Happy Pride Month!
This month we have a lot to celebrate!
We want to take a moment to honor and hold sacred the Queer sex workers that have pioneered, and are currently leading, the liberation of sex workers, Queer folks, and everyone in between. This month, and every month, we hope you’ll join us in holding Queer workers close to our hearts, and fighting just as hard for them as they have for our community. I know, without a doubt, SWOP LA would not be what it is today without them. ❤️
INTERNATIONAL WHORE’S DAY UPDATES!
Speaking of liberation, International Whore’s Day was June 2nd! SWOP LA hosted and was part of two major events to celebrate:
VISION FOR LA CANDIDATES FORUM
On Saturday, May 28th SWOPLA held our first ever candidate’s forum, “Vision for LA.” We came together with several LA-based candidates to ask them how they would build a better future for our city – based on our experiences as sex workers, but with a twist – no discussion of criminalization was allowed. It was an opportunity to talk about other big issues that affect sex workers lives, and we used it to ask about issues like housing, healthcare and services, and even got a bit into public transit and the minimum wage.
We opened the evening by briefly discussing why we oppose criminalization, policing, and surveillance, and then moved into questions for the candidates, asked by SWOPLA members.
We started off talking about stopping the harms of gentrification, and got into quite a bit of detail and a bit of spicy discussion on the subject of the minimum wage!
From there we went straight into our first (and most contentious) lightning round question – what should the minimum wage be? – to mix things up after the intense policy talk. After hearing the candidate’s favorite planets & whether better bus stops or more trains get them more excited, we moved back into normal-paced questions which covered subjects like services, healthcare, and accessibility. After the last question was answered we closed out the forum and invited everyone to stick around for refreshments.
It was so lovely to see folks in-person, to catch up, meet some friends and family, and generally mingle. It was awesome to hear folks’ thoughts on the issues when we were working together to create the survey and questions, and to see candidates willing to hear and answer to sex workers–and get totally grilled in the process!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. I am so grateful and excited to be working with you all to make our dreams into reality.
With love and gratitude,
Ashley Madness, SWOP LA Board Member
You can find a recording of the entire forum, and the rich dialogue that ensued, here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CeIFvcoKMbN/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
International Whore’s Day @ MOCA
SWOP LA was also excited to attend an International Whore’s Day celebration at MOCA by hosted by Kink Out, Free Speech Coalition, and Strippers United!
The event featured tables from community based organizations such The Sidewalk Project, Hookers Army, BIPOC Adult Collective, and SWOP LA, in addition to a number of local artisans, bakers, and food courtesy of Detroit Vesey’s!
There were also some incredible speakers from Free Speech Coalition and performances put on by members of Strippers United. It was such a fun night and we thank everyone who came out to celebrate with us!
A HUGE thank you to
Hustler and Good Clean Love for donating safer sex supplies including condoms, lube, and hygiene products for SWOP LA to give out at events like International Whore’s Day!