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sex 2.0 afterthoughtsMy initial motivations for going to the sex 2.0 conference was for sex worker community and to learn. A couple of key issues I was interested in learning about was how I could aid in bringing together a sex worker community in South Florida, how other sex workers handle asshole clients, technology and blogging tips and ideas for other lines of work. I also wanted to know how other sex workers handle the balance of work and play as I have a tendency to overwork and get burnt out. But overall I just wanted community with other women in the same line of work. I think the session I got the most out of was Sex Work in the Time of Obama because it was activism-focused which is something I had no idea how to go about, especially with my local community. One major problem with the sex work scene in South Florida is that its based off of random acts by random women who are flown in by companies that are looking to exploit them. I hate to bring this up considering that I don’t like speaking negatively about an industry I’m so passionate about and I hate the word “exploit” when it comes to talking about this shit. But its true when it comes to down here, as has been my experience. The agent I had in porn specifically preyed on ignorance and naivety (but then again, what asshole-agent doesn’t?). South Florida is supposedly the second biggest porn capital in the U.S. with companies like Bang Bros., Reality Kings and Score. Those companies also have a habit of bringing in five new girls a day and churning out content like some kind of industrialized factory. There are also many strip clubs down here, but many strippers don’t self identify as sex workers. I didn’t. Not even when I was in Australia getting tested and the people at the clinic kept asking me, are you a sex worker? I would say no! I’m not a prostitute, not understanding the context of the word that they couldn’t even give the consideration of explaining to me. Anyways, I guess what I’m trying to say or ask is: How do you create an activist community around a sex work scene that is soley based off of random women that probably don’t consider their “work” a career and those that do don’t want to be labeled as sex workers? *so pissed a bunch of stuff I was writing got deleted when I pushed publish so there will be a part two but I”ve been working on this shitty post for three days now so here’s part one*
4 comments to sex 2.0 afterthoughts |
 "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there..." -Rumi 
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Oh ok now I dig the umbrella term you mean. Yes. It’s important for sex workers to realize no one of us is any better than the others (in terms of what we do for money.) you so smart!
Regarding creating this activist community: I think the first step would be to remove the stigma against the field, to just get people talking openly about their experiences. A lot of people, women especially I would imagine, are afraid to admit their involvement in anything even a moderately prudish person might consider unbecoming, because we have such insane beliefs regarding sexuality in this country. If you could get people to feel that it is ok to work in the sex industry, that it doesn’t confer anything horrible about them, then that would be a big first step.
I know, I know — easier said than done. We can thank religion for convicing people that their bodies are pure concentrated evil. If you find a way to undo the incredible damage done by this force, let me know.
that last question is a great one. folks like audacia ray’s crowd in ny have the advantage of everyone being quite hip to the terminology and being comfortable with that. there is a lot of support for self-identification as a sex worker. in places like where you are, which are not full of young and progressive and sometimes-university-educated folks, so your activism would start far behind where you are personally, which is to actually make that self-identification ok or even positive / healthy. that may or may not be something you can do – it depends on your priorities as an activist and how you can thrive as a community-builder. do you subscribe to the belief that you can build community anywhere? i’m not asking to challenge you, i’m asking because i don’t know and i want to get a sense of where you stand on that. do you feel like it’s worth the investment of trying to build community in a place where you may be far far ahead, personally and politically, than the rest of that community?
its a hard decision, because sometimes I feel like I’m sacrificing my own self-evolvement to help others evolve, but then other times I wonder if thats where the true evolution happens itself?
I don’t know if I believe you can build community anywhere, I think communities are naturally occuring in humanity, everywhere there will be a community built around something whether its church or a local bar, people like to gather.
The one message I would love to get across to all of the strippers and aspiring porn stars of South Florida is: realize how valuable you are, you are not someone’s trash to throw away, if the entire industry was based off of the “new girl” then why are their fan bases?
Sometimes I feel like we can’t just run off and hide from the rest of the world, we have to be apart of the machine to change perspectives, thats how you make change happen.