SW & LOVE

For over a century, the American media machine has weaponized headlines, Hollywood, and true crime to dehumanize and exploit sex workers. But we refuse to be locked out of our own stories. My new film is a collaboration with documentarian/sex worker Em Vaughn. In Seeing Red, sex workers are turning our own lens on the media, disrupting the entrenched narratives that harm and exploit us while telling interesting, nuanced, and complex stories about ourselves.

HELP US BRING THIS FILM TO THE FINISH LINE -- DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUND CAMPAIGN!

For the next month, we are raising funds to finish production. Your donations will go directly towards:

- Crew (hiring priority given to people who are sex workers, LGBTQ+, and/or BIPOC)

- Equipment

- Travel (Several rounds of Amtrak or car travel around the tri-state area for interviews, meals on the road, and gas) 

- Space rental (spaces to conduct interviews where in-home interviews are not possible)

- Research

If you're in NYC the day this episode airs (9/24), come to our launch party in Manhattan from 6-9pm! Don't be late -- we're showing a sneak peek of the film and raffling off prizes!

*Mentioned in this episode: United Nations' global study on gender-based homicide

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SW + LOVE theme song: Penelope by yours truly

Shiloh, a stripper based in Vegas, joined me for a discussion about burnout, which is something that most sex workers experience. We talk about how it affects us, as workers and as queer femmes dealing with cis men as clients. Shiloh also explains how it affects her libido, and, in turn, her relationship. Tangents include: Contemplating the perfect height for a stripper heel, realizing we were queer in our late 20s, and the strip club as a laboratory to study heteropatriarchy.

Announcements & Links:

* FILM SCREENING: Beloved, my 20 minute documentary about the love lives of sex workers, will screen at the Teaneck International Film Festival in New Jersey on November 7. Tickets will become available on October 2, so subscribe to my free Substack if you want a reminder in your inbox.

* NEW FILM: I’m co-directing a new, feature-length documentary with my friend and fellow SWer Em Vaughn!! Our film is about media bias against SWers, and is based on my e-book on the topic. If you’re in NYC on 9/24, we’ll be hosting a fundraiser for the film and screening a teaser at a gorgeous, sex worker-friendly lounge in Manhattan. Sign up for my Substack if you want updates the new film or details for the fundraiser party!

* HOST A SCREENING: If you can’t make it to New Jersey but you still want to schedule a private or public screening of Beloved for your organization or an event you’re planning, reach out to me at [email protected]

* PODCAST THEME SONG: I always forget to mention this, but the podcast theme song is Penelope, by yours truly :)

Even in relationships where SW itself isn't a source of tension, any demanding job can affect a couple's relationship. From mismatched schedules to burnout to low libido, therapist Liz Afton returns to help unpack some common obstacles that even the healthiest couples can face.

Mentioned in the episode: My article for Rewire: SWers Remember Victims of Gilgo Beach Killer: ‘Our Sisters’ | My e-book about media bias against SWers | My film | My Substack | Email Liz Afton: [email protected]

Upcoming events: 5/31: SWer Sunday service & dinner at Judson Memorial Church (Manhattan) | 6/14: SWer Open Mic (Brooklyn), June 17: SWer caravan heading to Long Island to witness Rex Heuermann's sentencing in solidarity with the eight women he confessed to killing. Contact me for more.

Trixxie Morella is a multimedia artist, spicy worker, and community advocate. In this episode, they reflect on a traumatic relationship where their spicy work was a factor. What happened to Trixxie is terrible. And also, in hearing them tell their story, we have the opportunity to bear witness to a person with a tremendous spirit.

This episode contains discussions of pregnancy, abortion, sexual assault, and anti-trans hate.

Click here for info about this week's SWer Open Mic in Brooklyn, featuring Trixxie Morella (4/8/26)

Click here to stream Trixxie's music

Subscribe to my newsletter here

Jessie is a circus performer and aerial artist. Her story is a reminder that no woman or femme is ever safe from the dangers of being labeled "whore" (derogatory). This episode is dedicated to anyone who's experienced whore-shaming abuse, especially if you're an actual sex worker. No one deserves that.

My new documentary about the love lives of sex workers will screen in Brooklyn on March 29. Click here to RSVP.

Click here to subscribe to my Substack (free).

NYC-based SWer, Celeste, talks about love, moms, and the time they dated a cop. Click here for all Celeste's links.

Through 3/15/26, Beloved, my documentary about the love lives of SWers is available to stream, as part of the Lift-Off Film Festival! Tickets are $12, and your purchase gives you access to all the films in Beloved's category. You’ll also be able to vote for your favorite film--enough votes could help Beloved earn a live screening in England :)

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS BELOVED

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER

In Part 1, therapist Liz Afton walks us through some relationship "red flags" that SWers can be on the lookout for. And if you're not a SWer, you can still be on the lookout for these warning signs that someone's not treating you well. Part 2 will focus more on green flags (yay).

**Big news! My new film, Beloved, has been accepted into the Berlin Lift Off Festival and is available for streaming (and audience voting!) until March 15, 2026. Click here to watch!

Mentioned in this episode:- Liz Afton: [email protected]

- Manhattan Alternative

- Kintsugi Therapist Collective

Find me on Substack, Instagram, or YouTube

New season starts on Valentine's Day!- Beloved, my new film about the love lives of SWers- Podcast theme music: Penelope, written and performed by yours truly

Today's episode features a conversation with myself and queer, anti-zionist Jewish educators Ayelet Cartolina and Jessie & Elana from the Making Mensches Podcast.

One last thing: in June of 2023, Meta deleted my Stripper's Guide Instagram account in a wave of overnight deletions of thousands of sex workers' accounts across the world. You can find me on Substack, and you can still find me Instagram, but please don't let that fickle place be our only avenue of connection.

A Stripper's Guide pod is taking a little breaky-break for now, but I am very active on Substack, and I'm making a documentary.

This is the season finale, hosted by Leilah and her friend Erica Sosa, who writes about fat femmes, desirability politics, and erotic autonomy on her Substack. 

Today we are geeking out because we get to speak with someone who inspires us both a lot.

Aubrey Gordon is an author, columnist, and the cohost of Maintenance Phase, a podcast that debunks the diet industry. She was featured in a 2023 documentary, Your Fat Friend, whose name is based on the title of Aubrey's column, Yr Fat Friend.

In this episode, we talk about some parallels between anti-fat stigma and anti-sex worker stigma (and their differences), and how it feels when someone who used to be one of us won't claim us.

Aubrey's links & stuff:

• Maintenance Phase Podcast (available wherever you stream)
• Books: "You Just Need to Lose Weight" and "What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat"
• Social Media: Twitter, Instagram
• Your Fat Friend  Documentary