Scarlet Road A Sex Workers Journey

I uploaded a documentary about Touching Base; an organization of sex workers who provide sexual services to the disabled. The description from their website is as follows: Our Principles

In 1979, the decriminalisation of sex work in New South Wales (NSW) Australia recognized sex work as a lawful occupation. The Sex Industry has a wealth of practical knowledge in dealing with a wide range of sexual issues and has the right to be respected and consulted as the primary stakeholders in any matters relating to the provision of sexual services in NSW. As the initiators of the Touching Base Project, sex workers in NSW are actively pursuing this right.

People with a disability have an intrinsic right to sexual expression. This right enables people to develop relationships, have sex, explore and express their sexuality and achieve intimacy without personal or systemic barriers. Furthermore, necessary personal and systemic supports must be provided for the expression of this right.

Please enjoy the four part series below and if so inspired, DONATE!









I'm going to close this post with a the song, "Tell Him" sung by Esperanza Spalding. I find myself inspired to listen to it when I am moved by the compassion of others or feel the need to inspire such compassion in myself. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Whores aren't insults, THEY'RE PEOPLE!

Well Cenk Uygur of TheYoungTurks flipped his lid the other day and; in my opinion, insulted sex workers in the process by calling Grover Norquist "a filthy scum WHORE!"


(See video below)





Whores are not insults

THEY'RE PEOPLE!

Good people with lives and loved ones. They have children, husbands, wives and dreams. I am shocked at how out of their way people will go to defend using a word that describes so many people I care about as an insult to others. I can understand this position coming from someone who DOESN'T claim to support sex worker's rights but coming from someone who does, NO!

(Please follow Milissa Gira Grant on twitter)

This fight isn't just about policy it's about stigma. Part of the battle is convincing the average person that NO a whore WON'T do anything for a buck. This belief has been the basis of court cases like this one, where the rape of a sex worker was ruled as simply theft of services. The rational behind rulings like this is that if she was given enough money there would have been nothing she wouldn't have done anyway so it's just a theft. But it's NOT theft! IT'S RAPE! Thinking like this is what keeps sex workers who are raped from reporting it or seeking justice. I will also add that the common anti (antis are people who take a prohibitionist stance on prostitution and/or support full criminalization or the Swedish Model) practice of co-opting sex worker's stories and using them to push laws that are counter to sex worker's rights is another.



So why the protectiveness of using "whore" as an insult? Well, for one people seem to think I don't understand that the word "whore" has many meanings...which is laughable.

Some of them come off as if I'm attacking Freedom of Speech. Did I attack Freedom of Speech? No. I CHALLENGED speech and it is within my Freedom of Speech to do so. People say the meanings of words change over time and yet expect me not to make a conscious effort to be a part of this process. It's as if they expect me to submit to the way things are in society. Well I have news for them. I am a sex worker's rights ADVOCATE! It is not within my nature to just submit to the way things are in society. I will continue to challenge anti-sex worker legislation. I will continue to challenge the stigma connected to sex work and sex workers themselves. And I will continue to challenge uses of the word whore that empower that stigma. If you are someone who intends on following my work you should probably get used to that...or go elsewhere.

The NEW & IMPROVED 10 Commandments

According to the Huffington Post:

A Kansas House committee is scheduled to take up a bill Wednesday that would exempt doctors from malpractice suits if they withheld medical information to prevent an abortion. The measure would also take away tax credits for abortion providers, remove tax deductions for the purchase of abortion-related insurance coverage and require women to hear the fetal heartbeat. The bill includes several provisions, which passed in other states and now face federal lawsuits. The bill would also require women be told about potential breast cancer risks from abortions, even though medical experts discount such a connection.

I found this article after seeing a piece done about it on TheYoungTurks.



I hate to say it but I am unsurprised by this. The avalanche of anti-abortion rights bills that began last year had me in an uproar when it first began but now it all seems very "same shit different day." It is interesting; however, to see just how "matter of convenience" Christianity has become to so many Christians and Catholics. They're not even trying to hide it anymore. I think somewhere along the way the 10 Commandments were rewritten and only politically active Christians and Catholics got the memo. Given their behavior and the legislation they are trying to get passed, I can pretty much guess what the new set is. Let's have a look shall we.

1. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me except your anti-abortion crusade for which all my laws may be conveniently ignored.

2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything to worship other then little plastic fetuses.

3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain except when trying to pass a bill. Then do whatever in or to my name you want.

4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work...unless it's your turn to harass women going into abortion clinic for any reason.

5. “Honor your father and your mother but no body else's.

6. “You shall not murder...unless it's an abortion doctor.

7. “You shall not commit adultery...unless you're trying to seduce an abortion clinic employee so you can get inside it and plant bombs.

8. “You shall not steal anything but a woman's right to make her own choices concerning her health and body.

9. "Thou shall not lie unless it is to keep a woman from making an informed decision concerning her own pregnancies.

10. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife but you can covet her rights and do whatever underhanded thing you can think of to get them from her.





Now, I have many friends that play the, "I'm a Christian but I don't support all this anti-abortion business." Well I have news for you.

~If you go to a church that openly takes an anti-abortion stance you are helping them by making their ranks look larger then they are.

~If you go to a church that openly takes an anti-abortion stance and you donate to it YOU ARE EMPOWERING THEIR ANTI-ABORTION CRUSADE!

~If you're a Christian or a Catholic and you don't openly, actively and AGGRESSIVELY oppose the anti-abortion actions of other members of that church your silence IS your support!

Many things are being done by Christian & Catholic churches, church members, and politicians in the name or your God right now. If you really care about that God you will take a stand against the abuses taking place in his name. If you're not then; with all due respect, spare me your

"I'm a Christian but I think those anti-abortion crusaders are crazy"

bobbing and weaving. Your silence makes you as much a part of the problem as any crazy carrying a sign in front of an abortion clinic. With all this legislation they have drawn the line in the sand. The time to take a stand and fight for what you believe in is NOW because all the bullshit that is being done in your God's name is making him AND YOU look bad.

WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?

Monica Foster Finds Jesus & He Drives Her BATSHIT FUCKING INSANE!

I just found out that self titled "Christian Porn Star" Monica Foster went postal on adult industry veteran Julie Meadows on December 17 a la twitter. In her blog post about it Julie goes into greater detail on the whole affair but I am just going to post a few of Foster's tweets here with a few thoughts.

1. How original! Typical slut shaming tactic of calling Julie a "whore" keeping the stigmatization of sex workers alive and well and oppressive to us all.

2. Julie does drugs? I don't know if she does but so what if she did? I don't support the criminalization of drugs & I don't support this failed war on drugs that has made a war zone out of the Southern colonial imposed border of the U.S.

3. Let's say for argument sake they were drug addicts. Is Foster not aware that addiction is a disease? For Ms. Foster's information I am a drug addict and have been sober for 16 years and counting. Would Ms. Foster use any other disease against someone? If someone had cancer would Ms. Foster say, "Don't listen to so-n-so. SHE HAS CANCER?" FFS

4. He "pimps" her out? As far as I have seen, Doug has been a supportive and loving partner to Julie. This is the most common go to tactic when attacking a sex worker/former sex worker who speaks his or her mind about the pros and cons of the sex industry. The main purpose of this tactic is to separate that sex worker from their support system just like an abusive domestic partner who doesn't want you to talk to your own mother. Unsurprising that Foster is using it.

Ok, do I even really need to touch this one? They're "TERRORISTS?!?!?!?!" For real Monica? Is that what Jesus told you? Oh sweetie. I know that whole porn wikileaks thing was hard on you but you seriously need to step away from the keyboard honey. You're losing it and in the process you are attempting to appeal to some antisemitism you perceive exists in all of us. No honey, that's just you...and it's called racism. And before you try and go there, yes black people can be racist too. Next she's gonna tell us it's the ILLUMINATI.

O.....K....

Ummmmm, hmmmmm. The KKK AND Israelis having a "let's all unite through ALLLLLLL our differences to come after Monica-fest"...ummmmm.

Monica you truly are an agent for Jesus in this world. You have managed to do what no human has been able to do for like...ever. You got white supremacists and Jews to look past their differences and unite for the common good of the world.

Monica...maybe YOU'RE the second coming of Jesus. Have you ever thought of that? I think you should tell us about it. Go ahead hun. We're all listening.




Julie I hope you're reading this. I sincerely hope that if you choose to turn away from your work on sex industry issues it's not because of this religious, fundo-nut bag. If you need to do you girl I respect and support that 100%. BUT if MONICA is the final straw for you just take a break and come back with a clear head cause I guarantee you love; anyone can see she's a nut job.


IMO, you don't need to drive yourself nuts trying to do damage control for her bullshit about you. You don't need to spend time and money fighting her lies. You don't need to refute anything she says or pay any attention to her bullshit at all.

HONEY SHE'S CRAZY!

We see it. We know it.

(tweet from 2/9/12 as I was writing this post)

Now just move on with your life however you see fit leaving her far behind while she writes your name over and over on the walls of her room with her own feces.