Robin Mandell

Name: Robin Mandell

Title:  Writer, sex-supportive feminist, educator/advocate

Location: Washington DC suburbs

Personal Website: http://www.robinstoynest.com

Biography:

Robin is a sex educator and advocate based in the Washington D.C. area.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies from Queen’s University in Canada and has studied professional and technical writing with Washington State University.   She has an unrelenting passion for words.  Through her blog, Robin’s Toy Nest, Robin is committed to making pleasure-based sex education fun, comprehensible, and accessible.  She believes that sexual pleasure and empowerment are a birthright for everyone.  Sometimes, though, she just wants to  discuss theoretical concepts like gender fluidity and the understanding of power dynamics.  It all connects, after all.  She has developed a passion for starting dialogues on sex and disability, and has come to the realization that, as much as she just wants to be like everybody else, she can use her visible reality as a blind woman to start these dialogues.

When not writing or talking about gender and sexuality, Robin enjoys practicing yoga, singing, watching live music, cooking, walking the dogs, and spending time with friends.

Contact:

Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/robinstoynest

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/robinstoynest

Email: robin@robinstoynest.com

 

Column Title:

Ready, Sexy, Able: Sexualities, Bodies, and Society

Column Description:

The words we use, the beliefs we hold, the identities we embody, the differences between us—all of these impact the way we understand sexuality, intimacy, and relationships.  As a feminist, sex positive, disabled woman, I look at such topics as sex and disability, body image,and language usage and endeavor to break down the disconnect between biases and faulty beliefs and real people’s lived experiences.