July 2012
4 posts
WatchOn June 20, 2012 people against sex work protested in front of the Village Voice, demanding that they shut down Backpage’s Adult Services Section. SWOP-NYC and SWANK—local organizations representing sex workers and their allies—counter-protested noting that closing Backpage would increase marginalization of people in the sex trade and make anti-trafficking efforts more difficult....
June 2011
4 posts
March 2011
8 posts
86 the Violence
Sex worker rights advocates gathered in Union Square at 2.30 pm today for a public art action in support of recommendation 86 which was recently accepted by the US government as part of the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Recommendation 86 requires the that US government ensure sex workers’ access to public services and actions to prevent violence and...
October 2010
1 post
August 2010
1 post
It happened in Vegas, July 28 at 10 pm
Should we take cabs to the Strip? Is it possible to walk there? We heard it was only one mile. But then we saw a party bus, don’t know who organized it (Kirk? Mariko?) but we all piled in. Wish you could have been there. It was hot sweaty fun and that was just the guy’s hands on the steering wheel. The party in the back of the truck was hilariously camp.
...
June 2010
4 posts
16 lb balls (who we were in front of at Pride)
Blazingly hot yesterday and running an extra 20 blocks in red platform boots reduced photographic quality (see more at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjstarr/). Our SWOP/SWANK/SWP contingent at NYC Gay Pride was pressed from behind by a gay bowling club carrying Duane Reade shopping bags (storing their balls). We persevered despite these challenges and this year I made it all the way to Christopher...
Meet one of the "if it happens in Vegas..."...
One of our Kickstarter organizers Mariko Passion (pictured below) will be performing in New York City over the next few days so run out and see her if you are in town. She will be performing at Coming Out and Passing, at Happy Ending, 302 Broome Street between Forsyth and Eldridge, in New York City, Thursday, June 3. Doors open at 7 pm, reading from 8-10. Then Sunday June 6 she will...
May 2010
2 posts
Kickstarter venture, I made the video!
Very excited to be part of the “If it happens in Vegas… it’s still illegal” kickstarter effort, I made the video for the project and will be part of the documentation team that will create a special private blog and video stream for supporters. Kickstarter is a way of getting community support for creative projects. In this case sex workers are seeking support for a...
Kickstarter - If it happens in Vegas… it's still... →
March 2010
3 posts
Poem for March 3rd, read by Robyn Few in...
March 3rd, International Day for Sex Workers...
Rather than staying in NYC for the planned March 3rd potluck, I traveled to California to celebrate the day with my friend and confidante Robyn Few. We wrote a collective poem to celebrate the day which originated in2001 when over 25,000 sex workers gathered in India for a sex worker festival.
February 2010
8 posts
Two years in the making, the love child of Scarlot Harlot funded by the Creative Work Foundation, opened in a sequined evening soiree at the Center for Sex and Culture on January 31, 2010.
Working with Katrina Fuller of the University of California, Scarlot has developed a database of DVD materials that will eventually house all of our sex worker videos. I am especially pleased that material that we have collected here in the US, such as the footage from the documentation team of the Desiree Alliance conferences, is part of the archive.
Privacy! The material is not up online for prying eyes or prurient interest. If you want to visit the library you must apply for permission and then go to San Francisco’s Center for Sex & Culture for viewing. You won’t be disappointed though. The computer is housed in a very sexy desk.
Revolution in the making: thanks Carol!
I am out here in on the West Coast for the ribbon cutting ceremony of Scarlot Harlot’s new media venture, the Sex Worker Media Library. I was on the poster! Carol is so generous that way, she includes everyone. My dance partner of the night: Robyn Few. Took heaps of photos but need to get them approved by Carol before putting them up, stay tuned.
December 2009
5 posts
Celebrating my friend Robyn Few in every possible... →
Life has been too busy for blogging...
… so I’ve been letting the others do it for me. My photos of December 17 (International Day Against Violence Against Sex Workers) were on display at a December 10 New York City event “Sex Worker Rights are Human Rights. Madre blogged it and put some more of my photos up online.
Next up we film and photograph at New York City’s December 17 vigil to be held at Metropolitan...
July 2009
3 posts
Can I see more Pride Photos, pls Ms PJ?
You know I don’t really do Flickr and all that stuff because I worry about people’s images being out there and I haven’t checked with everyone. So many people asked though, so go to Flickr and see more. You can even download:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjstarr/sets/72157621188134870/
Sex workers swamping the world with video
Seems like there is so much going on in terms of films from our community of sex workers. Claire of NYC showed a few minutes of the footage she shot with sex worker leaders in Central America to a small but appreciative group of SWANK and SWOP members. Its due out in 2010.
June 2009
2 posts
Watch
Gay Pride! And Sex Worker Pride!!!!!
SWANK and SWOP-NYC had a strong contingent (leathered, feathered, glittered and gartered) at the Pride March. We patiently waited until almost 3 pm for our section of the march to get moving but then we leafletted hundreds of onlookers as they gasped at our campy, spanking and whipping antics. It sure is tiring marching in those high heels. Next year we need a float with a large luxurious bed...
March 2009
2 posts
Current Projects (Brazil!), SW film festival
Okay so I feel pretty bad that the sex worker film festival deadline is upon us this month and I only have one puny video submitted.
But I should not feel bad because I had a chance to travel to Brazil in January to be a real live film maker. I was employed by the Karnataka Sex Workers Union to document their meetings about sex work and unionism with my friend Dawn Passar. The video below is the...
Watch
February 2009
3 posts
Stop the (false) arrests
Sex worker organizing with the support of allies is taking off in NYC. Yesterday ten members of SWOP-NYC and friends came out to support the rally to stop the false arrests of gay men in porn stores in NYC. Maybe these arrests seem mind-blowing (undercover cops approach men browsing literature in the stores, negotiate sex, at the last moment say “and I’d like to pay you $50” then...
