Hey all,
Just a quick fly-by post to commemorate the passing of a sex-positivity icon: SF’s Lusty Lady.
Most of the experience-based sex-work anthologies I’ve read have included at least one essay by someone who worked at the Lusty Lady. For a long time, I understood the Lusty purely as a place that sex-positive feminists went to work (for however long) in order to prove that they were serious about this sex-poisitivity stuff. The possibility that you could be a sexworker who was also a sex-positive feminist, or a sex-positive feminist who did sexwork for reasons like paying the rent (rather than to prove you were SRS BZNZ on campus), hadn’t quite sunk in yet. :-\
In any case. Here we go:
A Brief History of The Lusty Lady (SF Lusty Lady’s official site)
Coolest Strip Club Ever, Closes With Fun Funeral (photo-essay chez Jezebel)
The Language of the Lusty Lady (accademic paper, posted by Peepshow Princess)
AND
What It Was Like to Work at the Lusty Lady (article in The Atlantic)
Enjoy! š
Tag Archive: topless women
Friday Night (tomorrow) opens the event with a panel discussion, moderated by Chris Bruckert, and including panelists who are, or have been, involved in various aspects of the sex industry including: agency managers, indoor and outdoor workers, male and female workers, outreach representitives, and clients of sexworkers.
Their event page says: Donāt miss this rare opportunity to hear the stories of five extraordinary people who will discuss their involvement in the sex industry, and who courageously speak out for the labour and human rights of sex workers. We hope you will participate in this dynamic exchange of ideas and experiences.
The panel discussion begins at 7pm on Friday, January 20th 2012 and goes until 9:00pm. Doors open at 6:30.
We’ll be in room 218 in Morisset Hall (65 University ave).
Saturday (link goes to full schedule and locations of workshops) is when the bulk of the forum takes place. Starting at 11am, there are a series of discussions, presentations, and workshops including “Transforming the prostitution narrative” (on sex, gender, and sexual orientation as they relate to working in the sex industry); “Regulating sex work: From criminalization to labour organizing”; “Aboriginal communities, allyship and sex work”; “Sex Work and Disability” (clients with disabilities, providers with disabilities); and “Sizing up the Sex Industry: Body Size in the Sex Trade”.
There will also be free food, FYI. š
Sunday night there will be a showing of “”La Putain de compile”, followed by a discussion at Raw Sugar Cafe (692 Somerset St. W) from 7:00 to 9:00pm.
The event page for the screening tells us: “La Putain de compile” is a video-project by the Pink Panthers in collaboration with the video-activist collective Les Lucioles and with Stella, a Montreal by-and-for sex workers organization. It’s a project that aims at giving another discourse on sex work than its mainstream representation.
A selection of short films from this project will be shown in French and English with opposite language subtitles.
Here. Have an interview with members of POWER and SPOC (actual interview starts around 3:40, before that there is some relevant preamble that you may wish to hear as well):
(As a side-note: Here are a couple of links to further posts about what went down at the Women’s Worlds conference at U of O last summer, when the above interview took place).
TTFN,
Ms Syren.
So, as you know bob, I work as a figure model with some degree of frequency. As I do this more and more often, I’m developing a sense of what one should have available while on the job — Bootblacks have their creme brulee torches and spritzer bottles of champagne; Strippers have their theatre foundation and packages of Wet Ones; so, too, a figure model benefits from having certain things on hand.
So, here we go:
1) A sarong.
This is primarily to be used in place of a robe or other easily-removable garment that you wear when not actually posing (trust me – frequently, the private studios, community centres, and class-rooms you’ll be working in are kept at a temperature that is good for people who are clothed and moving. You will be neither. You are going to want a way of warming yourself up again when you don’t have to be naked). I’m suggesting a sarong, rather than a robe, because you can also use a sarong as a prop, if you need one, and – more to the point – it can double as a surface-cover if you forget:
2) A towel.
Ideally, a large grey or black towel, although anything will work.
You need this because you will, almost definitely, not be the only person to ever set your naked ass and/or genitals on the stage/square of carpet/throw-pillow/chair/etc that the life-drawing class/club provides for your use. Be kind to your fellow models (and look out for yourself) by bringing a surface cover from home.
The reason I suggest a large towel is because you’ll be doing a wide variety of poses, some of which will probably be “reclining”. Having something soft and clean to put between the length of your body and the linoleum/wood/foam/etc is never a bad thing. The reason I suggest grey or black is because – in addition to their being neutral colours that can provide a good contrast to your skin – art studios (particularly in schools) tend to be covered in charcoal dust. It’s going to get all over everything, particularly your feet. Using a towel that won’t get stained by the heaps of black dust it comes into contact with is a good idea. It’s also a good idea to bring:
3) Baby Wipes.
Due to the aforementioned charcoal dust. No, really. It won’t get it all off. But it’ll get the worst of it off, and your feet will thank you.
Beyond that, you may want to invest in:
4) Masking Tape.
This is less of an issue if you are doing short poses. If, however, you’re doing hour+ poses with breaks in the middle, it’s a good idea to have a roll of masking tape on hand so that you can have somebody mark the angles and major lines of your pose. This way, it’s much easier to find your way back to the original pose after having a stretch (which you will definitely need to have, believe me).
5) A Timer.
The cheap, battery-operated kind from the dollar-store, or an app on your phone. Either way. They should be as uncomplicated and easy-to-deal-with as possible. Without one, you may (sometimes) find yourself counting to sixty over and over again in order to keep that five-minute pose.
6) Flip-Flops.
Or some other kind of easy-to-pack, slip-on, bare-feet-appropriate shoe that you can toss on if you’re working in a studio where the bathroom is down the hall. It saves a little bit of time and it means you get less charcoal dust in your socks. Handy!
I have… most of this stuff. But not all of it. Next on my list: Masking tape and a timer.
Onwards!
Cheers,
Ms Syren