DSW Newsletters Archives - Page 24 of 31

The Stripper Strike Goes National

The Philadelphia Stripper Strike, organized by Stilettos Inc., a local organization promoting labor rights for dancers, hosted a rally at Malcolm X Park. Demonstrators gathered there with picnic blankets, signs, and cash to tip the dancers performing throughout the day. DSW’s Rae Wilkins attended the event.

Amidst nationwide protests to put an end to the legacy of white supremacy and police profiling, demonstrations for strippers’ rights have also been emerging. In Los Angeles, NYC, Minneapolis, Portland, and beyond, communities have mobilized to protest a variety of injustices in the adult entertainment industry in the form of “Stripper Strikes,” a sex worker resistance movement.

The Philadelphia protest was a beautiful show of solidarity between sex workers and allies. Toward the end of the event, each member of Stilettos Inc. gave a short speech about their own experiences, goals for the organization, and hopes for the future. While they haven’t released a formal list of demands yet, the organization’s primary goals include equal employment opportunity and representation for BIPOC dancers, safer working conditions and properly installed equipment, and protection from sexual violations in the workplace.

Last year the CA state legislature passed a law that classified independent contractors, including strippers, as formal employees. The decision sought to provide more protections for informal employees, but in reality, contracts harmed dancers’ agency. Under the new law, management was able to withhold tips, demand high house fees, and regulate how much the dancers were paid. As a result, the organization Soldiers of Pole was formed in the Los Angeles area, founded by stripper and UCLA Extension teacher Antonia Crane, to advocate for unionization and worker protections.

In Portland, the Haymarket Pole Collective and PDX Stripper Strike, both founded by activist Cat Hollis, have mobilized to successfully pressure over 30 strip clubs to adopt racial justice and non-discrimination policies. The legislation’s goal is to level the playing field for black dancers and fight predatory management structures. The organization has grown to include members in 18 states across the country.

The New York City Stripper Strike was started by Gizelle Marie of the Bronx in 2017. Gizelle Marie has since partnered with organizations, including the SOAR Insitute and the International Women’s Strike U.S., to uplift Black strippers and other sex workers alike. The New York City Stripper Strike cites many of the same grievances shared by those in other cities including racism from management and staff members, discrimination based on race or body type in the hiring process, race quotas, bartenders and “bottle girls” stealing tips meant for dancers, and sexual harassment.

Many movements have already impacted club dynamics, but systemic racism and misogyny persist. As Black Lives Matter gains momentum and demands systemic change, we must fight for adult entertainment reform. To support Stilettos Inc.’s mutual aid fund or to apply for their cash giveaway, click here.

Hero(es) of the Month: TS Candii, SX Noir, and Gizelle Marie Organize the Largest Sex Worker March in U.S. History

August 1, 2020 More than six hundred activists, community members, and allies, including DSW’s Ceyenne Doroshow and Frances Steele, filled Manhattan’s Times Square on a Saturday at 5 p.m. The...

MA Democratic Senate Candidates Are Listening to Sex Workers

August 4, 2020 U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, rivals in the MA Democratic Senate primary, both voiced their support for the full decriminalization of sex...

NY Senate Fails Trafficking Survivors, Again

July 21, 2020 Through our work with the New York Anti-Trafficking Network (NYATN) and the START Coalition (named for this bill), DSW has been tirelessly advocating for the Survivors of...

DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey on Sex Work and Police Reform

July 21, 2020 The Cape Cod, MA, chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America asked DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey to present on police reform, accountability, and gendered violence from a sex...

DSW Takes Action Against EARN IT

July 22, 2020 In our last newsletter, DSW reported on how the EARN IT Act, a bill that recently advanced out of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, threatens the very...

The Stripper Strike Goes National

June 27, 2020 The Philadelphia Stripper Strike, organized by Stilettos Inc., a local organization promoting labor rights for dancers, hosted a rally at Malcolm X Park. Demonstrators gathered there with...

DSW Newsletter Archive

A Victory Against Loitering Statutes in Seattle

The Seattle City Council unanimously voted to strike prostitution and drug traffic loitering laws from the city code. The decision is a decisive win for racial justice, human rights, and equity, one that DSW and other sex worker rights advocates are working hard to replicate in New York state.

Repeals were based on the findings of the Seattle Reentry Workgroup, a study conducted by criminal justice experts and impacted individuals in 2018 to examine how the city could better support people exiting the criminal justice system and cut down on inequities. The decision was endorsed by City Attorney Pete Holmes, whose office stopped prosecuting loitering crimes in 2018. Holmes said he has “long questioned the use of loitering crimes as a law enforcement tool, and [is] grateful that the 2018 Reentry Workgroup helped shine a light on their racist origins.”

Loitering for the Purpose of Prostitution is a violation or misdemeanor in multiple states and municipalities across the U.S. Statutes often define the charge generally, as wandering, remaining, or spending time in a public space* with the intention of committing a prostitution offense or promoting prostitution. Broad definitions allow police officers to target transgender and cisgender women of color for being in certain spaces based on how they dress or what they look like. Councilmember Andrew Lewis, who introduced and sponsored the repeal of both laws, views the ordinance as “an excuse to racially profile community members who had done nothing wrong.” Fellow Seattle Councilmember Alex Pederson celebrated the repeals as part of the city's effort to react and respond to the national conversation about police and structural racism in America.

SWOP Seattle, a chapter of the national Sex Workers’ Outreach Project, tweeted following the passage of the law: “Today Seattle City Council repealed drug and prostitution loitering laws that endangered SW safety, unjustly targeted non-violent peoples, and disproportionately impacted our most vulnerable communities. Today we celebrate.”

A bill to repeal Loitering for the Purpose of Prostitution in New York state, also known as Walking While Trans, is up for a vote this legislative session. S2253 (Hoylman)/A654 (Paulin) will hopefully bring the same safety and equity to New Yorkers. Over one hundred state organizations, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, Brooklyn Defenders, and Safe Horizon, have endorsed the repeal. District attorneys across the country, including in Manhattan and San Francisco, have stopped prosecuting the charge. Data supports that, where and when it is implemented, Walking While Trans is targeted and discriminatory. In order to truly support safety and justice for women of color in New York, particularly transgender women, New York must repeal the ban on Walking While Trans.

If you are a New York resident, please consider reaching out to your State Senator or Assemblymember to express your support for S2254/A654.

*For example, under New Jersey law, this behavior is prohibited in any “public place,” defined as any place to which the public has access, including but not limited to any public street, sidewalk, bridge, alley, plaza, park, boardwalk, driveway, parking lot or transportation facility, public library, or the doorways and entranceways to any building which fronts on any of the aforesaid places, or a motor vehicle in or on any such place.

DSW Newsletter Archive

Black Lives Matter

Black people nationwide continue to be harassed and murdered by law enforcement, with little to no consequences. We know that this systemic disregard for Black lives is neither new nor accidental, but rather a symptom of the endemic racism that shapes the society we live in. The movement to decriminalize sex work is all too familiar with how police routinely target and violate Black and brown bodies.

People of color, particularly trans women of color, are overwhelmingly stereotyped by law enforcement, brutalized, and arrested for sex-work-related crimes. We know that the criminalization of sex work fails to protect trafficking survivors, compromises access to resources, endangers public health, and allows violence against sex workers to go unchecked. Black trans and cis women selling sexual services have historically been targets of violence. Police are often the perpetrators of this violence, or they turn a blind eye, labeling the crimes as “NHI” (no human involved).

DSW stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter:

* We are marching in the streets to demand divestment from law enforcement, police accountability, and justice for far too many unjust murders.

* We are supporting incredible community fundraisers to provide aid and space for Black sex workers. These funds include, but are not limited to, a donation page for Gizelle Marie of the NYC Stripper Strike to help create housing and resources for strippers and other sex workers of color nationwide, the G.L.I.T.S. lease fundraiser to provide housing and healthcare for transgender people of color who have been recently released from Rikers Island, and The Black Sex Worker Collective donation drive, which also has a housing initiative.

* We are working with legislators to support bills that defend Black lives, such as the repeal of the ban on loitering for the purposes of prostitution (“Walking While Trans”) in New York state.

When sex work is criminalized, racism thrives. People of color are systematically excluded from harm reduction services, such as healthcare and violence prevention. Instead, individuals are criminalized for trying to survive in a world that fails to make space for them. This month is Pride Month; there is no pride for some of us without justice for all of us.

DSW Newsletter Archive

Hero of the Month: Portland-based stripper and sex worker rights activist Cat Hollis is demanding fair treatment for Black sex workers

Across the country, strippers are mobilizing for increased labor rights and racial justice in the adult entertainment industry. At the center of the movement is Cat Hollis, a Portland-based dancer and founder of the Haymarket Pole Collective. The organization began its work in November of 2019 to support “proactive policy and equitable treatment [of] Black and Indigenous workers by facilitating restorative justice in the adult entertainment industry.” Since the resurgence of Black Lives Matter activism in the spring of 2020, Hollis and her fellow Portland-based activists have sparked national momentum, building on local strippers’ rights protests that have been popping up across the country.

Hollis moved to Portland from the Midwest in 2015 and built her extensive support network from scratch. She is a Renaissance woman; with a varied career history as a sailboat deckhand, middle school teacher, gallery curator, and published playwright, Hollis found anonymity, acceptance, and empowerment in the adult entertainment world. Contracting with four different Portland strip clubs, she also did a stint in club management and was brought face to face with the predatory economic practices that can be used by clubs when booking dancers. With the support of fellow Portland strippers and activists, Hollis formed the Haymarket Pole Collective to bring advocacy and accessibility to adult entertainment.

Hollis describes the deep inequities embedded in a quintessential Portland industry. The Haymarket Pole Collective draws in artists, sex educators, night-life entertainers, designers, and bartenders. Their work is inspired by their experiences in adult entertainment but applies broadly to common struggles that independent contractors face: instability, discrimination, and resource scarcity. Hollis talks about predatory management, racism, and sexism in clubs, among other issues that people in many informal industries can relate to.

Perhaps this is why the movement has been so successful. Or perhaps it is because of the dynamic irreverence of its founder. Hollis frequently shares videos on her Instagram speaking out about sex-phobia and her experiences as a Black stripper and a Black woman. Her humor and honesty are as refreshing as they are compelling. Quoted in an OPB article about the movement, Hollis says the strike really started by accident when she made “a group chat of Black strippers, sending just memes and funny things to make each other smile.” Now, the Haymarket Pole Collective has members in 18 states, including Illinois and Pennsylvania, and the Portland Stripper Strike is one of the largest in the nation.

Already, the movement has been successful in getting all of Portland’s 31 strip clubs to adopt their demands for ending racial discrimination in the industry. The Haymarket Pole Collective released updated requests last month. Hollis says that the pandemic, and the closure of many clubs, probably provided the momentum needed to effect change. “Because technically none of us have jobs right now,” she said, “it makes it a lot easier.” She feels hopeful “that change is possible.” In a recent Instagram post, the organization thanked “all the dancers who risked it for the biscuit."

To support the movement for labor rights and respect for sex workers across the country, please consider making a donation.

DSW Newsletter Archive

Hero of the Month: Ceyenne Doroshow, Celebrating Pride Through Justice

DSW’s Hero of the Month for June is Ceyenne Doroshow — activist, organizer, and a cornerstone of the international sex worker and transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary (TGNCNB) rights movements. Ceyenne, a Black transwoman, is also the founder and executive director of Gays and Lesbians Living In a Transgender Society (G.L.I.T.S.) in NYC.

G.L.I.T.S. helps to address the barriers to health and human rights faced by transgender sex workers through crisis support, health care, housing access, advocacy, and public education. Building off of Ceyenne’s deep network of advocates and service providers, the organization works to improve the safety and equity of TGNC sex workers in NYC.

Ceyenne and G.L.I.T.S. have received widespread acclaim for their recent work, both with supporting sex workers and other communities ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the protests against senseless state-sponsored violence directed at Black people in our country. She has emerged as one of the preeminent figures in the national movement for Black trans lives. For example, Ceyenne helped organize the historic 20,000+ person rally in support of Black trans lives in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, on June 14.

The Brooklyn Liberation Rally was part of the larger Black Lives Matter and police-accountability movement that has been mobilizing across the country. This day of action, in particular, highlighted the pervasive violence, discrimination, and harassment that transgender people of color are routinely subjected to at the hands of law enforcement. The rally was co-sponsored by G.L.I.T.S., The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, The Okra Project, For the Gworls, and Black Trans Femmes in the Arts.

Ceyenne was one of six speakers at the rally, including Raquel Willis of Out magazine, Ianne Fields Stewart of The Okra Project, and the sister of Layleen Polanco, a transwoman who was killed at Rikers Island. The enormous crowd that gathered filled the Brooklyn Museum Plaza, spilling down the Eastern Parkway towards Grand Army Plaza. “I love each and every one of my trans family members. I love you, and I want you to live,” Ceyenne declared to the audience, which cheered so dramatically that she had to pause her speech to wait for the noise to die down. “I want you to breathe and sustain. I want you to stand tall and proud and Black and live. We have always been last, but that’s not going to happen anymore.”

In the march that followed, protesters demanded justice for Layleen Polanco, Tony McDade, Riah Milton, and countless other Black trans people who have been senselessly murdered across the country. Ceyenne and other leaders have been speaking out about these injustices for decades. People are starting to listen.

The event and Ceyenne’s work has been covered by CNN, Jezebel, GQ, Teen Vogue, Vogue, U.S. News and World Report, and other news outlets. To support the work of GLITS and the movement they’re building, please visit their donation page here.

DSW Newsletter Archive

DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly Co-founds Sex Worker Group in Vermont

A new sex worker rights organization was co-founded in VT by J. Leigh Brantly of DSW, along with local human rights advocate Henri. The Ishtar Collective is the first-ever anti-trafficking and sex-worker-rights organization to be based in Vermont. The organization is run by and for current and former sex workers, industry allies, and survivors of human trafficking local to VT. Through advocacy, direct services, and community education, the collective supports the intersectional issues of sex work, LGBTQIA+, race, class, gender, and disability equity.

The organization’s launch party was a five-hour-long, live-streamed music festival that raised money for sex workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lineup included musicians from around the world, as well as presentations on timely policy issues by activists and service providers. Mosaic Vermont, one of the state’s only sexual violence prevention and response organizations, co-sponsored the event. Johanna De Graffenreid, one of its directors, spoke about the importance of decriminalizing sex work in creating a world free of sexual violence. DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey led an irreverent and informative discussion about sex work and the history of Ishtar.

“The Ishtar Collective is the only organization made up of current and former sex workers and survivors in the state of Vermont,” said Brantly following the launch. “We are here to support our communities, both rural and urban. We are working directly with state legislators and anti-violence organizations to have our voices heard and fight against labor exploitation.” The Ishtar Collective is collaborating with state Reps. Selene Colburn (P-Burlington) and Diana Gonzalez (P-Winooski) to pass a bill to create a study commission on the impact of different decriminalization models on the health and safety of sex workers. After that bill is passed, the organization will collaborate with Rep. Colburn on another piece of legislation — repealing the criminalization of adult, consensual sex work in VT.

To support the work of The Ishtar Collective, please visit their donation page here.

DSW Newsletter Archive

International Whore’s Day 2020: Virtual and Vibrant

The 45th annual celebration of International Whore’s Day (IWD) departed from the usual, where sex workers and their allies don red attire and march through city streets across the country. This year, the IWDNYC Coalition collaborated with Kink Out Events to launch an online rally and social media takeover honoring protests for sex worker rights around the world. The live stream featured NYC-based sex workers, organizers, and activists who spoke about survival, community, and resilience in a criminalized industry.

Speakers included Ceyenne Doroshow of G.L.I.T.S. and DSW, who highlighted her organization’s harm-reduction work, providing relief to sex workers amidst the pandemic; Aneesha and Alisha of the Black trans-led organization, SWOP Bronx; Bianney Garcia of Make the Road, a formerly undocumented, Mexican-born, trans human rights activist who survived 18 months on Rikers Island after a transphobic attack; and so many more inspirational figures.

IWD commemorates an eight-day occupation by over 100 sex workers at Saint-Nizier Church in Lyon, France, in 1975. The strike called attention to the increasing violence against sex workers perpetrated by the French government. They demanded an end to fines, stigma, and police harassment — and the release of 10 sex workers who had been imprisoned a few days earlier for solicitation. The movement was widely covered by international media, prompting support from labor and feminist organizations. Eight days after the occupation began, the police forcibly removed the protesters from the church, but their mark had already been made.

DSW tuned in to the NYC event, along with hundreds of other participants. Attendees also participated in the social media rally, flooding feeds with stories of survival and expressions of respect for sex worker communities. We were honored to be part of this incredible event — led by sex workers and supported by allies — utilizing the power of art and storytelling to spread public awareness around the issues facing our community.

DSW Newsletter Archive

DSW Debates Human Trafficking in the News

An opinion piece by DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey was published in the New Hampshire Union Leader in response to an opponent’s op-ed published days before. The original opinion piece was written by Jasmine Grace, a NH resident and trafficking survivor, who challenged the intentions of those, like DSW, who are fighting for legislation to defend the rights, health, and safety of sex workers nationwide. Grace made the all-too-common mistake of conflating human trafficking with consensual adult sex work, a policy phenomenon that has wrought unspeakable harm on sex-worker and survivor communities.

By assuming that all people who sell sex have experiences identical to her own, Grace attempted to silence the majority of adult sex workers who, for decades, have been calling for an end to criminalization. Criminalization allows theft, abuse, and state-sanctioned violence to proliferate against sex workers, merely for trying to make a living in a world where police officers often label cases in which those in the sex industry are victimized as “NHI” or “No Human Involved.” Grace has survived unspeakable trauma, and her desire to end the trafficking of human beings is warranted and essential to building a better world. She just isn’t going about it the right way.

Kaytlin Bailey’s response corrected Grace’s oversimplification of the problem and multiple misstated facts. For example, in regard to when RI decriminalized consensual, adult, indoor prostitution from 2003 to 2009, Grace charged that “traffickers and organized crime operated freely without fear of prosecution.” But those six years saw a 31% decline in violence against women statewide and a 39% reduction in rates of gonorrhea. Bailey also noted that since New Zealand decriminalized sex work in 2003, the country has only had human trafficking involving migrant sex workers, who still face criminalization under the law.

Rather than oversimplifying these issues, DSW is listening to sex workers and looking at the data. Both of these point to the full decriminalization of consensual, adult sex work to improve the health and safety of our communities.

DSW Newsletter Archive

‘Six Feet Apart’ Podcast With Alex Wagner Features J. Leigh Brantly

DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly was a guest on the Crooked Media podcast “Six Feet Apart with Alex Wagner,” discussing sex work amidst the pandemic. “Six Feet Apart” is a weekly show that explores every aspect of the human experience during COVID-19 and how people are surviving this extraordinary and life-defining event.

In the episode “Sex,” Wagner interviewed three professionals engaged in the sex-work industry in different ways. Alex Boden, CEO of the porn site kink.com, described how the nationwide lockdown has impacted the porn industry. Adult film actress Lotus Lain explained how porn actors may have been better prepared than most for life on lockdown. J. Leigh Brantly has been a movement builder at the intersection of sex work, queer studies, and transgender non-conforming advocacy for a long time. Brantly is a BDSM dominatrix, in addition to their work with DSW and other NYC-based nonprofit organizations.

Boden and Brantly dove into how the kink community — and sex work in general — has had to move online to follow social-distancing protocols, which, as Brantly put it, comes “with problems for some of us and answers for others.” They explored the psychological complexity and intimacy involved in sex work, the changing sexual appetites of individuals during quarantine, and what COVID-19 spells for the future.

“The great thing about sex workers is that we’ve been practicing harm reduction for a lot longer than the general population. … [W]e’re experts in harm reduction, and we’re experts in consent. It’s what we do for a living,” said Brantly.

To listen to the full episode, visit the “Six Feet Apart” web page here.

Leader of Mexico Sex-Worker Group Dies of COVID-19

May 5, 2020 This month, DSW honors Jaime Montejo, one of the founding members of the Elisa Martinez Street Brigade to Support Women; the sex worker support organization can be...

DSW Participates in TGNC/NB Advocacy Day in NY

April 21, 2020 The New York State legislature is following social distancing protocol, and advocacy groups have organized virtual lobbying meetings to continue their activism. Through their work with the...

DSW Joins Virtual Town Hall With Movement Experts

April 25, 2020 DSW’s Melissa Broudo and J. Leigh Brantly were featured in the latest edition of New Pride Agenda’s virtual town-hall series, titled “Let’s Talk Sex & Sex Work.”...

Wisconsin Judge Grants Strip Clubs Eligibility for Federal Funds

May 1, 2020 A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in favor of four Wisconsin strip club owners who were denied eligibility to apply for SBA loans through the CARES...

Lobbying in the Time of COVID?

May 7, 2020 DSW participated in Equality New York’s LGBTQI Virtual Day of Action. Community experts led panels and webinars on the movement’s policy priorities for this legislative session to...

‘Six Feet Apart’ Podcast With Alex Wagner Features J. Leigh Brantly

May 14, 2020 DSW’s J. Leigh Brantly was a guest on the Crooked Media podcast “Six Feet Apart with Alex Wagner,” discussing sex work amidst the pandemic. “Six Feet Apart”...

DSW Newsletter Archive

Lobbying in the Time of COVID?

DSW participated in Equality New York’s LGBTQI Virtual Day of Action. Community experts led panels and webinars on the movement’s policy priorities for this legislative session to improve the lives of LGBTQI New Yorkers and their families. After opening remarks from elected officials, including Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), state Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) and Assemblymembers Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn), Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), and Harry Bronson (D-Rochester), webinars were held on the loitering repeal (“Walking While Trans”) bill, the Transgender Prisons and Jail Protection bill, and a law regarding comprehensive sexuality education.

Lobbying meetings for these pieces of legislation, along with the LGBTQI Long-Term Care Facility Residents Bill of Rights, took place in the afternoon. DSW’s Melissa Broudo facilitated a legislative meeting with Assemblymember Joseph Lentol (D-North Brooklyn). Along with DSW’s Frances Steele, the group advocated for the passage of the Repeal of Loitering for the Purpose of Prostitution, a dangerous and discriminatory law used overwhelmingly to target transgender people of color in New York state.

The day of action was a resounding success under unprecedented circumstances. The following day, the lieutenant governor voiced her official support for repealing the loitering statute, stating, “We have to repeal the ban on walking while trans. It’s a buzz word but it is also just people exercising their human right to be who they are, where they want to be and they should not be harassed by that … [it’s] something that legislatively we need to take up, absolutely.”

Thank you, Lt. Gov. Hochul, for your support on this critical initiative to ensure that no individual is criminalized on the basis of their identity.

June 27, 2020

Demonstrators at the Philadelphia Stripper Strike gather for a picture in Malcolm X Park. (Photo: Stilettos Inc./Instagram)

Organizers from Stilettos Inc. deliver remarks towards the end of the event and thank attendees for their solidarity. (Photo: Stilettos Inc./Instagram)

DSW’s Rae Wilkins (left) and a friend toast to the demonstration. (Photo: DSW)

DSW Newsletter #17 (August 2020)

June 22, 2020

SWOP Seattle tweeted about the historic victory for human rights in their city. (Photo: Twitter, 2020)

Councilmember Andrew Lewis sponsored the legislation. (Photo: Twitter, 2020)

DSW Newsletter #16 (July 2020)

June 2020

DSW’s Frances Steele, J. Leigh Brantly, and Melissa Broudo (left to right) march for Black lives in NYC. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

Gizelle Marie — dancer, community activist, and founder of the NYC Stripper Strike — is raising money to support Black sex workers. (Photo: Tasha J. Fierce, 2020)

The G.L.I.T.S. fundraiser raised $1 million to provide safe and stable housing for trans people of color in NYC. (Photo: G.L.I.T.S., 2020)

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

June 18, 2020

Cat Hollis is a Portland-based dancer and organizer for the Portland Stripper Strike. (Photo: Tess Riski/Willamette Week, 2020)

The Lucky Devil posted in support of the movement and say they are making an effort to hold themselves accountable on Instagram this month. Movement leaders say they are wary of performative activism. (Photo: The Lucky Devil/Instagram, 2020)

Hollis and other dancers at a rally for #pdxstripperstrike in Portland. (Photo: Russell Dent/Rolling Stone, 2020)

DSW Newsletter #16 (July 2020)

June 14, 2020

Surrounded by her G.L.I.T.S. staffers, activists, and movement allies, Ceyenne delivered a moving speech to thousands of protesters gathered at Brooklyn Museum Plaza. (Photo: G.L.I.T.S., 2020)

A view from the podium at the rally for Black Trans Lives. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

L to R: Melissa Broudo, Ceyenne Doroshow, and J. Leigh Brantly march to support justice and pride. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

L to R: Ceyenne Doroshow, Ceyenne’s friend Shamar, Melissa Broudo, and J. Leigh Brantly catch some shade before marching.

Shamar, Melissa Broudo, and J. Leigh Brantly join the silent march after listening to Ceyenne’s speech.

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

June 9, 2020

Henri (left) and J. Leigh Brantly, co-founders of The Ishtar Collective, introduce the collective’s Coming Out Livestream Music Festival and Fundraiser. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

J. Leigh Brantly and Kaytlin Bailey discuss Kaytlin’s presentation on the history of sex worker rights and Ishtar.

The Ishtar Collective’s launch raised funds for sex workers who have lost their livelihoods because of the COVID pandemic.

Closing out the event, state Reps. Selene Colburn (left) and Diana Gonzalez (right) led a discussion on the intersectional realities of how laws related to sex work impact our lives.

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

June 2, 2020

This year’s digital rally was streamed in four languages, including ASL. (Image: IWD, 2020)

Protesters pictured inside Saint-Nizier Church in 1975 during the eight-day strike. (Photo: Carole Rousopoullos / Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir, 1975)

Demonstrations for International Whore’s Day filled the West Village of Manhattan in 2018. (Photo: Danielle Blunt, 2018)

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

May 22, 2020

Jasmine Grace, who penned the opinion piece, is the founding director of Jasmine Grace Outreach and the author of “The Diary of Jasmine Grace: Trafficked. Recovered. Redeemed.” (Photo: Union Leader, 2020)

In response to Grace’s heartfelt piece, DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey wrote an op-ed urging her not to conflate her own experience with that of all sex workers, pointing to the dangers that conflation poses. (Photo: DSW, 2020)

DSW Newsletter #15 (June 2020)

May 14, 2020

Wagner’s Crooked Media podcast explores the hidden worlds of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DSW Newsletter #14 (May 2020)

May 7, 2020

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul released her statement of support for the “Walking While Trans” repeal bill following the LGBTQI Day of Action. (Image: DSW, 2020)

DSW Newsletter #14 (May 2020)