I’m attending the conference HOPE X in NYC for the first time this year, and I’ll be giving a talk called “The Sex Geek as Culture Hacker” on Saturday, 7/19 (details on Facebook and FetLife).

My recent visit to the Fremont Troll in Seattle.

Will I end up trolling an entire conference of mostly cisgender, heterosexual male hackers?  It could happen. You’ll just have to attend the talk and find out.

Here’s the pitch:

“Being a nerd is not about what you love; it’s about how you love it.” Wil Wheaton’s words ring true for many self-identified geeks and nerds. But what happens when what you love is “love,” or even “lust”?

Geeks have never been more cool, but mainstream culture is full of negative messages about sex and pleasure. Combining nerd enthusiasm and geek know-how with erotic experiences results in writings, DIY toys, citizen science, and other projects which can promote sex-positivity and consent culture.

In this talk, Kristen “where did this b!tch get her doctorate” Stubbs shares stories from the sex geek trenches: the awesome, the awkward, and the randomness in between.

Will I be trolling? Well, I suspect that some of the things I have to say could upset some people. Some of the ways that I’ve been treated since I left my career as a mild-mannered roboticist could be called creepy, and I’m going to talk about those.  I’m going to set my own boundaries, even if other people won’t enjoy that I’ve set them.  Is that trolling? I don’t know, and I’m somewhat nervous about what the result will be, but I’m speaking up anyways.

If you’re in/around NYC and are going to be at HOPE X (or thinking of going to HOPE X), please come out and see me!