Activist Spotlight: Ceyenne Doroshow on The Red Umbrella Diaries, Recipes, and Resilience

Ceyenne Doroshow. (Photo courtesy of Lily Fury)

Ceyenne Doroshow originally made a name for herself on stage as one of the seasoned performance artists and audience favorites of the Red Umbrella Diaries’ storytelling nights. She is featured as one of seven sex workers who tell their story on the newly released documentary The Red Umbrella Diaries, which will have its world premiere… Continue reading Activist Spotlight: Ceyenne Doroshow on The Red Umbrella Diaries, Recipes, and Resilience

Casualties of War: The Wars on Drugs and Trafficking

(This photo by Flickr user Ira Gelb of a frail white woman marked as a "slave" has been used on many anti-trafficking websites and articles.)

After several years of working in nonprofit agencies that take a harm reduction approach to working with drug users and sex workers, I’ve observed many similarities between the war on drugs and the war on trafficking. As the drug war has lost popularity, the war on trafficking has gained momentum. Both the war on drugs… Continue reading Casualties of War: The Wars on Drugs and Trafficking

The JVTA: Not Just Bad For Trafficking Victims

Republican Senator John Isakson urges the Senate to pass the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act in March. (Screenshot of Youtube video released by Isaskson)

On Wednesday, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 [S. 178] passed through the Senate by a unanimous vote of 99-to-0. It is being celebrated as a heroic example of bipartisan cooperation for humanitarian advancement. However, if the bill continues to pass through the House, it will be delivering its system of protection… Continue reading The JVTA: Not Just Bad For Trafficking Victims

Activist Spotlight: Melissa Gira Grant on Playing The Whore and Policing the Policers, Part One

Melissa in a pilgrimage to Frida Kahlo's house. O, roving reporter. (Photo via Melissa's flickr)

In the early aughts when I was a novice escort and On Our Backs was still being published, I was wowed by Melissa Gira Grant, an internet porn-making, geeky, theory-spouting phenom, even managing to be friends with her despite the fact that she was an Anais Nïn devotee. Over the years I’ve kept in touch… Continue reading Activist Spotlight: Melissa Gira Grant on Playing The Whore and Policing the Policers, Part One

The Week In Links—January 3

April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman--can we trust them with the Lusty? (Photo by Nick Gripton on Flickr, image via The Eater)

The Lusty Lady’s vacant space will be reopened by Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield, who own the cafe next door, as a cocktail bar which “will pay homage to what the Lusty Lady was…the wonderful seediness, and the dying breed of seediness.” Apparently, “initial design ideas include…a riff on peepshow windows ‘wherein a customer inserts… Continue reading The Week In Links—January 3