With the state of current depictions of sex workers, it’s no wonder that the characters I relate to the most from a sex worker perspective often aren’t sex workers at all. They’re created in such a way that they have parallel experiences to a lot of sex workers even without being them.
Tag Archives: prostitution
Applying the Label “Sex Worker” to People Selling Sex Throughout History
When it comes to researching historical prostitution, it is incredibly difficult to find accounts which come directly from people selling sex. The further back in history we go, the more true that is. Since the term “sex worker” is a recent invention, coined in the late 70s, and most works will use euphemisms or derogatory terms, there is often debate over whether it is appropriate to retroactively call people sex workers if they sold sex.
Contemporary Prostitution Translation – 1884, Léo Taxil.
Preserving sex worker history is a goal that is extremely important to me; all too often we are spoken over, our stories suppressed or lost to time. When I started reading “La Prostitution Contemporaine”, a book in which the author argues for the full decriminalization of prostitution, I became obsessed with it and decided it needed to be translated and preserved in English.
Inside the Brains of Punters
The first time I heard about the existence of punter forums was when I started working in a brothel and the manager told me he checked the forums regularly to get an idea about potential complaints from sex workers in his properties.
As soon as I found out about the forums, reading them became an obsession.
What Can I Do to Support Sex Workers?
For those who are not sex workers, it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to material support. Educating yourself on the struggles sex workers face is admirable, but if you’re not using that knowledge to provide aid then there’s very little impact from it. So, here’s a resource you can use to get some ideas on how to provide help:
Transparent Personas
I’m aware that there are ways I can be tracked, that people can connect together my work persona for sex work and my real identity, and I’ve had to make some decisions about how I handle that.
Viewing Porn as a Sex Worker Who Makes It
Having experience being in front of the camera when making porn, rather than experiencing it only from the other side of the screen as a consumer, often changes how you view it. Are sex workers buying porn?
Translated Letters from Sex Workers, Mistresses, Brokers and Pimps.
Paid Subscriber Only: The following letters are assorted ones published in “La Prostitution Contemporaine” which I have translated. I will provide context for each, and many were written by people who were not fully literate and therefore won’t make perfect sense even after corrections and translation.
Perpetual Teens: Sex Workers Lying About Their Ages
The teen category is a popular one in porn, and it’s mostly populated by people who are 20 and over. Pretty much anyone who could theoretically pass for 18 and 19, even if they’re really pushing it, will tack on that tag to their videos because it’ll get them some extra clicks.
Camgirlification
Every now and again, there will be some controversy or public obsession with a type of online content that is being used by sex workers to advertise; the kicker is that they often don’t realize it’s sex workers who are doing it and make an incomplete analysis because they’re missing that information. Particularly with onlineContinue reading “Camgirlification”
Jack Talks About Sex Work 