NFSW: The Week In Newds 8/2/21
As a sex worker, opting out of politics, current events, updates to social media platforms and the status of laws and legislations isn't an option. Our work and day to day lives are, unfortunately, heavily affected by changes in all of these areas. The sex working community has been rallying for decriminalization on a local, national, and even global level for decades, long before I even stepped into my first whore heels. Now there's a push for progressive action in not only decriminalization, but active rights and protections, potential unions, accurate and beneficial media representation, less digital censorship and for moving the power and profit gained from the industry directly into the pockets of those doing the work. Weekly, we'll be gathering some of the latest political and pop culture headlines making waves in the community.
A Good Gentlemen Looks but Doesn't Touch
In this wonderful opinion piece, Kayla Kibbe and Reese Piper (a dancer with 4 years experience in the industry) discuss a post pandemic wish if there was such a thing: for "woke" straight men to enjoy and embrace strip clubs again. In the midst of the current sex worker liberation movement, there's been a huge push for the shift in how society views sex workers and the trade itself, however, that shift hasn't quite yet made it's way to the patrons, or those who purchase the services sex workers offer. Young, well-meaning Millennials and Gen-Zers who consider themselves sufficiently “woke” male feminists are still trapped in the mentality that in order to be a good gentleman, the first step is to never "objectify women," so the strip club is a place they are quick to distance themselves from. Read the full broken-down concept in this insightful essay on InsideHook, here.
Meals 4 Heels is Literally Serving
Meals 4 Heels was about a year into business when COVID-19 stopped the world in its tracks. Nikeisah Newton, a chef and ex-SWer in Portland, Oregon, has been working to provide healthy meals to to the city’s sex worker community. Meals 4 Heals began as a late-night food delivery in early 2019, specializing in vegan and vegetarian bowls. The menu, created with BIPOC sex workers in mind, consists of vibrant veggie and grain bowls, with nods to Black American food culture. Read the in-depth scoop on Newton's incredible story and mission to inspire people to “bet on Black, pursue your dreams, remember sex work has always been real work, and to push trans and Black sex workers to the front of the line. Always." on Mic here.
In this deeply vulnerable piece, Canada-based sex worker Alex 'GoAskAlex' Resident opens up about how her transition into sex work saved her financially as someone living with ulcerative colitis, a bowel specific autoimmune disease that made it near impossible to adhere to a rigid nine-to-five schedule, let alone finish a post-secondary education. Alex divulges on her journey into full-time camming, a surgery after much success in the digital space, and what life looks like now as a disabled sex worker and disability advocate. Read the full essay on Newsweek, here.
When Lips, (our new favorite) social app for free sexual expression, applied to the Newchip Accelerator program in late April, they were repeatedly assured that the investors were, in fact, "inclusive and open-minded." Lips application was accepted in June, however, days before Lips was set to begin the program, which includes six months of mentorship and investments of up to $250,000 upon graduation, Newchip called Brown to rescind the acceptance due to the app's sexual content. This has been a pattern not only for Lips, but for other pro-sex, pro-sex worker startups. Read the full in-depth look into Annie Brown (Lips Founder) thoughts on the discouraging discrimination towards sex-worker led content, and building alternatives to these larger-scale corporate platforms on Mashable, here.
A recent viral Tiktok showed two women, unknown if they are dancers are not, at the top of a Chicago parking garage, twerking for the inmates at the prison across the street. Given their immaculate wardrobes and twerking skills, it's assumed they may have been strippers at some point. The two women got visible praise from the inmates, as they flashed their lights at them in appreciation. Commenters had nothing but praise for the women as well, thanking them for doing "the lords work." Another reason I believe sex workers are earth angels. See the full story and links to the video (if the clock app hasn't removed it by now) here.
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