As we gathered on the busy street corner in front of the Queens Public Library in Flushing on Friday March 29th, over one hundred community members heard our cry: “性工作是真工作!” Sex work is work! The police had blockaded Red Canary Song members from the library steps, protecting the carceral narratives that were being pushed inside… Continue reading The Massage Parlor Means Survival Here: Red Canary Song On Robert Kraft
Tag: migrant sex workers
The Racism of Decriminalization
Since I began writing this piece, both Scarlet Alliance and SWOP NSW have issued an apology to migrant sex workers for their part in the SEXHUM research. This is an unprecedented move in the right direction for peer organizations. I hope that there will be more attempts in the future to empower migrants and POC,… Continue reading The Racism of Decriminalization
Activist Spotlight: The Migrant Sex Workers Project On Borders and Building Movements, Part Two
I interviewed Toronto’s Migrant Sex Workers Project co-founders Elene Lam and Chanelle Gallant as well as Migrant Sex Workers Project member Kate Zen over video chat. The first part of that conversation, edited and condensed for posting, is here. The group’s vital representation of a population often absent from sex worker activism inspired me. I… Continue reading Activist Spotlight: The Migrant Sex Workers Project On Borders and Building Movements, Part Two
Activist Spotlight: The Migrant Sex Workers Project On Borders and Building Movements, Part One
Toronto’s Migrant Sex Workers Project, “a grassroots group of migrants, sex workers, and allies who demand safety and dignity for all sex workers regardless of legal status”, was co-founded last May by Elene Lam, Chanelle Gallant, and Tings Chak. Lam, who moved to the area from Hong Kong two years ago, saw a gap in local activism… Continue reading Activist Spotlight: The Migrant Sex Workers Project On Borders and Building Movements, Part One
The Week In Links—May 1st
Hundreds of people protested in Chicago on Tuesday, in support of Baltimore and the many casualties of police brutality, including Mya Hall. A Vietnamese restaurant owner turned her restaurant into a lucrative side business for herself and women being exploited by local factories, which, of course had to be stopped. The San Francisco Sex Worker Film… Continue reading The Week In Links—May 1st