, Hooking Up Doesn't Kill!

- Lena Chen

In early 2008, an article in The New York Times claimed that "no one at Harvard represents the hookup culture better than Lena Chen." I'm Lena Chen. Right, how awkward is that? At the time, I was a college junior blogging quite publicly about my sex and love life -- but the last thing I thought was that my vagina represented anyone else's (let alone a whole "culture"). I tried to make that clear to the Times, obviously to no avail.

December 18th 2009

It’s All Fun and Games Until You Lose a Condom in Your Vajayjay. . .

- Stefanie

The other night I was talking to Polly Pocket. We were doing our work version of “Best Week Ever.” Basically you have thirty seconds to tell the other one what you are doing at work before you dive into the really important stuff . . . sex and gossip. In an effort to protect Polly Pocket’s identity, I won’t tell you what she was doing at work.

I was talking about how I was trying to find young adults to talk about some new research we had coming out called The Fog Zone.

Polly Pocket: “Do I have to drive with my brights on when I’m in the ‘The Fog Zone'?”

December 16th 2009

Twenty-Something Men Want Babies, Study Says

- Laura Sessions Stepp

This piece is cross-posted from The Huffington Post, where it appeared on December 15, 2009.

*****

When I first saw Ben Stone, the 23-year-old slacker in the movie "Knocked Up," get mushy over his prospective whoops-baby, I thought, what a bunch of malarkey. Guys in their 20s don't want to be papas.

December 11th 2009

Teen Moms Are Everywhere--and Some of Them Aren't Teens

- Lauren Mann

MTV’s new show Teen Mom premiered last week and introduced us to the difficulties involved with actually raising a child after pregnancy and delivery. Farrah wants to date, Maci and Ryan are attempting to get along and plan a wedding, Amber is trying to find balance in her life with baby Leah and boyfriend Gary, and Catelynn and Tyler are working to get back to normal after their adoption experience.

December 11th 2009

Dear Med Student, Does That Line Ever Work?

- Lauren Mann

This week Stefanie’s Crazy Stories will be brought to you by the fabulous Lauren Mann. Why, might you ask? Because this is her crazy story and I don’t think I would do it justice. Have no fear, I will be back next week with hijinx, shenanigans, and antics of all shapes and sizes.

*****

One of the incentives I used to persuade my mother to let me move into an off-campus apartment this year was the fact that many med school students call my building home. I reasoned with her that her dream of having me marry a nice Jewish doctor could be more attainable if I surrounded myself with doctors-in-training. While there were other reasons it made sense for me to get an apartment, I’m pretty certain that was the factor that tipped the scales.

December 9th 2009

An Ode to Good Dudes

- Katy Otto

As someone who's outspoken and calls herself a feminist, I have been categorized as a 'man-hater' on more than one occasion. Would that life were that simple. I was struck once by a bell hooks quote that critique is the strongest expression of love, because it has at its core the belief that the person you are talking to is capable of change and growth. Truth is I--like many other feminists--love men. And like so many things I love, they have the capacity to blow my mind one moment and break my heart the next. When I find myself critical of what I consider to be the negative and harmful implications of traditional masculinity, it is because I think more, and better, is possible. This is an acknowledgement of the more and better this world could demand and expect.

December 7th 2009

Sexual Assault on Campus: Can There Be Justice Without Transparency?

- Laura Sessions Stepp

Of all the college women I’ve interviewed who said they’ve been sexually assaulted on campus – and there have been a good number of them – not one ever reported the attack to campus authorities.

Their reasons have varied. Maybe they kinda' knew the guy and didn’t want to make him or his friends mad. Or they were drunk and couldn’t remember enough details to prosecute. Or they thought they should’ve known better than to put themselves in a potentially dangerous situation.

Or, and this was their biggest concern, they feared that if they did talk, nothing of substance would be done.

December 4th 2009

Why Victoria’s Secret Should Be Your Secret Too

- Kaarin Moore

“I’m kinda in between boyfriends right now, so I don’t need anything sexy.” – Pam Beesly, while visiting Victoria’s Secret

December 2nd 2009

Sex Ed Comes to Community

- Marisa Nightingale

In "The Politics of Human Sexuality" Britta and Shirley help Annie with a presentation for the Greendale Health Fair. See what happens when everyone at Greendale gets a lesson on safe sex.