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
Tag: racism
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 15th
Melissa Gira Grant’s story about April Brogan’s death from withdrawal complications while in jail is a heartbreaking look at how little regard the justice system has for sex worker lives. Our Caty is quoted on the double stigma drug-using sex workers face. A woman running an underground brothel in Germany has been busted; her workers,… Continue reading The Week in Links—May 15th
One Black Trans Sex Worker’s December 17th
On December 17th, we reflect on the overwhelming reports of violence against sex workers and put together plans of action to rise above it. We experience violence at the hands of law enforcement, clients, pimps and abusive partners, and each other. Though I have never found value in comparing suffering woe for woe, it is… Continue reading One Black Trans Sex Worker’s December 17th
Remembering Stone Butch Blues’ Pledge To Sex Workers
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