Today is Friday the Thirteenth, which as long-time readers know is the day I ask non-sex workers to stand up for our rights. This is not the first such occasion since the passage of FOSTA, but it’s the first one in 14 months (though we’ll see another in December, as is the case every time we get one in September), and it’s the first one since the topic became politically “safe” for the cowards who want to be called “leaders” to bring up in public. The latter point is, I think, extremely important; one of the reasons so many outside the demimonde are afraid to stand up for the obvious fact that the government has no business “regulating” private sexual arrangements is they’re afraid of guilt by association. And this is by no means a foolish dread, because prohibitionists absolutely will not hesitate to accuse any woman who defends sex worker rights of being a whore herself, and any man who defends them of being a client. But now that even the hang-to-the-rear political crowd is talking about it, the prohis have only got so many fingers to point; anyone who wants to help but is still shy can share any number of pro-decrim articles in major media outlets. There are plenty of ideas on how you can help in previous columns for this occasion, and I strongly encourage you to look at those. But as usual, the best way you can help, better than any other, is money. As I wrote last year, “donate to SWOP-USA, to SWOP Behind Bars, to the EFF or Woodhull Foundation to support their anti-FOSTA lawsuit, to individual activists (because traveling around the country to do this work is much more expensive than you might think), or to sex workers who have been harmed by increasing censorship of our ads.” This is especially critical because, as you may have noticed, the orange-utang’s deranged trade war has already caused enough damage to the economy that bookings are falling and sex workers are getting worried. As I’ve explained before, election years are always bad for business, and any old-timer like me can tell you that election years in a bad economy can be devastating. Add to that the advertising chaos caused by FOSTA and the wanton destruction of Backpage, and the climate of fear among clients engendered by constant and ever-intensifying pogroms, and we have a recipe for what could possibly be the worst year for sex workers in the 35 that I’ve been paying attention to it. As I wrote in “Straight Talk“,
I understand you may be nervous about the political situation; well, we are too. And if you profess to care about us, you need to step up and be generous. So, book a session with your ATF. Book one with a lady you know has kids. Book one with a lady you like, but haven’t seen in a while. Book with a male escort you’ve been wanting to see. Book with a domme or FBSM pro you’ve had your eye on. Book with me or any of the other sex workers you see me interact with online…If you don’t have time to book but still want to help, most sex workers have PayPal or Patreon or some such you can use to give them a monetary token of appreciation. Because there isn’t a single one of us who won’t be grateful for it right now.
As I’ve often pointed out, we are winning in the court of public opinion. But that takes time, and we’re now in the “getting worse before it gets better” stage. So if the sex workers you care about and the activists you admire are going to make it through to the end, we’re going to need your help in every way you can give it.
