presented March 29, 2008
contact: Audacia Ray dacia[at]wakingvixen[dot]com
Sex Workers and Media Representation
Sex workers and the sex industry are frequent topics in the media, whether as the center of a sex scandal as in the Eliot Spitzer debacle, the subject of an expose, or as the source of discussion around sexuality and morality. This session, led by a former sex worker and editor of $pread magazine, is a combination of media analysis and brainstorming on ways to affect change in the ways sex workers are represented in the media. The session includes some reporting back about how sex worker organizations have been dealing with media requests and challenging mainstream media in the ongoing Spitzer scandal. Anyone interested in sex workers rights, challenging mainstream media, and DIY new media is encouraged to attend.
Introduction
About me:
I am blogger (WakingVixen.com), video podcast host (LiveGirlReview.com), author (Naked on the Internet), porn director/producer (The Bi Apple), and erotic art curator (Arena Studios). I’m a former sex worker who was an executive editor at $pread magazine for three years and am currently working on a new non-profit, Sex Work Awareness.
Read my blog post Why sex workers aren’t represented in the media
Ground rules
• This is not the place to discuss the moral validity of sex work, nor is it the place to talk about whether or not sex workers can choose their professions or be feminists
• Assume that there are sex workers in the room with varying kinds of experiences within the industry; don’t assume sex workers are totally other
• Do not assume that any/all sex workers in the room will self-identify; if sex workers in the room do disclose, respect their limits – they may not want to discuss personal details of their lives or work
• Respect people’s individual experiences
• Recognize that individual experience and industry-wide experiences are not the same thing as statistics
Overview – three main questions
• What Kinds of Media About Sex Workers Is Available?
• How is Media About Sex Workers Produced?
• How can We Create Better Media?
Definition of terms and scope
• What is a sex worker?
• What is the scope of the sex industry? What kind of businesses exist within it?
What kind of stories get told about sex workers?
• Dead hooker [see: “Cops: Ex-con slays Bronx transsexual ‘hooker’”]
• Arrests [see: “$2M Bail Set for alleged madam”]
• Laws affecting sex workers, zoning, quality of life in cities/towns [see: “Texas: Attend a strip club and you will pay $5”]
• Jokey pieces full of puns [see: “Customers Find All Skin, No Meat At Vegan Strip Club,” plus video]
• Liberated, educated woman [see: “The Double Lives of High-Priced Call Girls,” see also How the NYT Got an Interview Wrong]
• Trafficking and sexual slavery/child sex slaves [see: “The 13-Year-Old Prostitute: Working Girl or Sex Slave?”]
• Scandal [see any number of articles about Spitzer]
• Expose [see: “Prostitution in America: Diane Sawyer Special Examines World’s Oldest Profession”]
Who is represented?
• White, educated, “empowered” women
• Sexual assault survivors
• Drug users
• Street workers
• Poor people of color
• Exploited people
Who is not represented?
• Jobs in sex industry other than prostitute and porn star
• Sex worker rights perspective
• Sex workers with varying income levels
• Casual/part-time sex workers
• Sex workers who don’t frame their work in the empowerment/degradation dichotomy
• Healthy sex workers
• Happy sex workers
• Survivors/former sex workers
Common themes
• Empowerment vs degradation
• Violence
• Exploitation of women and children
• Sexualizing the experience for a prurient piece
• “bottom of the barrel”
• Addictions
• Sex work and choice
Language problems
• Sex worker as euphemism
• Incorrect terminology for various parts of industry
• Frequent use of slang
• Outdated or irrelevant terms: call girl, “prostitution ring,” etc
• Dismissal of preferred gender pronouns
Press cycles and the treatment of sex workers
• Most media about sex workers is reactive, not proactive – it’s difficult to get a response to a press release unless there is a “Sexy” angle (ie: $pread fashion show, sex worker Olympics versus readings and panels)
How is the research for these pieces conducted?
• Gathering background info, interviews, experiential interviews/observation
The problem of identity
• Many newspapers require confirmation of identity, which may range from looking at a sex worker’s ads, inquiring at their workplace, or use of a sex worker’s identifying information and/or legal name
• What issues does this present? What are the possible work arounds?
• Infiltrate mainstream media or create independent media – merits of each, combinations of both
• Write and distribute press releases – several key points, mentions of organizational resources, quotes from key figures. example: What About Kristen?
• Blog posts (see sex worker made media, below)
• Commenting and writing letters are all very valuable, and in our Web 2.0 society feedback is being heard – jump in the fray, but be prepared for hostile backlash – evaluate whether/how much you can handle this
• Op Eds – How to Put Condoms in the Picture by Sharon Mitchell, NYT May 2005
• Work with journalists to create better media, voice your concerns – talk to their editors when they get it wrong, they hate that
• If you want to do media, make your contact info easily available
• Say NO and then write about it and name names – see my “Have You Been a Whore?”
• Informal support and information sharing networks: Twitter, Tumblr, RSS readers, blogs, Facebook/Myspace
• Remember: making successful media is about relationships – form them with reporters, bloggers, etc and ask them to help give voice to your cause when necessary
Examples of Sex Worker-Made Media
• $pread Magazine
• Bound, Not Gagged
• SWOP East - daily news links
• Red Light District Chicago Sex Worker Media – Audio/Video podcast
Infiltration
• Melissa Gira Grant’s writing on Valleywag
• When strippers take over the club, Reuters piece by Erin Siegal, $pread West Coast Director
• Audacia Ray on NPR/WNYC, The Brian Lehrer Show
• Regina Lynn’s Sex Drive on Wired covers Twitter, iPhones Let Sex Workers Spread Their Gospel
