Tin Horn Gamblers and Dirty Prostitutes: Vice in 19th Century Council Bluffs (2014)

Minnie Bradley, a an Omaha sex worker who refused to look at the camera in her 1902 mug shot. (Via Nebraska State Historical Society)

I usually regret the rare moments in which I’m prevailed on to cut whorephobes a break. My empathetic nature is almost always taken advantage of in these instances and I’m left feeling as if I’ve been had. As compensation, I exude coolness in interactions with potential whorephobes. It’s come to be the most significant way… Continue reading Tin Horn Gamblers and Dirty Prostitutes: Vice in 19th Century Council Bluffs (2014)

Remembering Stone Butch Blues’ Pledge To Sex Workers

Stone Butch Blues, the 2004 Alyson Books edition.

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

YER ART SUX: ‘ART WHORE’ by Ryder Ripps

Ryder Ripps (photo via his Facebook page) Can we use this? Is it considered a part of the public domain?

Juniper Fleming co-wrote this with Tits and Sass co-editors Caty Simon and Josephine. Josephine and Caty discuss the project and media reaction and Juniper analyzes the project video. Juniper is an artist and writer living in New York. Attaining her BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2014, she was the recipient of a Deutscher… Continue reading YER ART SUX: ‘ART WHORE’ by Ryder Ripps

“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 P Word: A 101

(1942 poster via Amazon)

Though most don’t consider the word “prostitute” pejorative, it’s more damaging to sex workers than any other slur. There’s no true neutrality to be found in a word whose verb form Merriam-Webster defines as “to devote to corrupt or unworthy purposes.” But precisely because it is used in polite language, because of its patina of… Continue reading The P Word: A 101