We all like to enjoy the finer things in life—good food, great drinks and insightful conversations. On September 17th, I attended GEEK CHIC, an event hosted by LMHQ and Bustle, where women gathered around—armed with delicious complementary food and drinks—to discuss topics affecting women everywhere, such as feminism and body positivity. LMHQ hosts various events and works with various start-up companies and entrepreneurs. Bustle is a website that covers hot topics such as fashion, beauty and lifestyle while advocating for feminism and body positivity.
The event started at 6, and featured a live Marc Jacobs fashion show. To my surprise, most people were not sitting and watching the show. Instead, people walked around socializing, tattooing and discussing the fashion show. Although there were not that many people at the event, many college-aged girls attended, making the event much more youthful and energetic.
The Body Positive Panel began after the fashion show. This panel was moderated by Kara McGrath and Marie Southard Ospina, who work at Bustle. They asked the panel questions about the meaning of body positivity, generalization, the effect of language and the influence of fashion on the perspective of women. This panel was filled with educated and experienced women, such as Mallone Carrington, Essie Golden, Ushshi Rahman and Meg Zulch. The insight these women provided was very thoughtful and enlightening and spoke towards the role women play in the world versus the role the world assigns for women.
Following the panel was a live comedy show hosted by Sue Smith. She descried the following female comedians as feminists, who incorporate that element of themselves into their stand up. The comedians who performed were Sara Armour, Molly Austin, Elna Baker and Maria Wojciechowski. The majority of the acts were borderline offensive and slightly inappropriate for the event which these comedians were performing at, resulting in more than a few awkward moments and uncomfortable laughs. Though the comedy show was a little rocky, it ended on a bright note with Elna Baker’s act. Instead of giving a typical stand up routine, she told a very personal and captivating story, winning the audience over. This was a great end, to a not so great comedy show.
The best part of the event was definitely the panel because it brought pressing issues to light, exposing the audience to real life issues and discussing important topics such as body positivity and feminism. At the end of the panel the audience was left with some new wisdom, new questions and hopefully a more positive outlook on themselves. The atmosphere was hopeful and energizing to all that attended. LMHQ and Bustle put on a great event, and I’m excited to see and attend future events hosted by them!
(HC NYU Girls + friends at GEEK CHIC event)