What was done to me by the LAPD in retaliation for writing an expose about the corruption I witnessed while employed by that corrupt institution was wrong, it was horrible to experience and I was left with so much outrage I thought I would never get over. But the experience did NOT destroy my sense of humor and in fact, it caused me to hone my satire and use it whenever I lecture at colleges and universities. If I come from a place of anger to explain what happens to sex workers because of the laws, no one listens. But if I can communicate my message and make them laugh while doing so, they are much more receptive and they remember what I say.

When it is appropriate, I can articulate my thoughts in a serious and somber article. But the laws and the consequences of the prohibition are so ludicrous that it is nearly impossible for me to write about them without using satire. What society does to us in the name of protecting us for our own good- isn’t at all funny. But if we can’t show people how foolish the laws and the antis are, and make them listen to us by being sarcastic and using satire, I don’t think we will ever get through to them. Laughter IS the best medicine- and it is also the best medium for getting our message out there. I can’t say that I will ever get over what I experienced, but I have turned that outrage into something that can change people’s minds.

Thank you for this article!

I love Norma Jean Almodovar’s posters for their humor. The one depicting a certain researcher as a child standing at a chalk board who cannot add is hilarious! I print out her pdfs and include them in my education packets to legislators, policy makers and the public as they are very educational. Her use of satire in recasting the discourse from our perspective is appropriate and accurate. http://policeprostitutionandpolitics.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120:posters&catid=36:stats-and-data&Itemid=61

I think that if the public ever got a fly on the wall perspective of the conversations we have amongst ourselves…not only would they be very entertained but they would finally understand why our occupation will never cease to exist.

My friend Giselle Dias (a prisoners justice activist in Canada) who organized this panel and who invited me to sit on the panel, asked me what my thoughts were on the prisoner’s message. I said, “I appreciated the way he brought in humour to his message, making the audience laugh despite his situation. It reminds us that he is human too and even though where he is and all that he has been through, he isn’t broken.” What I mean by broken, I don’t mean in the same sense that non-sex workers view sex workers. But in the context of being in prison, which is a complete dehumanization of persons.

That’s how people who are dehumanized on an every day basis use humour in their activism. It’s like a big, “Fuck you! You didn’t break me, you can’t break me. I am still human and I am still here.”

That is what this piece reminded me of. Humour is resisting this dehumanization.