How Everyone Has It Wrong On Blac Chyna

Recently, Blac Chyna has been relegated to being nothing more than a sex worker by opponents and supporters alike, people who reference her “finesse” and gloss over the abuse she’s suffered, reinforcing a dangerous narrative. Her humanity and her role as a mother are edited out of the persona people are now creating for her,… Continue reading How Everyone Has It Wrong On Blac Chyna

Big Little Lies Protecting White Virginity

"A 16-year old white girl from Monterey? Wolf Blitzer is gonna saddle that up." Abigail (Kathryn Newton) contemplates auctioning off her virginity for charity.

[Content warning: this piece includes general discussion of rape and domestic violence.] Maybe every rich little white girl should auction off her virginity in support of Amnesty International, the way Abigail Carlson (Kathryn Newton), teenage daughter of HBO’s Big Little Lies protagonist Madeline Mackenzie, proposes to do. Abigail’s plot line gained little more than an… Continue reading Big Little Lies Protecting White Virginity

Activist Spotlight: Bonnie On Violence And Endurance

Bonnie at the Different Avenues office in D.C. (Photo by PJ Starr)

Content warning: This interview contains graphic descriptions of police violence and rape, imprisonment, and domestic abuse. Bonnie is a veteran sex workers’ rights activist who has done outreach work in the D.C. area since 2001. She was a HIPS (Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive) client who lived on the streets in Maryland. Later, she was inspired… Continue reading Activist Spotlight: Bonnie On Violence And Endurance

“Whore” Is A Good Place To Start

(Photo by Flickr user elasticsoul)

When I was just a teeny tiny bottle of airplane-ready champagne, I was called a whore by a boy in my middle school science class for having the audacity to own breasts and opinions at the same time,while only being willing to share the latter. Once I got to college, men started to call me a… Continue reading “Whore” Is A Good Place To Start

The Week in Links—October 10th

Mayang Prasetyo, a trans woman sex worker, was killed by her boyfriend in Australia (trigger warning: article describes a brutal, perverse murder).  The Courier Mail used some unconscionably unfeeling headlines in relating the murder, and is being called on it. Oregon lobbyists are working with strippers and social workers to come up with legislation that… Continue reading The Week in Links—October 10th