The Sex Geek as Culture Hacker

Presented at HOPE X (2014), July 19, 2014, 10 p.m. (60 minutes)

"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.

Presenters:

• Kristen Stubbs
  Kristen Stubbs is a queer/pansexual roboticist who's more interested in people than in technology. Kristen earned her Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2008. She runs the sex-positive startup Passionate Produce (passionateproduce.com), blogs about her own experiences with sexuality and pleasure (toymakerproject.com), and organizes a sex/kink-positive maker meetup group (teasecraft.com). Kristen's light-up dildo prototype "The Hammer" was awarded a Golden Kleene at Arse Elektronika 2012 and has been named the #1 Geekiest Sex Toy by Cracked.com.

Links:

• http://x.hope.net/schedule.html#thesexgeek
• https://infocon.org/cons/2600/HOPE X (2014)/[HOPE X] The Sex Geek as Culture Hacker.mp4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TqskJoWJcA

Similar Presentations:

• The Eleventh HOPE (2016) / Hacking Sex: Toys, Tools, and Tips for Empowerment and Pleasure
• The Circle Of HOPE (2018) / The Sex Geek Returns: Hacking Plus Human Sexuality AMA
• HOPE 2020 Virtual Rescheduled / Ask A Sex Geek: Hacking + Human Sexuality