VedaSloan

Your movement is based on "like-minded" individuals. Great. Doesn't mean you're not accountable. You haven't listened to any criticisms, you don't seem concerned that your "movement" alienates other sex workers and contributes to divisive politics that get us nowhere. You are actively going against what the majority of sex worker rights orgs are saying. You wanted links to happy hooker-esque movements? They don't exist because they don't work. Do you honestly think you're the first one to come up with this shit? Hello, as I said before, The Happy Hooker was a book written by Xaviera Hollander in 1971, so you're only 43 years late. The sex workers rights movement is about just that: rights. It's not about proving that we're happy. Your feelings about sex work don't fucking matter. The better question is "how are people being treated?"

Yeah, if other sex workers think your site is an abolitionist joke site, you've got problems. But they want to make this all about the name "happy hookers." I don't care if you want to self-identify that you're a happy hooker. Cool. Go nuts. But again, the problem is that arguing that you're "happy" in your work and deserve rights alienates anyone who doesn't love this job and is doing it because it was the best available option, or people who are merely ambivalent--they do it because it is good money, etc. Not everyone loves being a sex worker but they still deserve rights. And let's not forget, a sex worker recently testified at the JC and Conservative MP Stella Ambler said, "you sound like a happy sitcom hooker." Abolitionists use that language. Sex worker orgs have all gotten together and we have a clear message that we are trying to send and it isn't "we're happy, so give us rights." It's "the laws harm us, don't kill us with your fucked up laws."

Do you people even read what has been posted? This isn't about you, personally, any of you, despite the fact that many of you have gotten extremely defensive of the criticism provided--criticism which I might add that has been completely ignored in favour of "we need all our voices to be heard." I'm not saying don't speak up. I never once said that. I said that the way the letter was written was problematic in that it created divisions between so-called "happy hookers' and survival workers. And that survival workers were being thrown under the bus in an effort to show that hey, there are happy hookers who love their job! I understand the instinct to say, hey, I'm not addicted to drugs! I'm not homeless! I'm not like them! I understand, I really do. I made similar comments when I first got into sex work organizing. But those comments really are extremely problematic for reasons I've outlined in previous posts. There is a reason the international sex workers' rights movement doesn't use that argument. Because a) it doesn't work and b) it harms other sex workers. I would sincerely suggest that MJL contact a local sex workers rights org. There were plenty of form letters that you could write to your MP that did not throw survival workers under the bus, but rather explained the harms of C36. Not to mention, it's a bit insulting the way MJL acts like she's the only sex worker to ever think of speaking out. Did you miss the op-eds from Celine Bisette? Or what about the letter that a Maggie's board member named Rachel wrote, which was quoted extensively during the second reading? There were a number of sex workers I know who wrote op-eds under pseudonyms such as the piece by Vanessa D'Alessio, who is what everyone here would term a very upscale escort, who works in Toronto (Vanessa is not her work name or her real name).

United we stand, divided we fall, no? I'm not saying don't write your MP's. I'm not saying, "do nothing." What I am trying to say is this: Don't throw sex workers who aren't like you under the bus in your efforts to show you're not like the stereotype. Write your MP's about how Bill C36 is harmful to sex workers and unconstitutional because I guarantee you, people like Joy Smith could give a sweet fuck if you're "happy"--in fact, she'll just assume you're lying. I say this with some experience since she said the very same to me during a radio interview on CBC. And lastly, unless you know me Jessica, don't ever presume to know what I am or am not doing for this cause. Although it's not a competition, I would like to point out that I've been an active and very outspoken member of the sex workers' rights movement for the last six years including using my real name to speak as a current sex worker. I was the Vice-Chair of a sex workers' rights org. When was the last time you put yourself out there like that? Were you at any of the protests against C36? When was the last time you went to a Dec. 17 vigil? We'll never get anywhere if you're bound and determined to set yourself apart from the rest of us. And for the record, this isn't personal. I'm not trying to attack you. I'm trying to tell you, from a position of experience, that you're going about this the wrong way, and that this has the potential to create even further divisions within the movement.

Hey everyone. My good friend Tuulia Law is conducting research for her PhD. The call for participants is copied below. If you're a dancer who's worked at least twice per week for at least a year, please please consider participating. Seeking Research Participants Are you a woman with experience working regularly as an exotic dancer (at least twice per week for at least one year) in strip clubs in Ottawa or/and Toronto, as of the year 2000? Are you interested in discussing your experience at work, and in particular with management (including managers, DJs, owners and others) in a study that will help people understand how the exotic dance industry works? Would you be able to take part in a 2-3 hour interview? Your anonymity is assured and a $100 honorarium is offered. The research will: Shed light on the work of people who organize, supervise, manage, or coordinate the work of erotic dancers, what they do, and their relationships with dancers. Explore the relationships between managers, dancers, and the other people involved in organizing, supervising, managing, or coordinating the work of dancers (for example bouncers, DJs, drivers, agents, etc). Examine myths surrounding the exotic dance industry and the sex industry. Identify how laws and policies influence your work. Research conducted by: Tuulia Law, University of Ottawa Research supervisor: Dr. Chris Bruckert, University of Ottawa To participate in an interview or for more information contact: [email protected]

Megan, you are constantly an inspiration to me. You are one of the kindest people I know. If you need any help during recovery, holla! xo

Next time you're in Toronto, check me out :)

A couple of my Ottawa regulars had seen me going on six years. I was really sad to leave them when I moved to Toronto last August.

If a client is trying to pleasure me and it's not working for me, I say so. I would much rather tell him what I do like than send him off to the next worker with terrible skills that he thinks are just grand. Plus, I like orgasms. I'd also rather try to get off than just fake it. While I can't speak for anyone else, I can always find something to like about a client--their smile, their voice, the way they kiss. I've had some rather unassuming guys turn out to be wonderful lovers.

Went and saw X-Men Days of Future Past last week. Really enjoyed it.

@berlinthewhore I tweet sex worker rights/activism links, sex, cats and pics of my boobs. With the occasional side conversation about Skyrim.

It was difficult for me to even listen to what MacKay was saying as I was too busy yelling at my computer screen every time a complete lie came out of his mouth.

I hate these discussions because essentially they all boil down to "it's a sex worker's choice who s/he sees." But if you're making race-based generalizations as your reasoning for why you won't see XYZ race, well you're being racist. Discriminate based on bad behaviour, not race.

No one says you have to out yourselves. But staying under your rock helps no one. As Charlotte said in another post: Donate to sex worker orgs like POWER, Stella, and Maggie's. Go to protest events incognito. When prostitution/the law comes up around the water cooler, speak up and say that you do not support criminalization which only begets more violence. There are ways to speak up that do not out yourself as a client.

That bolded bit is exactly the kind of thinking that keeps this movement from getting anywhere. If clients actually spoke up, as a group, and said, we are not perverts--the sheer numbers of you would send a very strong message. And please don't take this the wrong way, but sex workers have a lot more to lose than you do--like our lives.

Well I suppose now we just hope that the bill doesn't actually make it to law. It has to go through three readings, then the senate, so maybe it won't make it?

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1183056-an-act-to-amend-the-criminal-code-in-response-to.html It's bad guys. Really bad.

I think I just cleaned out Amazon's stock of sex work literature.

She was also a sex worker and brothel manager, and not ashamed of either. RIP Phenomenal Woman.

Just a quick note about chewing gum: please spit it out before we start kissing/getting down to business. Once a gent got gum in my pubes, no joke.

Use thin condoms and put a little lube inside the tip. If you're any good, he won't know the difference.

Things that will make me cranky if you contact me and do them: 1. one word texts. e.g. hi 2. using terms of endearment when we've never met. e.g. hun, sweetie, baby 3. trying to negotiate the rate after I've said it's not negotiable 4. asking if I do bareback full service 5. Via email, asking if I'm available now Things that will make me cranky in person: 1. bad breath 2. dirty hands 3. body odour 4. cheese dick (this one will get you kicked right out of my incall because it is honestly the grossest thing ever and an affront to my senses, not to mention disrespectful) 5. asking for bareback sex 6. asking for my real name 7. asking for future discounts because "you'll be my regular" 8. washing your dick in the sink and getting water everywhere. If you're that dirty, just get in the shower. 9. sucking on my clit like you're some sort of sexual vacuum cleaner. 10. talking shit and/or gossiping about other providers

A photo is already a lie... This article by Molly Crabapple regarding photos is on point: http://www.vice.com/read/photo-real-on-photoshop-feminism-and-truth

I saw Her at the theatre recently and LOVED IT. Highly recommend.

Do you have any preferences beyond spinners? Kyra Graves is in Toronto, I believe. There is also Nathalie Rose http://msnathalierose.com/. Malika Fantasy and Veronica Lodge may also be a good choice--both are tattooed though. PM'd you as well.