Poly Patao Productions (P3)

Blackness is all the rage! Whether negative or positive, it’s in the air swirling about.  It of course has always lingered, but ever since Obama was elected President of these United States, racism, Blackness, “The Black Agenda,” and even Black love have been pushed further to the forefront. Yes, you heard me, Black love. It’s the first time I can remember a President and the First Lady’s love, affection and sexiness captured and talked about so much. I can’t decipher whether this is good or bad. Are Barack and Michelle  viewed as anomalies or is it a truly beautiful thing to be recognize by (White) Americans? …Or is it an exhale of release that Black folks finally have an “untainted” view of Black love in the open? Hm..points to ponder.

I’m hoping to push the topic of Black sexuality a little further to the left today in honor of the very short but ever-so-important Black History Month and of course, my favorite topic sex(ulaity). Black love has traveled many racist configurations. It has been created, portrayed, force-fed and regurgitated to us and sometimes by us. Our bodies have been subjects, objects, taken, used, fetishized, lusted over and …the cycle begins again and again.  Even when we attempt to journey our paths of what love, sex/ Black love/ Black sex means to us, we are captured by White ideals. We are held in spaces and shackled by systematic oppression that keep us unable to travel our path. In honor of Black History month, the beauty of Black love, the wonderfulness of Black sex and the Black Power we attain in realizing self love, I share the work and images of some Black/POC folks examining, creating space, living and loving Black Power and Sexuality!

Have you read the article, “Who’s Afraid of Black Sexuality?” By Stacey Patton. It takes this topic much further. A must read!

Have you read the book, “Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism” by Patricia Hill Collins? Its on my reading to-do list.

Patricia Hill Collins explores the way in which race, class, and gender organize our national social life via two related themes in the Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism. On the one hand, she makes the case for a new strain of racism that is pervasive but harder to recognize than the old kind, which declared itself in slavery statutes and Jim Crow laws. Now that legalized racism is behind us, she argues, more subtle forms of racism remain as its legacy, both externally imposed upon and internally recreated by Black communities. She uses as evidence not only the statistical findings of social science (the high proportion of incarcerated young Black men, the dwindling resources of inner city schools) but also the ambiguous testimony of film and television, which reflects us back to ourselves while at the same time expressing ruling interests that distort the common good. On the other hand, she notes a tendency in Black political theory to abstract from issues of gender and sexuality, a striking example of which is the hostility of African American churches to homosexuality. The presences of Black LGBT people have been very hard to discern in public discussion and in the media, and gay Black men have been driven to lead double lives, a silence and omission implicated in the rise of HIV/AIDS among African Americans. A more inclusive
political awareness that grants a place to varieties of eros and committed love, she argues, might be more effective.

For full review, click here. If you’d like to buy it, click here.

Do you know Dr.Aih Djehuti Herukhuti Khepera Ra Temu Seti Amen aka
Hameed Sharif Williams? Well, you should. He is the founder of Black Funk and the author of “Conjuring Black Funk.” He skillfully merges culture, sexuality and spirituality via a variety of mediums.

The online presence of Black Funk, a sexual cultural center focused on Indigenous/Pan African Disaporic/Native/Global South approaches to sexuality. This web site is a portal and community space for people who are interested in learning more about sexuality from an Indigenous, decolonizing, culturally-affirming perspective.

Have you experienced the work of Black Beat Inc? Have you had the pleasure of going to their annual conference? Well you are surely missing out.

Established in 2003, Black BEAT Inc. is an independent, social organization founded by African American members of the D/s, BDSM and Leather community nationwide. Our organization strives to cultivate safe, sane, consenting adults (21 years and older) with alternative lifestyle and sexuality interests via culture, education, development, support, and event planning.

Each year Black BEAT offers award acknowledgement to those loyal and progressive in their BDSM and Leather lifestyle contributions. Our family of patrons realize that an African American presence in kink has to be self supporting, thus, have collectively built the foundation upon which we proudly stand. Acknowledgement of African American Leadership in BDSM is important to facilitate strength to others that care to lead in the effort to maximize a greater BDSM community. We desire to continue to build a healthy understanding of the BDSM lifestyle that will add positive validation within our interpersonal actions and diverse relationships.

Collective organizational efforts via sexual diversity lectures, workshops and demonstrations are our focus. We strive to enhance social benefits for African Americans and all kink aware sexual minorities, creating a welcome atmosphere for all who share interest in our expansion, our conferences, or munch groups.

Black BEAT welcomes and encourages all races, ethnicity’s, and sexual preferences to join us for our unique conference experience.

Black BEAT is not a referral service, sex club, or swingers organization.

Did you know that a couple of People of Color were in the midst of creating an anthology called “Perverts of Color”? Yes in deed
they are. They also have a tumblr called Perverts of Color where you can witness the most wonderful images of diverse POC love, sex and kink.

Do you know of Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler‘s film? Yes? Wasn’t it fantastic! If you haven’t already witnessed “Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen,” you’re missing out. Its a must see. Find it, buy it and experience  it!

“STILL BLACK: A Portrait of Black Transmen is brought to life by the stories of six thoughtful, eloquent and diverse transmen. Preachers, teachers, students and activists educate us simply by making their presence known. Each man brings a colorful and complex richness as he describes his relationship to himself, as well as others in his life — the cadence of his voice keeping in rhythm with how the speaker displays himself to the camera.

Director Kortney Ryan Ziegler, lets the subjects’ words and personalities dictate the images and film effects, and the black images on the white background play on the fact that issues concerning gender, race and sexuality are not and cannot be discussed in black and white terms. Clear voices speak on love, family, passing and sex.

The viewer is welcomed with vivid discussions of the connections they have to their bodies, social status and the consequences of being black, transgender and men. With fresh images of rarely seen black transmen, one is left with the recognition of their determination to live an honest and full life and the resilience to live visible lives. STILL BLACK: A Portrait of Black Transmen more than entertains, it gives the LGBT community an opportunity to learn about itself.”

—ZION JOHNSON

Last but certainly not least, have you seen the work of AfroerotiK? It is an all gender/ sexuality/ relationship inclusive educational site. Surf the website and enjoy.

Have you ever been to a website that catered to all forms of sexuality?  Most sites are geared towards one genre of sex, or they might have separate sections or categories for various tastes and preferences. AfroerotiK is a website that caters to men and women, individuals who are straight and gay, lesbian and transgendered, black and white, couples who are happily married, people who are single, vanilla and kinky, those who are enjoying the fruits of open/poly relationships and everything is all mixed up and coming led together.  At AfroerotiK, we celebrate the beauty, sensuality, and passion of ALL people of African descent.  We share more things in common than not.  Our history, our culture, our struggles are what tie us together and need for liberation from oppressive and limiting mindsets is what unites us.  Who we love and how we love are insignificant.  What matters is that we are trying to connect, trying to find validation and intimacy with someone who will allow us to show our true selves and still find us inherently attractive.

This is a space for the open-minded and the liberal.  This is a place for the not so open-minded and liberal to share, learn, grow, and explore.  This is a place for people to talk about their fantasies and fetishes without feeling judged or denigrated.  It doesn’t matter if you love someone who has the same genitals as you, who is a different color, ethnicity, or religion, if you have nappy hair or belong to the Tea Party, here is where you are free to be your most authentic sexual self.  All people of color are welcomed to share their experiences and obstacles in defining their own sexuality and all majority folks are welcomed to listen, learn, respect, and admire an experience different than your own.

Erotic provocateur, racially-influenced humanist, relentless champion for the oppressed, and facilitator for social change, Scottie Lowe is the brain child, creative genius and the blood, sweat, and tears behind AfroerotiK.  Intended to be part academic, part educational, and part sensual, she, yes SHE gave birth to the website and the company to provide people of African descent a place to escape the narrow-mined, stereotypical, limiting and oft-times degrading beliefs that abound about our sexuality.  No, not all Black men are driven by lust by white flesh or to create babies and walk away.  No, not all Black women are promiscuous welfare queens or willing to do any sexual favor for money.  And as hard as it may be to believe, no, not all gay Black men are feminine, down low, or HIV positive.  While being the first to admit that there are issues surrounding the collective Black sexuality, Scottie is putting everything on the table to people to discuss, debate, and dismantle stereotypes in a healthy exchange of ideas.  She hopes to provide a more holistic, informed, and enlightened discussion of Black sexuality so that people of color have alternative to the one-dimensional caricatures society and the media force feed us down our throats and dreams of helping couples be more open, honest, and adventurous in their relationships.

This by no means is a comprehensive list. Its a teaser highlighting some of the work that’s out there. There are so many of us trying to spread the education via art, images, film, written material, workshops and lectures. We’ve been striving to create spaces, begin/continue dialogue, and  love in Blackness with no shame or stereotypes. Black sexuality is Barack, Michelle and more.  It’s queer, trans, heterosexual and asexual. It’s polyamorous, non-monogamous and monogamous. It’s disability. Its all shades and shapes. It’s poor and it is well off. It’s political. It’s private. It’s clean and dirty. Most of all, it is ours. It’s up to us to determine and define. We are getting…we have gotten… to the place(s) where we cannot allow others to shape the image of our lust/love/sex/desire/ fantasy and fucking. Its ours to do what we please. This is our power. Let’s enjoy it and spread the Black love!

Black Love! Black Sex! Black Kink! Black Power!

…I’m hoping folks can share and add to this list….and happy Black History Month!!!

Today is World AIDS Day.  This day means so many things to so many people. It is a day to raise awareness, mourn those lost and to support people living with HIV and those affected by HIV and AIDS.  As a sex(uality) educator, a sex worker and polyamorous person, getting tested, knowing my status and practicing safer sex have been a core practices in my life. It hasn’t always been that way though. Before I began my own sexual journey through trial and error, I didn’t have much information about sex. In my parent’s generation, their parents didn’t talk about sex. When it came to my generation, my parents figured if you don’t talk about it, it wouldn’t happen. Nothing could’ve been farther from the truth. Even though younger generations today get better information than I did or my parents did, it’s still not enough. In some cases, if sex education is even taught, it is limited. Too often, sex education focuses on procreation, heterosexual sex, and lacks conversations about desire or how to negotiate for oneself. Lets not forget the Abstinence until marriage sex education campaigns. The push for abstinence as a safety measure for all young people has been unrealistic. I do believe that teaching both abstinence and comprehensive sex education that included sex positivity is the way to go.  The education we receive as young peoples is vital BUT the education does not end there. It is just the beginning. As adults and older adults, we must continue to educate ourselves as well.

Yesterday I went to an event at New York University. It was an annual event called “Living Out Loud: Queer People of Color Creating HIV Awareness.” This year’s program was two fold: a panel to continue to raise awareness on HIV and AIDS and a celebration to honor the writer/ performer, HIV positive queer activist, Brandon Lacy Campos. The panel offered wonderful information and perspective but one panelist stuck out for me. A woman living with HIV for 20 plus years stated, “I had a boyfriend, we were in a monogamous relationship and I trusted him.”  These words spoke volumes to me. To begin, one of the things that I hear over and over again in HIV prevention speak is that monogamy is a one of several tools to staying negative. I do not agree with this. In my opinion, monogamy, gives a false sense of security regarding safer sex. Within monogamy we throw out any notions of negotiating sex, fluid bonding is a given and the idea that cheating doesn’t enter into the “safety” equation. Even if a monogamous couple never cheated on each other, it doesn’t take in to account the relationships they had prior or if they’ve ever gotten tested.

The lingo about monogamy, in some ways, puts a cloud over us folks who are polyamorous, have multiple partners and or are non-monogamous. It feeds into the idea that if you have more than one lover, and you “get” something, it was through your own doing. I guess the idea is that if you stick with one, and then you lessen your chances. I think it’s more complicated than that. There is an assumption here. The assumption is that if you have multiple partners you are not safe or using safer sex methods. For me, polyamory is more than just the ability to love/ be in relationship with/ have sex with and play with multiple people. It is about consent. It is about negotiating and re-negotiating my body, sex and safety. These things are never a given. These things, I’m generalizing here, get lost in monogamy. I’d say that I’m the “safest” I’ve ever been as a poly person than I ever was as monogamous. This is more about the false ideas monogamy promises. Commit yourself to one person and you will be safe. Throughout my life I’ve committed myself to multiple people simultaneously and I was safe because I took measures to be so, not because a title promised it to me. I want to be clear; I am speaking on my own poly practices. Not all poly people negotiate as I do and this is my point exactly. Not all monogamous people follow the “laws” of monogamy and so we are all as susceptible to contracting HIV or any STI, as any people in any relationship configuration. From an early age we learn what monogamy is supposed to be. That idea is beautiful but not a reality for some. Monogamy as well as polyamory should not be treated as a cookie cutter model. We negotiate these relationships knowing anything could change at any time. We trust ourselves and not an idea. I believe you can promote “safety”/ prevention methods and sex positive language around different kinds of relationships. The key here is communication, constant negotiation, regular testing and safety as people define it for themselves. HIV prevention messages CAN be sex positive. Don’t you think?

Time to get back to writing and complete the Sexual Liberation series for my blog, What “They Said.  Life gets busy. writers block rears its ugly head and excuses excuses. I got a really creative nudge from Shelly Taylor, writer of Pass The Herpes blog, by asking me to take part in a Blog Hop. A Blog Hop is, as Shelly describes it, sort of a chain letter. You answer several questions about your book/blog, and post it along with the names of other bloggers you love. The creators of the blogs you mention answer the same questions, post their answers and blogs they love. So now its’ my turn. Let the Blog Hop continue!!!

Ignacio Rivera

What is the working title of your next book?

In my dreams I actually have time to write at least one of the books I’ve been threatening to write for years. In this fantasy world my 1^st books’ working title would be This Ain’t the Love boat: Navigating Relationships, Love and Sex. I’m hoping to actually begin this endeavor in the next year. Wish me luck!

 In the meantime, I’m working hard on putting out new blog posts for What “They” Said. I post past and current essays, erotica, poetry, political thought and opinion pieces on SEX(UALITY) that focus on a combination of relationships, sex, kink, gender, race and class issues. My blog is housed on my website http://polypataoproductions.com/ where I also post product reviews called Check it out!

So there! I put it out there. Now I really have to write this book and keep up with my blog posts. Jeez!!!

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The idea for the book came about from my own journey around sex and relationships especially as a queer/ trans/ poly/ person of color. I hope to express my experiences from tons of discussions, workshop facilitation and lectures I’ve engaged in throughout the years.

The blog What “They Said, has been a place for me to share personal, political, poetic thought and opinion. As my tagline boasts, I’m “Fisting sex(uality), gender, race and class.” Think of the book as safer sex and the blog as (consensual) raw-dog fucking! I’m keepn’ it real!

What genre does your book fall under?

My imaginary book would fall under a variety of genres. It would be fluid like me. It’d probably fall under non-fiction, political, sexual health and relationship.

My blog would be poetry collections, memoir, short stories/ essays and advice.

Terrance Howard

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

This answer will be in two parts:

Michelle Rodriquez

1. I recently saw a wonderful Argentinean movie at this years MIX festival. In it, several actors interchangeably played the main characters. Gender or resemblance was not the focus here. I’m not sure what was but I love it. It was new and refreshing.
2. Ok, so I cheated. I hadn’t a clue as to who would play me and so I asked the wonderful folks on Facebook this question. I told them they could choose a male or female and the ones that I thought made sense (and made me happy) were Michelle Rodriquez and Terrance Howard….but then at the last minute there were two other entries to the pool that got me thinking; Kisha Batista and Gary Dourdan.
   

   Gary Dourdan

Kisha Batista

So in trying to continue a wonderfully smart, funny and innovative tradition of shifting characters on a film. I am requesting that all of these people play me. Just cycle them in and out. I’d love that!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Re-examining “love at first sight”, “monogamy” and” happily ever after.”

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’ve been leaning more towards self-publishing but when reality finally hits and I’m on the journey to actually writing this book, that might change. I’ll let you know.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Sheesh!! I’m not there yet. What I do have is the title, my table of contents and lots of notes and chicken scratch under each section. Don’t judge me! It’s a start!

What other books would you compare this to within your genre?

Not sure. I’ve seen relationship “how to” books which this one would not be. I could see myself writing that in the future. This one would be more of an examination of what we know, what we’ve been taught, how that’s manifested in our successes and or failures within different kinds of relationships. I hope it looks like a sexy political analysis with personal stories.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The book and the blog are inspired by years of work, stories and experiences. What also inspires me is the idea that I could write a book that speaks to understanding the systems that maintain unrealistic relationship formations, hetero-normative and cookie-cutter models of relationships, so as to change them.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Hopefully that I’m writing it… LOL!

Here are the writers whose work you can check out next:

K. U. Barrett

K.Ulanday Barrett is one of my brothers. K. is a poet, performer, educator, and martial artist navigating life as a pin@y-amerikan trans/queer in the U.S. with struggle, resistance, and laughter. Currently based in NY/NJ, with roots in Chicago. Their blog is called Recipes For the People. In K’s words, “…food brings so many of us together, allows us to share across the table, allows us to celebrate during times of war, ache, pain, silence. when world events and stories of survival strike us, i find myself at the stove ready to feed my family and friends. if you understand this, let’s seek vision and joy through our bellies together, yes?”

Perverts of Color is a blog for people of color involved in alternative sexual lifestyles to discuss and celebrate the diversity of our various identities and communities. I’ve been so happy to experience the sex positive images of people of color on this blog. PLEASE GO SEE FOR YOURSELVES!!!

Jiz Lee is a genderqueer porn performer who writes on pornography, art, sex and gender. Their blog jizlee.comchronicles their

Jiz Lee

experiences over the last 5 years in the field. They are also the upcoming editor of the anthology: “How to Come Out Like a Pornstar: Adult Industry Essays on Family Matters.”

Bethany Stevens

Bethany Stevens‘s blog is called Crip Confessions. I met Bethany several years ago at a sexuality conference where she was speaking. Here activism, writing and presence has moved me and taught me so much. In Bethany’s words, “I’m an uppity crip scholar-activist and sexologist. I use the word ‘crip’ in a way to signal reclamation and promotion of disability pride and disability politics. This blog is a repository of my rants concerning disability, body politics, social movement capacity building, media representation, body modification, sexuality, love, etc. Some of these rants will be on topics I feel that many of us shy away from – but I would love to see these posts generate conversations”.

JAC Stringer

JAC Stringer’s blog called Midwest GenderQueer is the queery musings of a genderfucking femme boy. He is a trans-genderqueer femme, (dis)abled-kid radical activist and performance artist. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, JAC strives to create visibility, community, and resources for trans*and queer communities. JAC has lectured and performed across the USA and Canada with his work focusing trans* and queer education, social justice, femme identities, (dis)ability, and trans*/queer artistry. He uses radical activism, hot pants, poofy skirts, and gender theory to create an intriguing space centered on bodies, ability, androgyny, and beyond. JAC and I have known each other for years. We have done workshops together and been on tour with The Gender Queeries. We are also twins.

Read our blogs, pass on this post and help us with the Blog Hop! Thanks for your support!

It has been a great honor to have organized and help sustain queer and trans play party gatherings for almost 12 years. My play parties were born from a need in (some) queer and trans People of Color (POC) communities, as was the group that started it all. These early steps into my sexual liberation journey created a positive domino affect for future works. Shades of Poly (SOP) came about for the same reasons that the play parties emerged. I didn’t see enough POC within this “sexual alternative world.” Groups and play spaces were predominantly White and lacked racial consciousness. I came out as polyamorous and felt alone. Every group I attended was, as I stated, predominantly White and or  cis-male dominated. There began my venture into finding out why POC were not accessing those spaces or why White folks were not making those spaces accessible to us. Soon after embarking on my quest to find answers, I did what most of us do. I started my own group.

SOP emerged under the guise of Poly Patao Productions (P3). SOP was a social group in which queer and trans POC who identified as poly, eternally single, creepers, excessive daters, cheaters, non-monogamous, freaky and or kinky, came together for workshops, discussions and later on the play parties.  I found community at SOP. We educated each other and grew together. After about 4 years of heading the group, I handed it over to group members. I was ready to move from social groups to more of a political framework. At that time, a lover and I began Revolutionstar.

Revolutionstar was a joint effort of my P3 work and her work.  We worked together for about 3 years. In that time, we organized community events such as “Rev-Ho-Lution.” We created a series of educational classes, which combined sexuality and politics called “Poly-tics.” We produced play parties, we wrote articles and we organized several sexual liberation retreats called “Purge.” The work we accomplished was amazing. In the end, we went our separate ways and continued doing our individual work and I continued to concentrate on P3.

Then and now, my work expanded to include performances, film, blog, anthology writings, workshops, and lectures. Throughout all of the political and artistic work, I worked hard to maintain the play parties. In the beginning, the parties were POC-only and later on, intentional multi-racial play spaces. At first the parties were sporadic, then monthly, seasonal and eventually stayed at every other month. The parties have cycled from “The Play Party Named Desire,” to “Afternoon Delight,” to “PHUK IT!” These play parties have held anywhere from 15 to 60 people. They have been multi-racial. They have ranged from $10-$25. They have catered to people 21 years of age to 67. These parties have enjoyed a wonderful array of  body types and gender expressions. Damn! I’m gonna miss these parties.

It has been an absolute joy to organize these parties. I’ve often stated that my parties where a wonderful gateway to other events and parties. It sort of broke you in and allowed for more. I simultaneously catered to the “newbie” and the expert. In my guesstimation,  over 75% of participants had never been to a play party, were traumatized by an all White party or had been to a play party but never played. Throughout the years I have been told that my parties created comfort, ease and allowed people to explore. I am so happy that I had a hand in satisfying many people. LOL! Unfortunately, as all good things, this too must come to an end. Just the parties, not the satisfying! It’s been a long run and now my energy will refocus. I plan on re-working my website.  I’ll be trying to concentrate more on producing my documentary and hopefully writing a book or two. Although I will not organize the bi-monthly play parties, I will continue to organize “Four-Play,” the traveling play party.

I want to thank everyone who has ever come to one of P3′s parties. Your enthusiasm and support has meant so much to me. I’m so happy I was able to walk with you, if only for a moment, of your life long sexual liberation journey. Thank you for entrusting me to try and create a safer space for you. Thank you for letting go and having fun in ways you have never done in public. Thank you for understanding why these spaces were so much more important than just a place to fuck. Thank you! I hope to see you all at sporadic parties and of course my final play party PHUK IT! November 10, 2012.

Sexual Liberation for all!!!

Intro 

The concept of sexual liberation has sprouted an array of subtopics that are a culmination of my work as a sex(uality) educator. There is so much to write on the idea of sexual liberation that I’ve decided to create a series of these topics. The next several blog posts will be dedicated to “Sexual Liberation.”  Below, I’ve begun with an overview of my thoughts on the broad subject. The posts to come, will feature subcategories of sexual liberation concepts such as safe space, race play, the politics of sex and fetish co-opting of marginalized cultures.

 Thoughts on Sex Lib

I’ve created and facilitated several workshops focused on sexual liberation. Sexual liberation, much like other terms hold different meanings to different people. I’ve focused on liberation as an intentional path in one’s life. I do not frame it as one’s destination. It’s a journey we choose to take, stay on, fall off, re-route and so on. In my opinion, you never get to it–exhale and relax. You never look back and say to yourself, “I finally made it.”  If we did, then we would forget how we got there. We would get a little too comfortable. We could no longer be active in the journey because there would be no place to go. My hope for sexual liberation, we’d always be mindful, alert and in motion. We’d be moving towards this place, that’s not a place, but a constant ever shifting realm that holds the entirety of our experiences. Does that make sense?

When I searched for sexual liberation on Google, I found that many results placed the focus on sex. It was about the act of it. It was about the shift of who was doing it, how they were doing it, with whom they were doing it and how much. I guess it makes sense to think squarely about SEX when digesting the idea of sexual liberation. Another search result was Wikipedia’s definition. Wikipedia positions sexual liberation within the experience of the sexual revolution:

The sexual revolution (also known as a time of “sexual liberation”) was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s to the 1980s. Sexual liberation included increased acceptance of sex outside of traditional heterosexual, monogamous relationships (primarily marriage). Contraception and the pill, public nudity, the normalization of homosexuality and alternative forms of sexuality, and the legalization of abortion all followed.

What came first, the chicken or the egg; sexual liberation or the revolution? Whether it was the catapult or the product, sexual liberation IS about sex. It’s also about the history of the sexual revolution that helps keep us on the endless path. Sexual liberation is embedded in understanding systems of oppression, the role of power, communication and accountability. It incorporates and goes beyond the physical act of sex. It soars and helps us name our desires. Encourages us to bring it to the forefront, share it, do it and learn from it. Sexual liberation isn’t about careless, crazed, selfish sex addiction. In my minds eye, it’s about honesty, growth, agency and sexual health.

I fear some of us on the journey have claimed a false sense of “arrival.” Much like people who deem themselves anti-racists, “sexually liberated” people have stopped traveling, unpacked their bags and are relaxing in the bliss of so-called liberation. I think lots of us have done it. At one point in my own journey, I thought I had reached my final destination but I was dead wrong. A friend of mine held me accountable to my words and my actions. I was so grateful for that. It reminded me. He reminded me of my continued journey. I hope this will remind some of you.

For some of us, one act propelled us into a sexual freedom we’d only dreamed about. That act might have been, asking for what you want, going to a play party, saying no, touching yourself for the first time, looking at yourself naked, watching porn, having queer sex or coming out as polyamorous. We feel different, happy, invigorated and shall I say, sexually liberated. The sexual freedom and liberation we feel is subjective. It holds different meaning for everyone. Hopefully if we are intentional about being on this journey, we can function within a framework that is universal. This framework can help keep guiding us and remind us that we do not live in a vacuum. We are connected to the wider world. Whether we are speaking of sexual liberation or the revolution, these uprisings initially came about to level the playing fields between men and women. It was a fight to question/shift gender roles and sexual expectations. It was about women having more say over their own bodies. The revolution grew and continues to grow, therefore we must move and grow with it. When we end the journey, several things can occur: we take on false titles as being sexually liberated, we stop or forget about the work ahead of us, we sometimes segregate ourselves in bubbles of comfort and we position ourselves in a place of sexual privilege.

Bubbles of comfort

I absolutely love my bubble! My bubble of comfort consists of queer and trans kinky activists and or artists of color. These are my people. They get me. We understand each other. In my bubble, I don’t have to explain race/ racism or my pronoun. In my bubble, I feel at home. These bubble serve many purposes especially for oppressed and marginalized folks. For example, a bubble of Queer people with disabilities is very different from a bubble of White cis men. One bubble is out of necessity/survival and the other is something else completely. I see my bubble/bubbles of those whom are marginalized, as a very essential function for our mental health. In the same breath, we must be careful not to isolate ourselves. Existing exclusively in our bubbles can limit us. Flowing in and outside our bubbles gives us perspective, allows us to receive ally ship, forces us to challenge ourselves  and others. It allows for accountability.

Sexual privilege

To name ourselves sexually enlightened or liberated gives us the false sense that we can do no wrong within our sexual lives. This is simply not true. I have been on my path for some time now, and I continue to make mistakes. It reminds me that I am human. It pushes me to dig deeper and allows me to go further. I will always have something to learn. Our ideas of sexual liberation could also work to make us seem holier-than-thou in comparison to other groups of people on different points on the path. We also run the risk of having our bubble of comfort, morph from necessity to an exclusionary click. It gives the notion that the supposed further you are on this path, the better, smarter, superior sex and ultimate understanding of sex(ulaity) you have. We then aid in creating yet another hierarchy. Sexual liberation should be spiral, linear or continuous. It should be ever flowing. We should be able to move side to side, up or down. This very idea supports gender transition, coming out as queer or poly, being a switch or the act of pegging. Once upon a time, there lived only one idea of sex/sexuality. Do we want to revert to the one idea or experience the complexities of this continuous revolution? Liberation is messy. It doesn’t fit into a nice simple package. That is the beauty of it.

Universal framework

To reiterate, when we stay exclusively in our bubbles or we claim a sort of sexual enlightenment that sets us apart from everyone else we get stuck. We limit ourselves from the continued growth and the idea of an endless path of knowledge. Staying open to our own sexual realities as well as those outside of it aids to inform us in a micro and macro way. Our paths are our own and simultaneously collective pieces of information we share. This sharing also allows in the minimizing of secluded paths. When we feel we are alone, we feel that no one feels as we do. We see our experience as isolated and thus not a part of the larger world. Understanding our connection to the larger world puts into perspective the idea of liberation as a political concept. For example, the fight for women’s rights, struggle against sodomy laws, abortion issues, the de-sexualization and sterilization of people with disabilities, transgender rights, gay liberation and the fight for comprehensive sex education in this country.

There have been many proposed suggestions for guiding principles in sexual liberation. Even within this framework, the unpacking of these terms are hugely subjective. Some guidelines may be communication, consent, boundary setting, safer sex, non-coerciveness, non-violence and self-love. Once we grasp these things for ourselves they can shift. Our lessons are not rigid. They are shift-able. We have the right to do what is fit for us. Our passage allows us to accept or reject where we stand in this path. We get to question, examine, discuss and hash out what communication is to us. We figure out how to set boundaries. We try to understand what self-love is. What does safer sex look like? How is my definition in comparison to the person/persons I want to engage with? Our work is to explore. No one has one true answer. There are many. Whether we intentionally name our journey sexual liberation or we just start walking, we are all on a path.

Sexual Liberation for all!!!

I.

When I was a child, I prayed for “them”

Them

Those things that separated the little girls from desirable womanhood

Papa Dios, if you give them to me, I promise…

Te lo prometo que…

I’ll be a good girl

He never answered

I kept praying

And other girls continued to exceed

In comparison

To me

I’d listen to and implement action to remedy my lack of these

Examining, probing pinching and hoping to catch up

I wore my 1^st training bra when I was 10

Didn’t need to though

My nipples barely puffed out

To be noticed

II

He rubbed them so completely

Using the palm of his hands

To explore

Circular motions

My chest rose and fell

With each deep breath of excitement

It was the 1^st time they were touched

With my wanting

I wondered if he’d want to touch them again

Or touch another 12-year olds­­­–

Whose heaves ASCEND higher than mine

III.

They dripped constantly

Ached

That was the biggest they have ever been

CLEAVAGE!

There was no hiding them

I had grown accustomed to having so little

In this life

That I felt “sexy” un-comfortability

They had become a focal point

I was no longer “me”

I became “them”

My voluptuous breasts were my identity marker

For men

At 18 I found myself propelled to exhibit this un-comfortability

A point I had to make

Nursing in public was under attack

We took our stand

Sitting on the trains, in parks and on buses

We took our stand

Against sexual men who could not

Hold it in their pants

We took a stand

We laid bare

Our children fed

And men found a way to keep their sexual sanity

In the mists of naked protest

IV.

I decided to burn my bras!

I walked about exposed

Dark nipples grazed white tanks

I felt power

I choose this form of protest

Deliverance

My 20’s were filled with rallies, organizing and clenched fists rising

Bouncy, bra-less dykes

Who didn’t give a fuck

About how men felt

About it

These things

Our collective things

I am elated

Free

V.

In my 30’s gravity had begun

The aftermath of nursing

Had depleted the density of the curves

But it had not depleted my want for these things

Sports bras are what I used

Then

Exhibition CLOSED!

The push-up

Under-wire

The non-existent barrier

Between the world and myself

Shifted

I eliminated the inevitable bounce

And the onset of sag

They were nicely compacted

But I unwillingly reinstated the focal point

Masculinity added a questionable gaze

Confusion

They were to be viewed

Examined

Violently feared

I grew confused by my relationship to them

Others confused me

The molding of them

Up and out

Accepted

My new molding of them,

Tight

Condensed

Less revealing

Unsafe

Unsafely tucked away

VI.

Here I am

40 and beyond

I’m not supposed to like these things

Anymore

We proclaim untruths

A re-telling

Re- learning of gender and sex

We proclaim that the body dictates NOT who we are

I experience this untruth

Because I am brushed aside

Erased

My body cracked open

Exposed to probing eyes

Intrusive questions

Validity needed here

I have these things that I do not hate

I feel no need to terminate

Binder on

I am trans

Binder off

I am

Questionable yet again

We speak lies of fluidity

We utter it as a possibility

A utopia that is never reached

Most travel to the edges

Some pushed

They fall because of this

Falsely reconstructing the constructed

I visit these places

I do not want to stay

I am most comfortable navigating the waves

These things that live upon me

My body

Are my power and my weakness

Time has changed their purpose

Changed my love

Discomfort

My acceptance of them

These wonderful

Sexual

Scary

Powerful

Sagging

Stretched-marked

Depleted…

These things

These things that live upon my body

The possession of my own body has taken a long treacherous journey.

The area down there…

The dark shameful place

Brown exterior

Silky pink grooves

Vertical exposures of what could have been testes

Now plumply protrude

To protect my innards

Hole.

This is what I name it.

It’s mine to name.

This is my Hole.

Ambiguous, gender neutral, raw and offensive to some.

Hole…

1.

an opening through something; gap; aperture

There is an opening between my legs that my mom called my  “Coqui”.

Coqui is a small tree frog. It is the most recognizable endemic species and a symbol of Puerto Rican pride. It is cute, small and innocent.

Inanimate

2.

a hollow place in a solid body or mass; a cavity

It was this hollow place where my ­­­abuser would like to “play.”

My body, not as solid as I needed it to be

Much weaker

Floppy

Mushy

She molded my “toto” to her liking

Invaded my cavity and turned me hollow

3.

the excavated habitation of an animal; burrow.

This is where the male animal like to lay my father scolded; without provocation

Hide the garden

Fear the animal at all costs

My father was right but he failed to notice the creature who lived with me in my room

My Vagina was a burrowing place for bad creatures

4.

a small, dingy, or shabby place

My cunt was tarnished

Taken and given before its time

Then given freely by me to all; for love

Then, my cunt was demonized for wanting another to call its own

Soiled history

Blasphemous path

5.

a place of solitary confinement; dungeon.

The thing I once called my pussy is nameless

No words that can describe it

Naming ceremony is in order

Born in a body told to lie down

Assimilated with weakness and power rolled into one

Societal contradictions

I challenge what this thing between my legs makes me

I feel different

Alone

6.

an embarrassing position or predicament

The predicament I find myself in these days is the explanation of my nether regions

The re- naming of my body

The re-claiming of my gender

The thing I once called my crotch, (to deflect from supposed identity or sexual behavior),

Questionable

Crotch?

“Crotch” lacked

Thus aiding in this predicament of mine

Sexless

Invisible of history

But Hole…

Hole, incorporates

Travels the dark corners and blistering deserts that have taken me here

An opening

Hollow place

Unintended burrows

Dingy place

Solitary

Predicaments

Hole

An offensive term to some

Conjuring images of penetrative acts

The receiver

Weakened by it

Only propels me to re-claim

Re-imagine

Masculine-ize the feminine and vise versa

I allowed myself the pleasure

Hole

A gender-neutral term

A place where big things can be inserted

A place where orgasmic juices eject

A place of unending pleasure

Cleansing

Were creation is introduced

A thing that can have accessories and or attachments

A thing that is mine!

…that can be shared

A place of pride

The possession of my own body has taken a long treacherous journey.

It has been owned by my parents, taken by strangers and family alike, saved, pleasured, angered, sickened and finally reclaimed by me.

Hole

This is what I have come to name it.

Have you ever seen the movie “Pootie Tang”? It’s a comedy about a Blaxploitation lady’s man character by that very name. He fights evil with a wicked snap of his belt and speaks lingo that the audience doesn’t understand, but the characters in the film do. Wanda Sykes is one of the characters in the film. She plays a woman named Biggie Shorty. Her character, among other things, hangs out and dances on a corner throughout most of the movie. At one point two men drive by looking for some action and approach her.

Click here to watch Wanda Sykes as Biggie Shorty in Pootie Tang

 Guy 1: “How much for the 2 of us?”

 Biggie Shorty uses her purse to slap Guy 1

Guy 2: “Hey baby what’s your problem?”

Biggie Shorty: “Just because a girl like to dress fancy and stand on a street corner next to some whores, you automatically think she’s hook’in?

 Guy 1: “Wouldn’t you?”

Biggie Shorty uses her purse to slap Guy 1 again.

 Biggie Shorty: “No I wouldn’t! I’m a lady you greasy bastard?”

I wouldn’t identify myself as a lady, but I understood the point she was trying to make. Why shouldn’t she be able to chill on the corner, dance and hang out next to the working ladies? It’s her hood. It’s her choice right? I guess that choice imbeds itself with how others interperate that choice. People make assumptions and act on those assumptions.

This got me thinking about how people see me, not because of where I hang out or whom I’m hanging out next to, but what I do. What do I do? I do sex. I have taken sex and owned it for myself. I create events around sex/ sexuality. I’m a sex educator. I’m a sex worker. I’m a sexual liberationist. Sex (uality) is art. It is political. It is powerful and this has become my identifier. Sex.

Sex makes people excited. Sex makes people uncomfortable. Those unnerving and eager feelings often bring up two kinds of reactions to my sex.

1. People think everything I do is sex. They think that everyone I know, I’ve fucked.
2. People think my sex is available to them. They think they can approach me in any manner they wish. They believe my sex is up for grabs.

I’ve had situation where I’ve invited folks to dinner and they’ve gotten nervous and thought they’d secretly been invited to a play party. They think every party, potluck, gathering I organize, is a sex party. They have anxiety that they’re gonna walk into a freak show sex-capade. Believe me people, I’m real clear about what’s gonna happen at my shindigs. If by chance, something does pop off, you will most defiantly have the opportunity to say yes, no or maybe. You’ll have the opportunity to negotiate or opt out. I like willing participants. I don’t spin a torrid web of sex to catch you in. I love negotiating.

The other half of folks think that they can touch me without asking, send me personal e-mails when I’ve never met them before. “Hey baby, what you doing tonight?” “I’d love to lick you all over.” The comments and the assumptions about what I do or what I’m willing to do with anyone soars beyond the imagination.

This way of thinking about my sex by others makes me sad. It makes me angry. It misses the whole point of the work I have dedicated myself to. If you took the time to talk to me or know me, you’d know that communication, negotiation and consent is so important to me. My sex isn’t just sex for sex’s sake. My exploration of it serves a greater purpose; for me and hopefully to those I’ve had the privilege of mentoring. If you knew me, you’d know that I’ve been working on these things for years, educate on it and do my best to practice it righteously. You’d also understand that those reactions to me help to supply false notions around sexual freedom. This is what happens to those who “do sex.” When people witness how others react to me, it aids in deterring others from seeking their own sexual truth. Do you see how fucked up that is? Your actions or reactions speak volumes.

I guess some people would assume that because I “do sex,” that I should expect this. Just as Biggie Shorty should expect to get solicited because she dances on a street corner that’s known as a stroll. I don’t agree; and in honor of Biggie Shorty’s right to stand on a corner and dance with the whores, I send all the “assumers” a virtual slap on the face with my man-bag and say, “ Just because I’m a sex worker and organize sex parties doesn’t mean that’s all I am! I’m a gentleman damit! Don’t make assumptions because then you make and ass out of you. That’s it. Just you.

2009

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we lived in a world free of hate, bigotry and violence? The current state of affairs dictates that we are far from that Utopian dream.

On October 2009, Federal Hate Crimes Legislation was officially signed by President Barack Obama and passed to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability to the existing hate crimes bill. It took over a decade to pass this and now it’s a reality. So, what now?

Many people I have spoken to declare this a victory for the safety of LGBT individuals and communities. The Human Rights Campaign has deemed it “…an inevitable march towards equality.” Does this new legislation create safety? Does it begin the long process of creating a new moral code against the hate-based bias towards LGBT people, or is it an effort to calm the queer masses in the midst of “Don’t ask don’t tell,” the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and Defense of Marriage Act?

The Mathew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act insinuates that the government does in fact care about what happens to queers. The Act declares that NOW it’s a federal crime to assault an individual because of their gender identity, sexual orientation or gender, as well as other pre-existing categories. It does not interfere with the First Amendment of said perpetrators and concentrates on violent crimes. This new hate crimes prevention act is not about thought, but about the violent action fueled by that thought.

James Byrd Jr.

I ask you: Can we name this legislation for what it really is?  It’s not a prevention or protection act. How can it be when this bill passed as part of the Defense Authorization Bill to give the Justice Department the right to step in when local jurisdictions are unwilling (or unable) to investigate or persecute hate-based crimes fueled by the systems of hetero-centrism and the gender binary? It is a reactive bill.

If concern and acknowledgment of a community is in fact the basis to pass this bill, then we are in for a rude awakening. This legislation is yet another Band-Aid among many Band-Aids that creates a false sense of security and pushes a still marginalized people farther. If safety and creating a culture of community or, for lack of a better word, inclusion is the goal here, why not begin elsewhere? Why begin at the point of hate, beatings and death?

Hate crimes legislation is a back door approach to calming a long existing issue in the queer and trans community. Reactive approaches are so passé and it is time to hit at the heart of these issues. What we are doing now is using a system to continue to systematically oppress others legitimately.

Mathew Shepard

The New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project states that the major perpetrators of hate-based violence towards LGBT people are young white men, and a close second are men of African descent.  The Prison industrial complex is overflowing with people of color, men of color; Black and Brown men to be exact. It is duly noted that people of color get tougher and longer sentencing then their white counterparts. Who will feel the brunt of hate crimes legislation?

Okay, you may think, “Who cares! If they do the crime, they must do the time.” My point in this matter is not to deflect from the heinous crimes that hate-based offenders perpetrate, but that in helping to “free” one marginalized group we cannot oppress another. Just as Mathew Shepard’s mother fought to take the death penalty off the table for one of her own son’s killers, we must not contribute to preserving the prison industrial complex. The system further damages broken people, especially people of color, and greatly falters on rehabilitation. We continue to look wholly to systems that oppress us for definitive help.

Yes, the passage of the Hate Crimes Act is huge within itself, because it is the first time a piece of federal legislation has been passed to “protect” explicitly on the basis of sexual orientation and gender. The Act was signed in by our first Black President and is named after two victims of bias-based crimes: Mathew Shepard, a young, gay, white man who was kidnapped and severely beaten who later died from those injuries, and James Byrd Jr, an African American, heterosexual man who was tied to the back of a pick up truck by white supremacists and dragged to his death. The fact that this legislation is for LGBT people but names a non-queer person in it demonstrates the wonderful work done to find commonalities, to make connections to the issue of hate-based crimes on a meaningful level, and this is to be commended. James Byrd’s mother saw that connection and has been an ally for LGBT people.

I ask, “So what now?” Now that this historical piece of legislation has been passed do we rest on the notion that we have made it? Do we relax at the idea that we are safer? Or do we continue elsewhere? Do we continue to look at other approaches to ending hate-based crimes that are proactive, radical, education based and work to dismantle systems rather than inadvertently fueling them? Can we take a multiple approach?

I always think, there is no better place than at the beginning. Proactive approaches begin at the very start: childhood. Education is key and we must educate around diversity, equality, human rights and civil rights. Among other things, we need to focus attention on anti-bullying efforts, specifically in the school system. North America is no stranger to the effects of bullying in schools. We have had our share of school shootings, loss and devastation. As of 2008, there are 9 states (California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, DC) that prohibit bullying and harassment in schools based on gender identity and sexual orientation. There are 4 states that prohibit it on the basis of sexual orientation (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington and Wisconsin) and 25 states that prohibit bullying and harassment in schools but do not list categories.

New York City has been at the forefront of combating anti-bullying and harassment in schools with the implementation of the Respect for All Initiative and the passage of Chancellor’s Regulation A-832. We have made connections and work to change through education. In the book, Bullying at School:  What We Know and What We Can Do by Dan Olweus, it states that “60% of students who are classified as bullies in grades 6-9 were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24. 40% of them had three or more convictions by age 24.” We must change these numbers. We must change the culture and move out of this cycle of hate. There is a progression of bigotry and hate that we have the power to tackle. Miseducation or ignorance of an individual or community turns into an irrational fear. What we don’t know scares us. This fear can turn into hate. Hate then flows into violence of many magnitudes.

Have we considered rehabilitation rather than juvenile detentions or prison for bullies and hate crime perpetrators? You can legislate all you want, but legislation and incarceration do not change attitudes. It doesn’t shift social morality. Rather it lets perpetrators know that they have to be crafty when targeting a queer or transgender person. Individuals, communities, grassroots organizations, families and the media have the power to shift attitudes. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects recommends that “rather than viewing hate violence as a criminal justice problem with social implications, hate violence must be viewed as a social and public health issue with criminal justice implications.”

We must begin by creating a climate of respect that rejects violence. Political, religious and entertainment leaders must speak out against hate-based violence. Public awareness is essential. Every school in North America should have a Gay Straight Alliance, including middle schools and high schools.  We must incorporate LGBT history into the curriculum. We must be seen as human, giving names to the nameless, giving faces to the invisible. All police officers should be mandated to take continuous training on LGBT sensitivity and there must be a “No Tolerance Policy” for Police violence against LGBT communities.

All of these avenues should be tested alongside other creative ways to end hate crimes. Only then can we begin to see a glimpse of a hate-free utopia that takes into account all of our connections to the wider system in place that oppresses us all.

Today is International day to end violence against sex workers.

Candles will be lit. Victims will be named and remembered. Sex workers, sex worker organizations and allies from across the globe, gather together and shed light on an invisible but important issue.

Today is a day to raise awareness about the forms of violence that are commonly committed against sex workers. Violence against sex workers goes beyond the physical and sexual abuse at the hands of customer and the police. The violence, at times, exists even before one culprit acts on it. It is a looming fear that, “This could happen to me.” It is an “unfortunate” work hazard that many sex workers deal with. The “understanding” of this impending violence stems form the way society views sex workers.

In one study, Eighty-two percent of the(se) respondents reported having been physically assaulted since entering prostitution. Of those who had been physically assaulted, 55% had been assaulted by customers. Eighty-eight percent had been physically threatened while in prostitution, and 83% had been physically threatened with a weapon….Sixty-eight percent…reported having been raped since entering prostitution. Forty-eight percent had been raped more than five times. Forty-six percent of those who reported rapes stated that they had been raped by customers

(Prostitution Statistics and Rape - Physical Abuse of Prostitutes Common Sexual Assault Commonplace Yet Rarely Prosecuted By Linda Lowen, About.com Guide).

The criminalization of sex work and societies harsh moral judgment of individuals who by choice or conditions, take part in the sex industry, push many sex workers into unsafe working conditions. Sex workers deserve to live free from violence and protected. Moral law provides a sense of justification that sex workers do not matter. When a sex worker is abused, raped or even killed, it is seen as a punishment or isn’t considered at all. The issues are so far removed from some individuals that the life of a sex worker is non-existent.

Sex workers are flesh and bone that bleed and break all too often. Sex workers are mothers, grandmothers, students, artists, wives, brothers and so much more. We are queer, transgender, heterosexual, people with disabilities, people of color, white and we are multidimensional. The work that we do, does not define the totality of who we are. We tend to forget that for many sex worker, poverty, sexism and systematic forms of oppression introduce and keep us here. It goes beyond the simplistic questioning of morals. There are greater ills at work .

Sex workers also suffer isolation, internalize oppression, higher risk of being exposed to HIV/AIDS and or STI’s. The services sex workers provide are not acknowledged as legitimate work and is criminalized. Sex work goes beyond sex. Sex workers provide “counseling,” are companions and supply substantial emotional labor to their clients.  In addition, “sex work” is often fused with the prostitution of children and or human trafficking. This adds yet another complicated layer to the treatment of sex workers in that it confuses the issues, makes invisible the agency of sex workers and portrays them all as victims. Sex worker are either seen as evil or those to be saved at the discretion of the state.

While many organizations conflate human trafficking with sex work, Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance is careful to conceptually separate the two and advocates for decriminalization of consensual sex work. We staunchly oppose coercion and exploitation in labor and migration but find that current draconian efforts to stigmatize and prosecute sex workers put them in harm’s way with unintended negative consequences. We fully support the right of individuals to earn an income and to define the kinds of sexual expression in which they would like to engage. We believe in more effective solutions to problems associated with sex work, solutions that affirm human dignity and freedom.

(Quote from Melissa Ditmore, Ph.D., “The State of Sexual Freedom: Prostitution,” State of Sexual Freedom in the United States, 2010 Report. Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance.)

Decriminalization of sex work, a revised moral code, sex work acknowledged as employment and more education around the complexities of sex work are but just a few things that can be done to change the current state of violence against sex workers.  I am an out sex worker. I stand in solidarity with other sex workers of all trades to help spread awareness and help end these violations. What can you do? Browse through the resources below and read more about sex worker issues. Tell people about International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Donate to the cause. Help existing organizations lobby for rights. You can be an agent to help stop the violence!

Sex worker resources

Urban Justice Center

Desire Alliance

Sex Worker Project

SWOP-NYC + SWANK

Red Umbrella Project

Commercial Sex Information Service

International Union of Sex Workers

Global Network of Sex Work Projects

Sweat

PONY (Prostitutes of New York)

International Sex Worker Organizations

Sex Worker Outreach Project

Wikipedia: Sex Worker Organizations