I don’t have the emotional energy right now to get into thi…

I am not anti porn, anti sex work or anti sex worker. Anyone who actually knows me (not just thinks they do because I’m visible online) knows this. But I feel it needs to be said. I do not see sex workers & survivors as two opposing groups, but more often than not one in the same

I have legitimate criticisms of the industry that I was forced into as a child. Many trafficking victims & consenting sex workers & those who are both are also vocal about their issues with the industry as a whole or in parts. That’s our right.

I’ve been openly grateful of EVERYONE, both individuals & groups, who has supported me because almost no one supported my family & I at all for over a decade. I’ve been helped by & also felt used by both pro sex work groups & abolitionists alike. It’s extremely nuanced.

There are so many people who see any survivor, including active sex workers, being critical about the industry or sharing our own experiences & see it as open season to call us swerfs & paint us as bigots to justify their abuse of us.

That’s wrong & I’ve been extremely vocal about that. It’s also wrong to conflate ALL sex work with rape or trafficking because then when if a sex worker is raped, how do they reach out for help when someone has deemed them unable to consent & differentiate choice from rape?

These little thoughts are just the tip of the iceberg & I want to elaborate more on this topic in the near future, but in short I do not fall neatly into any boxes- I am not a cheerleader for the industry, but I’m not by any means anti sex work or anti sex worker.

I get thrown under the bus frequently by people on both or more accurately every side, because I’m not someone else who falls neatly into any kind of box to be used for any kind of agenda either way.

I am anti-PornHub & other exploitive sites like xvideos. I am pro sex workers running their own sites without digital pimps, usually rich white men, taking a huge cut. I am anti rape, anti revenge porn, & anti piracy/stolen content.

Besides the issue of rape & abuse including but not limited to that of minors being profited from, these sites also built their empire on stealing labor & content from sex workers. No one is entitled to their labor for free.

I am anti capitalism & believe that being under it makes the industry more dangerous. I believe that anyone who wants to exit the industry should be able to, but that criminalizing them is not the way- eradicating poverty is & supporting social programs.

I also don’t believe in “saving” anyone who does not want to be rescued & believe this does more damage than good. Sex workers, survivors & those who are both need rights & resources & to have our agency respected, not be treated like we aren’t capable of making our own choices.

@AvriSapir & I have both been vocal about how some SW orgs like SWOP have been really dismissive of our trauma, outright mocked me (SWOP Portland) & have partnered with PornHub which upset both survivors & many sex workers & those who have both, & have done nothing to help us.

Some abolition groups have helped me. The same people defending PornHub because it “helps people survive” demonize & attack me for accepting the only help I’ve ever been offered so that attack holds no weight. My survival matters too.

Many sex workers who are my closest friends & biggest allies criticize things they don’t like about various orgs without using it as a thinly veiled excuse to attack individual survivors- I’ve dealt with a lot of abuse from people in the industry & so has Avri. But we’ve also +

been heavily supported by a lot of sex workers. Some have attacked us, accused us of lying about our rapes like Ginger Banks, Valentina Nappi, Maya Morena & so many others.

But when abusive people who happen to be sex workers attack us & cause us harm, a huge percentage of the people defending us & blasting them for it are other sex workers.

These things aren’t black & white, they are extremely nuanced. But every month on no nuance November on this app & the way so many people take survivors sharing our trauma as some sort of personal attack is really gross & telling. Especially when you’re misrepresenting our views.

I don’t have the emotional energy right now to get into this with the detail & nuance I would like to, but I see so many lies & misconceptions being spread about myself & other outspoken survivors daily. I am speaking solely for myself here, but I wanted to clear up some things.

More from Society

You May Also Like