Dogs & Dollars
“So…about that new rhinestone collar, Mom…” […] “But MOOOM…you have rhinestone collars…”
Piper‘s kid, Raven, the Miniature Pinscher
Sex workers, send us your pictures of your dogs and dollars or cats and stacks at info@titsandsass.com
Quote of the Week
We’re engaging in sex work, as a form of economic survival, but also as a form of validation. We have got to address this. We have got to talk about what it’s like getting up in the morning, catching the train or bus to school or work and that ride is tense because you’re the subject of giggles and whispers. […]
Or if you are passable, how you’re still not well received in your community. But then you have a sexual experience with Rahim from next door. He’s telling you you’re good enough and he’ll also pay. Suddenly you’re a commodity. You’re wanted.
Danielle King at Colorlines on being young, black, and trans in Washington DC.
The Week In Links: December 2
Dita Von Teese speaks out about stripping and burlesque dance: “I don’t really need any fancy terminology to describe what I do. … Yeah, I am [a stripper]; I’m proud of what I do.”
Today the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition is hosting the Summit on Sex Work in the South in Asheville, NC.
New York police theorize that one single serial killer is responsible for all 10 of the Long Island murders.
French lawmakers are working to outlaw prostitution.
Tracy Clark-Flory discusses the questionable reality of sex addiction.
Twenty people were arrested in New York this week for their involvement in illegally bringing Eastern European into the country to work in strip clubs.
An Argentinean prostitute discusses the push for unionization.
“I didn’t have a bad experience with sex work until I got arrested,” says one Canadian sex worker discussing Canada’s selectively legal treatment of prostitution.
Dear Tits And Sass: Agency Edition
Time again for us to share our thoughts on the many dilemmas that arise around sex work. And this question is a doozy. The issue of whether or not to work for an agency is surely one to stir up debate, so feel free to leave your own insights and experiences in the comment. And if you’ve got a problem, email info [at] titsandsass.com and we’ll do our best to help or call in a guest who can. Please note this offer is only good for current sex workers with work-related inquiries.
Dear Tits and Sass,
Now that Craigslist is no longer such a useful arena for scouring out clients, and I am not sure where to turn. I am considering working for an escort agency. The splits I have found out about from a few of them seem quite a lot less compared to how much I charged on my own, and I am a bit nervous about not having total control over how I want to do sex work, yet it also seems like a relatively easy way to make stable money. What are some things to expect from working for an agency? Is it safe and the diminished splits worthwhile? Is sex or a photography session expected at the initial “interview”? Are there questions I should ask or things to establish before I decide to start?
Sincerely,
Seeking Business
Quote of the Week
[I]n a culture trashy with raunch yet clenched with righteousness, the sex worker persists and insists. She is lamented by some feminists, lauded by others, lectured by religious groups, legislated by governments; monitored by health services, spurned by mortgage brokers, envied or condemned by friends, invited to write memoirs by publishers, assisted by outreach services; must live under one name and work by another. The main part of this list is in passive voice, for this is how people often see the prostitute: a passive dupe. […]
This a crux of the matter: who speaks? Who knows? Is a sex worker herself the best arbiter of whether or not she is degraded, or is judgement better offered forensically from afar?
Kate Holden on Sex Work and Feminism