How Sex Work Got Us This Far In Gay Liberation

Marsha P Johnson, Stonewall riot participant, STAR House founder, ACT UP activist, and Black trans woman street sex worker. (Screenshot from "Pay It No Mind: The Life And Times of Marsha P Johnson")

Like many of my LGBT peers and allies, I am grateful for the contributions made before and for the possibilities ahead. This summer, the Supreme Court acknowledged the humanity of LGBT individuals. And one of our pinnacle liberation symbols, New York City’s Stonewall Inn, the site of the 1969 Stonewall riots, was made a national… Continue reading How Sex Work Got Us This Far In Gay Liberation

What the hell is going on with Backpage? Part II

(Screenshot of Backpage's July 10th email to users)

Update: Backpage filed a federal suit today against Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart for violating its free speech and equal protection rights after the Sheriff successfully pressured credit card companies to break with the company this month. In the suit, Backpage requests a preliminary injury, so that credit card processing will be restored to the… Continue reading What the hell is going on with Backpage? Part II

Support Hos: True Detective

Matthew McConaughey as Rust Cohle. Don't you hate it when cops are hot?

One of my partners cautioned me that I might take issue with the treatment of sex workers in season one of True Detective. Yet somehow, I completely forgot their warning, and found myself marathoning it over a few days several months ago. The first season is a continual whorephobic, misogynistic trainwreck, so it’s difficult for… Continue reading Support Hos: True Detective

Alix Tichelman’s Trial By Headline

Alix Tichelman. (Photo via the freealixt Twitter acount)

Last month in Santa Cruz, 27-year-old sugar baby and fetish model Alix Tichelman pled guilty to manslaughter in the heroin overdose death of her Google executive client Forrest Hayes, and was sentenced to six years in prison. Throughout the eight months Tichelman was in custody, the media luridly painted her as “The Callgirl Killer,” “The… Continue reading Alix Tichelman’s Trial By Headline

What I Do Know: The Colonial Evisceration of Cindy Gladue

"Our Bodies Are Not Terra Nullius" by Erin Marie Konsmo. (Image via Ariel Smith)

Content warning: This piece contains references to rape, murder, violence against Indigenous women (especially Indigenous sex workers), and other disturbing material. When I told my boyfriend that I was going to write an article about Cindy Gladue and the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW), he reminded me that I should keep my… Continue reading What I Do Know: The Colonial Evisceration of Cindy Gladue