Desiree Alliance presents
"Sex Work: Culture, Policy, and Benefits
Exploring the Lives of Sex Workers and their Diverse Realities"

2007

 

A coalition of sex workers, social scientists, professional sex educators, scholars, health professionals and their supporting networks announce a Convergence in San Francisco, California, July 19th-20th, in conjunction with the San Francisco Sex Worker Arts and Film Festival, July 20th-22nd and additional events in San Francisco beginning July 14th.

You can join the convergence organizing group and participate in the process by emailing susan@desireealliance.org. Please include a little bit about yourself and why you wish to get involved in your email to her. 
 

The conference portion of this convergence will bring together sex workers and sex worker advocates and allies interested in exploring sex work as a culture, the policies surrounding it, and benefits sex workers receive from their work. The goal is to acknowledge that sex work is a professional endeavor peopled by diverse individuals with diverse needs, cultures, and concerns.

 
We are open to all sex work related proposals, and specifically welcome all submissions and proposals having to do with these general concepts: sex worker art, culture, and creative endeavors; positive aspects of sex work; harms that result from bad or short-sighted policies; and benefits of current sex worker-friendly policies.

We are eager to receive proposals from sex workers themselves (you do not have to publicly self-identify), people of color, migrants, and all genders and sexual orientations. Contributors may be sex workers, academics, and anyone else interested in contributing. 

Examples of topics for proposals are:
 
--Violence against sex workers (Ipswich, Atlantic City, Brandy Britton, Lucy in OC, etc.) and how the laws contribute to this
 
--Effects of sex work policies on specific communities: single mothers, people of color, migrant workers, and various genders
 
--Sex worker art, culture, and creativity
 
--Economic and social benefits of sex work (i.e., good job for single mothers, service to disabled community, etc.)
 
--Transferable professional skills developed in sex work
 
--Special forms of knowledge sex workers develop
 
--Trends in sex work (internet: blogs, websites, review boards, etc; spiritual sex work; cooperative incalls; professional associations; bad client lists; screening; etc.)
 
--Varieties of sex work and how they are approached, why they are chosen, and how they are lived

--Personal stories from sex workers and/or their loved ones

--Sex workers' relationships (family, love, and community)
 
--How policies contribute to stigma
 
--Possible legislative models (NZ, HI, etc.)

 

Please send proposals to:

Avaren Ipsen

aipsen@berkeley.edu

 

Deadline for submissions: May 15
Confirmation by June 1st*.

*If you require confirmation sooner than June 1st, please include that with your submission.