We Deserve Better: Reflections On The War On Backpage

It’s happening again. I remember the drop in my stomach as my browser opened on the homepage of MyRedBook in 2014 and I saw the emblems of the FBI, DOJ, and the IRS occupying a page which used to host an escort ad, review, and forum website used by thousands of providers across the West… Continue reading We Deserve Better: Reflections On The War On Backpage

What Media Coverage of James Deen’s Assaults Means For Sex Workers

Stoya in 2012 at the AVN awards. (Photo by Michael Dorausch via Flickr)

Content warning: this piece contains general discussion of rape. I got a call from a reporter from Mother Jones the other day, her voice nervous. She was one of the many journalists who called the sex worker health clinic I work at, St. James Infirmary, looking for comments about the public sexual assault accusations made… Continue reading What Media Coverage of James Deen’s Assaults Means For Sex Workers

The Ten Most Popular Tits And Sass Posts of 2014

Faithfully bringing you media by and for sex workers since 2011. (Photo by Flickr user carterse, "Winston Retrieves The News")

1. “The Erasure of Maya Angelou’s Sex Work History,” by Peechington Marie, 5/29 2. “The Fifth Annual Vagina Beauty Pageant: A Judge’s Notes,” by Elle, 8/8 3. “Discussing Other People’s Lives: Social Work and Student Sex Workers,” by Annie O’Neill and Adrienne Graf, 4/11 4. “I Don’t Care About Clients,” by Olive Seraphim, 2/19 5.… Continue reading The Ten Most Popular Tits And Sass Posts of 2014

Remembering Stone Butch Blues’ Pledge To Sex Workers

Stone Butch Blues, the 2004 Alyson Books edition.

Trans/queer writer and socialist hero Leslie Feinberg died last week. The event rekindled my memories of squatting on the floor of Barnes and Nobles at the age of 17, reading the work zie’s1 most known for, Stone Butch Blues, a bildungsroman set in the lesbian working class bar scene during the Stonewall era. I was… Continue reading Remembering Stone Butch Blues’ Pledge To Sex Workers

The Week In Links—July 25

  The International AIDS Conference in Melbourne featured discussion of how laws criminalizing sex work hinder efforts to prevent the spread of HIV. This Reuters story covers counterproductive global laws. A study was presented that argued decriminalization could cut the rate of infection by up to a third. Chinese sex worker activist Ye Haiyan was… Continue reading The Week In Links—July 25