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.

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.

More from Society

So, as the #MegaMillions jackpot reaches a record $1.6B and #Powerball reaches $620M, here's my advice about how to spend the money in a way that will truly set you, your children and their kids up for life.

Ready?

Create a private foundation and give it all away. 1/

Let's stipulate first that lottery winners often have a hard time. Being publicly identified makes you a target for "friends" and "family" who want your money, as well as for non-family grifters and con men. 2/

The stress can be damaging, even deadly, and Uncle Sam takes his huge cut. Plus, having a big pool of disposable income can be irresistible to people not accustomed to managing wealth.
https://t.co/fiHsuJyZwz 3/

Meanwhile, the private foundation is as close as we come to Downton Abbey and the landed aristocracy in this country. It's a largely untaxed pot of money that grows significantly over time, and those who control them tend to entrench their own privileges and those of their kin. 4

Here's how it works for a big lotto winner:

1. Win the prize.
2. Announce that you are donating it to the YOUR NAME HERE Family Foundation.
3. Receive massive plaudits in the press. You will be a folk hero for this decision.
4. Appoint only trusted friends/family to board. 5/

You May Also Like

https://t.co/6cRR2B3jBE
Viruses and other pathogens are often studied as stand-alone entities, despite that, in nature, they mostly live in multispecies associations called biofilms—both externally and within the host.

https://t.co/FBfXhUrH5d


Microorganisms in biofilms are enclosed by an extracellular matrix that confers protection and improves survival. Previous studies have shown that viruses can secondarily colonize preexisting biofilms, and viral biofilms have also been described.


...we raise the perspective that CoVs can persistently infect bats due to their association with biofilm structures. This phenomenon potentially provides an optimal environment for nonpathogenic & well-adapted viruses to interact with the host, as well as for viral recombination.


Biofilms can also enhance virion viability in extracellular environments, such as on fomites and in aquatic sediments, allowing viral persistence and dissemination.