The biggest news for sex workers this week was, of course, California, where voters passed two new pieces of legislation invasive of sex workers’ privacy. voted to pass Proposition 35, the frightening anti-trafficking bill that may make sex offenders of a whole lot of people, and Los Angeles County voters passed Measure B, which would require porn performers to use condoms.
Melissa Gira Grant wrote a comprehensive summary of the potential harm Prop 35 could do. After Election Day, she recapped the potential effects on her blog.
The ACLU and EFF filed suit to stop parts of Prop 35, mainly those that require sex offenders to report all online usernames, and were granted a temporary restraining order.
Carol Leigh interviewed researcher Alexandra Lutnick, a researcher working on evaluating programs working with trafficked minors, about why she opposed Prop 35.
In advance of the vote on Measure B, the New York Times went to a film set with James Deen and Stoya and reported on the effectiveness of Porn Valley practices at preventing STDs.
The Salt Lake City Weekly has a touristy profile of a former stripper; it’s full of fascinating trivia about how clubs work in Utah (pasties, no lapdances).
Atlantic City strip club AC Dolls will be donating $5 from each lapdance to victims of Hurricane Sandy.
The Chicago Reporter investigates how felony prostitution charges in Illinois disproportionately hurt sex workers.
Lana Del Rey plays a prostitute in the short film/video for “Ride.”