#Blacksexworkerslivesmatter: White-Washed ‘Anti-Slavery’ and the Appropriation of Black Suffering
Amplifying the voices of people in the sex trades
This week Red Umbrella Project is celebrating the WORLD PREMIERE of the Red Umbrella Diaries documentary at Portland Film Festival. We’ll have two screenings, plus cast members are running a writing workshop and a media training (both FREE and for current and former sex workers only).
To celebrate. I’m posting pictures of cast members and their pets!
PORTLAND WE’RE COMING FOR YOU!
Details on screenings and workshops here.
The only No True Scotsman I’ll accept wrt feminism:
Real feminists support trans women and sex workers
https://www.etsy.com/listing/244391817/real-feminists#
PROCEEDS GO TO SUPPORT MONICA JONES
Whose life was interrupted and made a living hell through carceral diversion policies supported by prohibitionist feminists“Real Feminists Support Trans Women and Sex Workers! Commissioned by fierce Trans and sex worker activist Monica Jones - this shirt articulates the type of feminism we need and want in the world. Profit from this shirt goes directly to help resource Monica so that she can continue to do her advocacy work both nationally and internationally.“
#GirlsLikeUs - Tomorrow SATURDAY 2 - 6pm
THE @NYCBlackPride TRANS CONFERENCE
Helen Mills Event Space & Theater
137-139 W 26th St, NY. NY 10001Trans people of African Descent discuss Health
& other issues affecting our community.Expect a great panel and surprise speakers!
This event is being Presented by NYTAG and
Supported by Destination Tomorrow.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1508801719410126/FOLLOWED BY @NYCBlackPride :
THE HERITAGE BALL 2015
at 11pm at
@GramercyTheatre
THE HERITAGE BALL 2015
Both events are FREE !!
Watch VIDEO Invite :https://www.facebook.com/nycblackpride/videos/1030215093676565/?pnref=story
(at Helen Mills Event Space & Theater)
We are very excited to announce the World Premiere of The Red Umbrella Diaries feature documentary! The film will be screened publicly for the first time at the Portland Film Festival on September 2 and will go on to have its first New York City screening at the New York City Independent Film Festival on Friday, October 16. The filmmakers and many cast members will be in attendance at both screenings, and you can follow #redupdoc across the internet to get the latest on our progress.
The Red Umbrella Diaries, based on RedUP’s long running live storytelling series, tells the personal stories of seven diverse New Yorkers who work in different sectors of the sex trade and come together to tell their tales on stage at Joe’s Pub. The film digs deep into the personal experiences of people who trade sex for a living, and illuminates the complexities and contradictions that sex workers face as they try to do right by themselves and people they care about. The film explores the question: what happens when people whose voices are never heard in mainstream media take control of their own stories and how they are presented to the world?
Here she is. Our heroine. I couldn’t watch this without crying.
(via reginadentata)
(Source: lafemmedelanuit)
In the end, the most affected by this will be the most marginalized among us. Many of the higher echelons of sex workers in the US don’t advertise on Backpage at all, and those who do are more likely to have the resources to learn how to use Bitcoin, pay high fees for prepaid cards, or move on to more expensive, less accessible sites.
Backpage has never had pretensions of being “high-end” or “upscale.” The cost and barrier to entry to advertise on the site are low, and the workers who use it are numerically more likely to be poorer, browner, and less gender-conforming than the smaller and more homogeneous populations of higher-end sites—those with fewer resources, who have fewer options. Preventing these workers from being able to advertise makes it more likely for them to be driven onto the streets, into the hands of pimps or managers, or simply into more desperate poverty.
Politicians may not see this as an issue, but all of us should. As conservative Canadian senator Donald Plett put it in reference to End Demand bill C-36, “Of course, we don’t want to make life safe for prostitutes; we want to do away with prostitution. That’s the intent.”
The human effect is just collateral damage—if we’re even considered human at all.
From http://titsandsass.com/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-backpage/
(via whoisdangerwoman)
Also, another thing I haven’t heard anyone mention is that Backpage has been trying to encourage everyone to pay with Bitcoin for quite a while now. Like they give discounts for it.
So clearly they have some kind of massive Bitcoin stash on a server farm somewhere as a form of tax evasion (the IRS actually considers Bitcoins property, not currency…pretty weird).
They probably even speculate on the Bitcoin market for all we know. I’ve been checking the exchange rate the past couple days to see if this affects it at all. So far it’s remained about the same, but if this is really the future we’ll probably see massive inflation.
And like, they have over $100mm/year in revenue with seemingly minuscule operating costs so for all we know they’re basically like to Bitcoin what the Chinese government is to the US dollar.
Idk, I’m only starting to learn about this, but it seems like if even half of Backpage users switch to Bitcoin then Backpage would have the ability to manipulate the value of Bitcoins based on how they price their ads and in turn see a substantial profit off the Bitcoins they’ve been hoarding.
(via nogodsonequeen)
Oooh I just got this from backpage guys
Actually I just tried this and it didn’t work?
Apparently it’s only working for new ads and not for upgrades or bumping up to the top… Which is kinda good maybe because otherwise would some ppl just put their ad to the top like every 2 seconds and make the whole site utterly useless?
Lol, that’s what I was going to do! Tbh I have hardly used BP in years so should probably make the ethical choice and leave this for those who need it to maintain their business. But thanks for the info, hopefully others will see it and take advantage.
(via persephonedanger)