WE TOO: Selena the Stripper

Yin Q, writer of the piece "We All Deserve To Heal" from We Too, discusses Spike Lee, Body of Workers, Kink Out Spaces at MOMA PS1, disassociation, complicity, power play, control, and forgiveness. // Yin Q is a mother, kink educator, writer, and activist based in New York City. Their media work includes Mercy Mistress, a web pilot, and Fly in Power, a short documentary. They founded a production team called Kink Out and organize with Red Canary Song, an APIA and Asian migrant sex and massage worker collective. Yin has been recognized by Spike Lee as an impact activist in his tribute to Jackie Robinson.// ABOUT WE TOO: This collection of narrative essays by sex workers presents a crystal-clear rejoinder: there’s never been a better time to fight for justice. Responding to the resurgence of the #MeToo movement in 2017, sex workers from across the industry—hookers and prostitutes, strippers and dancers, porn stars, cam models, Dommes and subs alike—complicate narratives of sexual harassment and violence, and expand conversations often limited to normative workplaces.Writing across topics such as homelessness, motherhood, and toxic masculinity, We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival gives voice to the fight for agency and accountability across sex industries. With contributions by leading voices in the movement such as Melissa Gira Grant, Ceyenne Doroshow, Audacia Ray, femi babylon, April Flores, and Yin Q, this anthology explores sex work as work, and sex workers as laboring subjects in need of respect—not rescue.A portion of this book's net proceeds will be donated to SWOP Behind Bars (SBB). Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“They have no stakes. We have all of the stakes.”In the latest episode of my special series on WE TOO: Essays on Sex Work and Survival, I interviewed Selena the Stripper, who wrote the book's introduction.Discussed: FKA Twigs' pole dance appropriation; who gets to use the word Heaux: sugar dating; the status value of a Birkin bag; Strippers United //Selena The Stripper is a sex worker, writer, podcaster, and community organizer. After graduating from MICA in 2015, fae felt out of place in the elitist world of institutional art. Through stripping fae found financial stability and a community of incredibly strong, radically free thinking artists. Faer Instagram (@prettyboygirl) highlights faer writing and photography, but weekly exclusive content can be found on Patreon (@therealprettyboygirl). Fae is a resident author with Berlinable, a Berlin-based erotica publication. Faer podcast, Heaux in the Kneaux, is available on all platforms. // ABOUT WE TOOThis collection of narrative essays by sex workers presents a crystal-clear rejoinder: there’s never been a better time to fight for justice. Responding to the resurgence of the #MeToo movement in 2017, sex workers from across the industry—hookers and prostitutes, strippers and dancers, porn stars, cam models, Dommes and subs alike—complicate narratives of sexual harassment and violence, and expand conversations often limited to normative workplaces.Writing across topics such as homelessness, motherhood, and toxic masculinity, We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival gives voice to the fight for agency and accountability across sex industries. With contributions by leading voices in the movement such as Melissa Gira Grant, Ceyenne Doroshow, Audacia Ray, femi babylon, April Flores, and Yin Q, this anthology explores sex work as work, and sex workers as laboring subjects in need of respect—not rescue.A portion of this book's net proceeds will be donated to SWOP Behind Bars (SBB) Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the first episode of a special series celebrating the release of We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival, I chatted with the book's editor Natalie West. (I associate edited and contributed to the anthology!) //"You have to be ok with ambiguity to grapple with what the book presents and what sex work is."//Natalie reflects on her choice to market herself as the Lesbian Dominatrix of Los Angeles. Then we get into the long history of how we came to co-edit this anthology of sex workers responding to the Me Too movement. Stay tuned for more episodes featuring other contributors to the book. And snag your copy, out 2.9.21 from Feminist Press! //Natalie West is a Los Angeles based writer and educator. She worked as a professional Dominatrix while obtaining her PhD in Gender Studies. These days, she is a professor who moonlights as a sex work, BDSM, and queer community authenticity consultant for film and television. //We Too is a collection of narrative essays by sex workers presents a crystal-clear rejoinder: there’s never been a better time to fight for justice. Responding to the resurgence of the #MeToo movement in 2017, sex workers from across the industry—hookers and prostitutes, strippers and dancers, porn stars, cam models, Dommes and subs alike—complicate narratives of sexual harassment and violence, and expand conversations often limited to normative workplaces.Writing across topics such as homelessness, motherhood, and toxic masculinity, We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival gives voice to the fight for agency and accountability across sex industries. With contributions by leading voices in the movement such as Melissa Gira Grant, Ceyenne Doroshow, Audacia Ray, femi babylon, April Flores, and Yin Q, this anthology explores sex work as work, and sex workers as laboring subjects in need of respect—not rescue.A portion of this book's net proceeds will be donated to SWOP Behind Bars (SBB). Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey YAPIT fans! I'm focusing my energy on SfSx Volume 2, the hustle, and work/life balance in these turbulent times. Listen for a few words on my hiatus, and what to expect in 2021. xoxoxo TH Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“No amount of assimilation or pride has shaken this sense of myself as an inverted dark predatory lesbian.” //Certified lesbian vampire Annie Rose Malamet joins me to explain the appeal of darkness, finesse, predation, the night, immortal codependency, two little wounds in the neck, ejaculating blood, obsession, morbidity, the shadow self, and performance; with nods to Octavia Butler, Anne Rice, Countess Elizabeth Báthory, Phantom of the motherfuckin Opera, Xenomorphs, Ovi positors, slutty Halloween werewolves, tentacles, and evil computers. //Annie Rose Malamet is a writer, teaching artist, and podcast producer. As the creator of the podcast "Girls, Guts, & Giallo," she examines subversive and controversial films from a femme leather dyke perspective. In her writing, she blends personal narrative and film theory. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"How can brands do more for social justice movements? Give people pleasure! Give people a reason to have a wet a$s p#ssy! Uplifting difficult conversations about Black Lives Matter: that’s what makes p#ssy wet! Loving relationships and care starts with pleasure and understanding your needs. And guess what? Social and political justice are needs like orgasms are needs.” — SX Noir /Who better than thot leader SX Noir to weave together BLM, COVID, and pleasure principles? In this special episode, sponsored by LELO, SX and Tina explore: privacy and persona in digital space, the Black Sex Worker Liberation March, mutual aid, sex tech, remote control vibrators, why we need to stop and erotically appreciate the flowers, the importance of masturbation during quarantine, and W.A.P. /Don’t forget! You can get 15% off your self-love routine with the code SEXTECH on https://lelo.to/WhyArePeopleIntoThat . This applies to every pleasure product on the site (except for already discounted products). Offer valid now through Dec 31, 2020 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Kink is an arena where I find tidiness.” //In Part 2 of my talk with Juno Mac, co-author of Revolting Prostitutes, we discuss: great books about sex work, rational thoughts in an irrational world, whether there's such a thing as the sex worker gaze, what the Hustlers of prostitution will look like, why it’s imperative that sex work activism centers mutual aid and the experience of migrants, and how Juno is trying not to be the movement’s mother so she can be a @FeralMommy in her personal life. //“Our fangs are so fucking sharp." //Juno Mac is a professional leg spreader and opinion haver; a sex worker, activist, author, and photographer based in London, UK. She is an organizer with Sex Workers’ Advocacy and Resistance Movement, a collective of sex workers based in different cities around the UK. She is one of the co-authors of the book Revolution Prostitutes: The Fight For Sex Workers’ Rights released in 2018, and is currently working on a part documentary/part memoir photographic project about the intimate spaces in sex working lives. Her 2016 TED Talk is called: The laws that sex workers really want.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Is it ok for 'Juno Mac' to be an anxious hooker and an advocate for sex worker rights? Am I allowed to be a messy, complicated person?” //The co-author of the indispensable book Revolting Prostitutes join me over the phone from her quarantine in England to discuss: the unfair pressure of compartmentalizing our own sex lives and whoreientations, why doing sex work digitally feels like Buffy losing her super-strength and not being able to open a jar of pickles, dinner party Decrim talking points, and “calling in” the analogy "sex is to rape as sex work is to trafficking." // Juno Mac is a professional leg spreader and opinion haver; a sex worker, activist, author, and photographer based in London, UK. She is an organizer with Sex Workers’ Advocacy and Resistance Movement, a collective of sex workers based in different cities around the UK. She is one of the co-authors of the book Revolution Prostitutes: The Fight For Sex Workers’ Rights released in 2018, and is currently working on a part documentary/part memoir photographic project about the intimate spaces in sex working lives. Her 2016 TED Talk is called: The laws that sex workers really want.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The push and pull between clarity and imagination is something I think about a lot in visual storytelling.” //I called up SfSx series artist Jen Hickman to celebrate the release of our SfSx: Volume 1: Protection trade paperback on July 22nd!Jen and I discuss our collaborative process, and Jen gives some insight into how they think about formatting sequential art, color as music, and an art school game that’s like exquisite corpse but with dicks. We also touch on Jen’s talent for “character acting” and one of my favorite examples of this from SfSx, how they made an air duct scene sex charged and hilarious, the role of time in comics especially smutty comics, and what kind of sex robot we'd want to fuck. // Jen Hickman is a visual storyteller and a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design's Sequential Art program. Past work includes TEST, Moth & Whisper, Jem and the Holograms, the Femme Magnifique anthology, and more. They get really excited about dystopian fiction, good coffee, and drawing hands. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The funny thing about Crash Pad is: you know that I know that you know that I know that there’s cameras in there." //In Part 2 of my interview with Shine, we focus in on Why Are People Into Voyeurism. //Shine tells a legendary tale of how seeing herself in the mirrors at the Lusty Lady inspired Crash Pad Series. We discuss how the voyeurism themes of CPS means she’s both removed her queer woman of color gaze and inserted that gaze into every single scene; how CPS has changed over 15 years of queer p*rn production; why you should pay for your porn; why asking first is necessary. We also explore: Why is voyeurism considered so creepy? Is the voyeur a top? When is looking like touching? There's also some nerdy camera talk and Shine's conspiracy theory about P*rn Hub. //Shine Louise Houston is the founding producer and director of Pink and White Productions (CrashPadSeries.com, PinkLabel.tv). During a five-year position at the women-owned sx toy purveyor Good Vibrations, Shine recognized an underserved demand for an alternative to mainstream p*rnography. In 2005, she quit her day job to form a p*rn company, kickstarting a renaissance in queer-made p*rn. A graduate from the San Francisco Arts Institute with a Bachelors in Fine Art Film, Shine has always had a unique vision for adult cinema. Her work has been recognized for its craft and cultural contribution to LGBTQ communities around the world.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yapit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.