1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: Cools Media. Hello, and welcome to Cool People Did Cool Stuff. 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: You're a weekly reminder that when there's bad things happening, 3 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:13,039 Speaker 1: there's good things happening too. And this is also the 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:18,080 Speaker 1: only podcast that is willing to talk about crime and 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: or sex. Most podcasts shy away from those topics. I 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: believe I've never heard a podcast before. I am your host, 7 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: Margaret Kiljoy, and with me today is my guest Rachel 8 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: and Julie. 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 2: Hi. 10 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: How are you Hi. 11 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 2: I'm so happy to be here, Margaret, thank you for 12 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 2: the invitation. 13 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: Yeah. Rachel is both my friend and also the author 14 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,519 Speaker 1: of russ Belt Fem which is a pretty amazing memoir. 15 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 1: And you have a new book coming out, Is that true? 16 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:46,599 Speaker 2: I do, in like a little less than a year. 17 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:47,160 Speaker 1: Okay. 18 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 2: It's called The New Sex Wars, Towards a Feminism with Teeth. 19 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 2: It's coming out from PM Press and I'm literally just 20 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 2: like finishing it officially tomorrow. 21 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: It's exciting. Hell yeah, which is in the past by 22 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: the time y'all are listening. Yeah, so it's done, It'll 23 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: be done. Yeah, I'm going to call you and bug 24 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: you about that. So oh and then the other voice 25 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,839 Speaker 1: you're hearing is Sophie Rae Lichterman, who is named after 26 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 1: a tree. Sophie's our producer. Hey Sophie, how are you? 27 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 1: Or is the tree named after me? I think probably 28 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: the tree is named after you. It depends on what tree. 29 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: It is so funny. Shout out to the listener who 30 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,320 Speaker 1: made a plaque, a breast plaque that says this tree 31 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 1: is named Sophie Rae Lichterman. I love it so much. 32 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: This week, I thought we would talk about sex workers 33 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: and sex work organizing, and more specifically, I thought we 34 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: would talk about the Lusty Lady, the most famous organized 35 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,040 Speaker 1: sex workplace in the country. You've heard of the Lusty Lady, 36 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: I sure have. I sure just call it the most 37 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: famous thing I've You can kind of set you up 38 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: with that one, of Sorry, it makes sense that it's 39 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: the most famous organized place in the country because for 40 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: a long time it was the only one. Actually, in fact, 41 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: I believe was the only one the entire time it existed. 42 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: I think that's right. Almost everything I read said it 43 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: was the first unionized strip club in the country. But 44 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: then one thing I read said that there was a 45 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: unionized strip club in San Diego for three years before that, 46 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: But we'll talk about that later. What do you know 47 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: about the Lusty Lady? What are you coming in with? 48 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 2: Well, I'm really excited that this is our topic. Yeah, yeah, 49 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 2: So I first heard about the Lusty Lady. I think 50 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 2: maybe like my first year of grad school and I 51 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 2: had a great friend, Melody Hoffman. Shout out Melody former may. 52 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 2: I had a podcast with her too, so shout out 53 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 2: to podcasts. 54 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: If no they get enough credit. 55 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 2: We were doing podcasts before it was like, I don't know, 56 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 2: cool and full of white bros. But anyway, she was 57 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 2: really into sex worker organizing and I think she was 58 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 2: the one who first introduced me to them. So there 59 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 2: was a documentary about it that I watched. And I 60 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 2: also teach college classes, and I taught it in a 61 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:02,799 Speaker 2: lot of my classes. But I you know, when you're 62 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 2: teaching a review of feminism class, you get to spend 63 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 2: like tiny bits of time on each little thing, right, 64 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 2: and you dive so deep. So I'm sure you are 65 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 2: full of anecdotes that I don't know. But I do 66 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 2: know whole lot about sex work beause I'm also a 67 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 2: former sex worker. So I'm super stoked to learn more 68 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 2: and talk more. 69 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: I wasn't sure whether I should say that for you, 70 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: so I appreciate you coming out about that, happy to share. 71 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: So the shortest version of the story is that in 72 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety seven, the workers at a peep show in 73 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: San Francisco voted to unionize, and then in two thousand 74 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: and three they bought the place off its old owners 75 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: and became the first worker owned, unionized peep show in 76 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: the country. They managed to stay open for ten years, 77 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: longer than I believe, pretty much all their competition, and 78 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: then they were put under by their landlord, who is 79 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: building a monopoly of all the strip clubs in the 80 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: city and frankly all over the country, and honestly lasting 81 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: to twenty thirteen as a peep show in an era 82 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: of internet pornography, is it's pretty impressive. Mm hm. I 83 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: usually start with context by going way back in time, 84 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: and I'm going to do that in a little bit, 85 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: But first I wanted to start with the present day. 86 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: I want to start about some sex worker organizing that's 87 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: happening right now in Nevada. Have you heard about this? 88 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 2: I have, but only a little bit, So tell me more. 89 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:25,720 Speaker 1: Well, okay, this is one of the problems that whenever 90 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: you cover like current News. All I have is the 91 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:33,720 Speaker 1: sum of like, I don't know, eight or ten articles, right, 92 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: I read everything I could find about it, which is 93 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: only so much, you know, But before we talk about that, 94 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: I need the context. On the context. We are going 95 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: to talk about how sex work is criminalized because it 96 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: deeply affects the rights of its workers. Sex work. I'm 97 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:51,599 Speaker 1: sure you've never heard this one before. It's called the 98 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 1: oldest profession in the world, but it's also one of 99 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: the most heavily criminalized professions in the world. It's always 100 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,160 Speaker 1: a little frustrating when people are like, ah, yes, it's 101 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,239 Speaker 1: the oldest job, and you're like, why is it illegal? 102 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: That is frustrating. Yeah, I can imagine it's worth understanding 103 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 1: the difference between decriminalization, which is what sex worker advocacy 104 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: groups as well as human rights advocates and feminists and 105 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: labor organizers promote. Most feminists, to be clear, I'm a 106 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: little bit no true scotsman in here, and I shouldn't 107 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 1: because I mean, like, obviously, if you're feminasty supports sex workers, 108 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: that's actually unfair. And actually you and I have had 109 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 1: conversations about the ideas of how we should accept that 110 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: bad feminist. 111 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, so credit to Sophie Lewis for writing a whole 112 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 2: book called Enemy Feminisms. 113 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: That was it. 114 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:43,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, where you know these so swarf sex worker exclusionary 115 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 2: radical feminists and turfs trans exclusionary radical feminists along with 116 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 2: white supremacists, women suffrage, US feminists and a whole history 117 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 2: of women who have organized on the basis of gender 118 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 2: liberation and really race or sexist or sex work exclusionary 119 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 2: ways are part of feminist history. So swarf feminists there 120 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 2: are some of the biggest battles that sex workers have 121 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 2: to fight because they're so loud and aggressive against this work. 122 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: No, it is so interesting too, because I think very 123 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:21,720 Speaker 1: similar to turfs. There's almost the ven diagram of turfs 124 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: and swarfs is not a complete circle. But that's only 125 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: because Andrea Dworkin exists, right, who is a swarf but 126 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: not turf just not better. 127 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 2: I mean, we would see if she were alive today, 128 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 2: but yeah, she's she didn't explicitly come out with anything 129 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 2: super churfy back then. 130 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, fair enough, But it's so interesting because turfs or swarfs, 131 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: they come in ostensibly from the left and then open 132 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 1: up the space that is then taken over by right 133 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: wing voices, right and so like, being anti trans was 134 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: part of a leftist conversation for a little while, and 135 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: now it's a right wing thing. It's just entirely a 136 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,359 Speaker 1: right wing thing where the Turfs are like marching with Nazis, 137 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: and it's just it's nice when they're honest. But yeah, anyway, 138 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: in general, there's decriminalization, which is what people that I 139 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: agree with advocate, and then there's legalization, which is usually 140 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: promoted by well meaning or not well meaning outsiders to 141 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: the work. Decriminalization means get rid of the weird specific 142 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,679 Speaker 1: laws around sex work and treat it like any other job. 143 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: Legalization means set up a unique legal framework to allow 144 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: sex work to happen. Legalization usually looks like permitting health screenings, 145 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: government surveillance of workplaces, and things like that. And I 146 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: want to kind of go through some of those points. 147 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: For example, in Germany, sex work is legalized and sex workers, 148 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: unlike other workers, have to register and carry a little 149 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: specific permit, a prostitute ID card. Legalization often requires mandatory 150 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: STI checks because it plays well people's fears people believe incorrectly. 151 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: As we'll talk about that workers are STI vectors. These 152 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: fears are unfounded as far as all scientific evidence that 153 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: exists has to say. For example, in twenty twelve, the 154 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: World Journal of AIDS published a study from Australia and 155 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: Australia is a good test case for what decriminalization versus 156 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: legalization looks like because half of the country is legalized 157 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: sex work and the other half is decriminalized sex work. 158 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: In the legalized half of the country, there's mandatory STI 159 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: screening of workers. The study found that quote mandatory testing 160 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,600 Speaker 1: of HIV and STIs among sex workers in Australia has 161 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 1: proven to be a barrier to otherwise successful HIV and 162 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: STIP education prevention, and free and anonymous testing and treatment. 163 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: The outcomes of mandatory testing are counter productive to reducing 164 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: HIV and STI rates, do not reach the intended target group, 165 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:07,439 Speaker 1: and are costly and inefficient. 166 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:12,359 Speaker 2: That makes sense. I just love how sex work politics. 167 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 2: They help with critical thinking so much because so often 168 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 2: things related to sex work, like laws and policy, like 169 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 2: they seem good and then you look deeper and you're like, oh, wait, 170 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:26,319 Speaker 2: the state having the authority to do these things is 171 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,080 Speaker 2: really really bad, and et cetera. 172 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,439 Speaker 1: So it's just yeah, no, that's that's such a good point, right, 173 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: because it's it would be pretty easy to convince a 174 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: well meaning person like, oh it's fine. I guess if 175 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: people are doing that, as long as they're like tested 176 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: all the time and the government's up in their business 177 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: make sure everyone's safe, you know, and then we can 178 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 1: just like either think that through, talk to the people 179 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: doing it, or look at social sciences that study this 180 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: in a you know, peer reviewed way. Right, that same 181 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:03,079 Speaker 1: report said, quote, epidemiology and research consistently show that sex 182 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: workers have lower rates of STIs than the non sex 183 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: working population. And this makes sense. It's the same like 184 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: thinking things through, right, You're like a sex worker is 185 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:17,439 Speaker 1: going to understand safer sex and risk and handle things 186 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: with like they're literally professionals. I suspect that electricians shock 187 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:29,200 Speaker 1: themselves while changing outlets less than di wires, right, hmm, 188 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: it's the thing they do, so they know how to 189 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: do it safely. Yeah. No, it's a good metaphor. I 190 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 1: was talking to electrician today while writing scripts. That's so funny. 191 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 1: It's so funny. I was like, Oh, you really know 192 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: what is and isn't safe down to very specific details, right, 193 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:55,960 Speaker 1: And Legalization also gets the state involved, which means oversight, 194 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,800 Speaker 1: which means policing, which means that sex workers are fined, arrested, 195 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: a veiled, and generally harassed, even if the work itself 196 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: is legal. If it's like, if a CoP's following you, 197 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:10,440 Speaker 1: you're breaking some kind of law. You know, if a 198 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: cop decides you have there's going to be something wrong 199 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: with your car. Right. In contrast, decriminalization is just removing 200 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,439 Speaker 1: the laws that make sex work criminal, the laws that say, well, 201 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:25,600 Speaker 1: you can sell your labor, but not that labor, and 202 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: you can sell your body, but only in ways that 203 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 1: we say you can. Decriminalization would stop making sex workers 204 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: a specific criminalized class of workers, which means they would 205 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:41,679 Speaker 1: get the same labor protections as everybody else, which isn't enough, right, 206 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:43,719 Speaker 1: we all need more labor protections. But we're going to 207 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 1: talk about unions and worker cooperatives for like the whole 208 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:51,520 Speaker 1: week anyway. So, and it's not a fringe idea decriminalization. 209 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 1: Like the first time I ran across people talking about this, 210 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: it was sex worker friends, and I was like, ah, 211 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: I get it, this is like what sex workers want, 212 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: because all my friends are anarchists. But those Other anarchist 213 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,400 Speaker 1: organizations that believe that sex work should be decriminalized include 214 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:10,200 Speaker 1: the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS, the 215 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:15,360 Speaker 1: World Health Organization, human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, all 216 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:16,920 Speaker 1: those crazy radical groups. 217 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's weird to sometimes be in agreement with institutions 218 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 2: that don't always make the right call, but they made 219 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 2: the right call on this one. 220 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: Oh yeah. Actually the World Bank was on this list too, 221 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 1: and I couldn't bring myself to shout it out. I 222 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: was like, I've been arrested protesting them before, but not 223 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: on this issue, right, you know. And there's also the 224 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: dreaded Swedish model that less well meaning people like to 225 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: trot out. It's a method of criminalization that condescendingly criminalizes 226 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 1: the purchase of sex work but not the selling of it. 227 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: And this got its start in nineteen ninety nine in Sweden. 228 00:12:58,320 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: You look like you have something you want to say 229 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:00,960 Speaker 1: about absolutely. 230 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 2: Should well, I mean, I'm sure you're about to share, 231 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,760 Speaker 2: but yeah, it's really misguided. It's another thing where it's 232 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 2: like it sounds good on paper to people who have 233 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 2: this concept of people who exchange money for sex as 234 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:18,679 Speaker 2: like these horrific monsters I mean to bring up the 235 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 2: sort of elephant in the current climate right now, Like 236 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 2: there are Jeffrey Epstein's he existed, you know that that exists, right, 237 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 2: and there are like ordinary randos who like are just 238 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:33,560 Speaker 2: you know, looking for some companionship. I mean, we can 239 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 2: get into sort of different types of people who purchase 240 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:41,880 Speaker 2: sexual labor. But all of this is to say for 241 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:44,679 Speaker 2: a lot of people, they're like, oh, the quote John's. 242 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 2: I generally don't use that language. I call people clients. 243 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 2: But the quote johns, you know, they're the bad ones. 244 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 2: And we want to save and protect the sex workers 245 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,960 Speaker 2: who you know are misguided and you know, if we 246 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 2: could just get them into you know, a fast food restaurant, 247 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 2: then things working out of minds yep, exactly, So you know, 248 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 2: we'll save them, we'll protect them, and we will just 249 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 2: punish the bad Johns. The problem with that is that 250 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,080 Speaker 2: let's say the cop you know, busts people in a 251 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:18,079 Speaker 2: hotel room and there is one illegal substance. Let's say 252 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 2: there is a joint in the room. Yeah, it's grounds 253 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:23,000 Speaker 2: for arresting both of them. Let's say one of those 254 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,920 Speaker 2: people is undocumented, grounds for arresting both of them. Let's 255 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 2: say the cop is racist. We've never heard of that before. 256 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, but it's a hypothetical. Yeah, yeah, right, just hypothetically. 257 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 2: The ways in which that model still ends up criminalizing 258 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 2: and punishing. 259 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: Sex workers is a lot. 260 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it still leads to more surveillance and police 261 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 2: presence in sex workers' lives, which is never a good thing. 262 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, so that's a frustrating solution. Scare quotes. No, totally. 263 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: And in this one I read about the feminist groups 264 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: in Sweden that pushed for this to happen, right, and 265 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 1: I believe some of them have kind of you can't 266 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: did because they actually look at evidence, and you know, 267 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:07,880 Speaker 1: our feminists just were really wrong in a pretty dangerous way. 268 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 1: Anytime you bring the state and incarceration into like your 269 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: method of trying to solve problems, you got to be 270 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: real careful. You're right. The Global Network of Sex Work 271 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: Projects put out a guide called the Real Impact of 272 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: the Swedish Model on sex Workers. And just as far 273 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:26,680 Speaker 1: as that title goes, one of the things I really 274 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 1: love about nineteenth century titles is that would be the 275 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 1: title of a book, not a subtitle. In like the 276 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,360 Speaker 1: nineteenth century, it'd be about three times as long as 277 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: that in the nineteenth century, and we've moved away from that. 278 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: We've moved to these very simple I do this too. 279 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 1: That's not sure. I name my books really obscure or caneless, 280 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:47,840 Speaker 1: sunding things, but anyway, I like that. The nonprofit report 281 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: is where you still get titles, but to say what 282 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,440 Speaker 1: they are. The real impact of the Swedish model on 283 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 1: sex workers does what it says on the tip. That's 284 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 1: so true. They put it pretty plainly in quote. This 285 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:04,840 Speaker 1: model has damaging consequences for sex workers' health rights and 286 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 1: living conditions. However, these negative impacts are rarely discussed and 287 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 1: sex workers' voices are consistently silenced. If we were being 288 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 1: really clever, you would start to say something and then 289 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: I would interrupt you here, but thanks, I really appreciate 290 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 1: going along with that one. I had a frustratingly hard 291 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: time getting an exact picture of what sex work legality 292 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: was like in Sweden before this bill, there was a 293 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: bunch of different statutes that affected sex work, but they 294 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: all have been challenged and coret at various times. But basically, 295 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 1: the nineteen ninety nine law pushed workers underground because there's 296 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 1: now fewer clients, right, because only people willing to do 297 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 1: crime are going to become clients, which leads to more competition. 298 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,280 Speaker 1: So workers had way less negotiating power with clients because 299 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: it's a labor issue. It's also a feminist issue. It's 300 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: all kinds of issues, but it's a labor relations issue. 301 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 1: If there's were possible customers, then you have less say 302 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 1: about what's happening. It also made screening clients way harder, 303 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: making workers substantially less safe. And I think that's something 304 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: that maybe folks don't know, is that a lot of 305 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: sex workers use various methods of screening their clients to 306 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: figure out who's safe. 307 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, we actually have I don't know if folks heard 308 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 2: about the tea app debacle. Did people hear about this? 309 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:28,919 Speaker 1: Oh? I didn't know. 310 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,680 Speaker 2: The tea app was an app created by a well 311 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 2: intentioned young man whose mom like. He was doing it 312 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 2: because his mom was on the dating apps and having 313 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:43,680 Speaker 2: bad experiences, and he wanted to create an app where 314 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 2: women could sort of share the tea the gossip on 315 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,880 Speaker 2: the men that they were finding on these apps too, 316 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 2: you know, on a spectrum of sort of keeping people 317 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 2: safe to like like shit talking so you know, it 318 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 2: ranged from like this man assaulted me to this man's 319 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 2: mattresses on the floor stuff. 320 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: I would want to know that before I want on 321 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: a date with a guy. 322 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 2: Sure, yes, but they are different, that's true. They are different, 323 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:12,359 Speaker 2: that's true. And some of the sort of safety precautions 324 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 2: I scare quoted that again for listeners who can't see me, 325 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:18,800 Speaker 2: were things like does this person have a criminal record? 326 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,160 Speaker 2: It does this, I'm trying to forget the other sort 327 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 2: of thing you could search and you know, as hopefully 328 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,119 Speaker 2: people know listening to this that in the US, you know, 329 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 2: people have criminal records for all sorts of things, disproportionately 330 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,280 Speaker 2: people of color and poor people, and you know, people 331 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 2: who are criminalized, and more importantly, like most people who 332 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,960 Speaker 2: have experienced harm will know that there are a lot 333 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,000 Speaker 2: of like good on paper, guys who can still do 334 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,240 Speaker 2: you know, who don't have a criminal record, who will 335 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 2: still do really harmful things because. 336 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 1: People don't go to jail if they do the kind 337 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:52,960 Speaker 1: of things that people do anyway, you know, like. 338 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,440 Speaker 2: Exactly, and this is part of anti trafficking legislation too, 339 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 2: is like it's in theory it punishes people at very 340 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 2: rarely even does that, but it doesn't prevent these things, 341 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 2: and like you're saying, it drives things further underground. But 342 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,960 Speaker 2: to very quickly finish the t app thing even worse 343 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 2: than just all those critiques of it, somebody on four 344 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:14,480 Speaker 2: Chan got a hold of because in order for women 345 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:16,119 Speaker 2: to sign up to the app, they had to like 346 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 2: give their ideas. 347 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 1: Oh I remember this now. 348 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 2: So then all of their ideas were exposed on you know, 349 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:26,439 Speaker 2: in Cellville, and it just really broke my heart because 350 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 2: sex workers have this very we have what we call 351 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:32,439 Speaker 2: a bad date list that exists on a platform I 352 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,680 Speaker 2: will never say the name of out loud, and it's 353 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:39,159 Speaker 2: completely private. It's not like let me publicize this and 354 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 2: make jokes on social media. It's like incredibly secure and 355 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,720 Speaker 2: you put people's names and information and you make sure 356 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,399 Speaker 2: that if something bad happens with a client that that 357 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 2: is reported, and so sex workers can search, you know, 358 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 2: if they get a client. I also just very quickly 359 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 2: want to say, we're talking a lot about what we 360 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 2: call full service sex work, so escorts. The sort of 361 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 2: archaic term is prostitution, and that exists, you know, on 362 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 2: a spectrum of street based workers who are often more 363 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 2: economically disenfranchised, you know, poor women, women of color, trans 364 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,160 Speaker 2: women disproportionately in those sectors. And you know, harmon violence 365 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,440 Speaker 2: is increased because it is in situations of poverty everywhere. 366 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 2: And then there are you know, quote higher end workers, 367 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 2: which is silly language, right, but then there's also stripping 368 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 2: and dancers which we'll be talking about soon. Yeah, totally, 369 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 2: and online workers and this client stuff like it just 370 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:31,679 Speaker 2: it doesn't translate all the time and across all of 371 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:32,239 Speaker 2: these different things. 372 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:34,560 Speaker 1: So I just want to clarify that too. No, totally, 373 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: But do you know what the tea is about why 374 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 1: I'm not good at doing ad transitions sometimes is that 375 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: I'm not always good at doing ad transitions, even though 376 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,200 Speaker 1: it's the part of this job I take the most 377 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: pride in. But here's the ads. We're back. We are 378 00:20:56,080 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 1: indeed back. You will be shocked to know, Rachel, that 379 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,200 Speaker 1: the Swedish model didn't impact the levels of sex work 380 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: done in Sweden. It just made it more dangerous. Well, 381 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: there it is. And despite the overwhelming testimony and evidence 382 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,199 Speaker 1: that sex work decriminalization is the way to go, in 383 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: my mind, it's also just like a it's just like 384 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: a basic ethical thing you just kind of can't tell 385 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: someone that they can't if jobs are allowed. This is 386 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,679 Speaker 1: a job, you know, like, oh, consenting adults can't do that. 387 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 1: And all of the arguments against sex work being like, 388 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:35,720 Speaker 1: oh it's exploita, blah blah blah. They're all just literally 389 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 1: arguments against jobs. Yeah, and no one's willing to acknowledge that. 390 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean the best slogan is sex work is 391 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 2: work and work is bad. 392 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:47,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think exactly. Yeah, totally. So despite all the 393 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 1: evidence that sex work decriminalization is the way to go, 394 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: do you have any countries of decriminalized sex work? I 395 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: don't know that. How many? Two and a half? 396 00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 2: Wow? Who gets the half Australia Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. 397 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,320 Speaker 1: I mean there's some countries that half decriminalized it, where 398 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: they've like decriminalized everything but oregonized. Like there's like places 399 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:11,399 Speaker 1: where you're not allowed to own a brothel, but you 400 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,679 Speaker 1: can buy and sell sex otherwise. It's like, yeah, but 401 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:19,160 Speaker 1: two countries, New Zealand and Belgium have decriminalized sex work, 402 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 1: and half of the I'm going to call them states 403 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: because I didn't look up what they're called in Australia 404 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: have decriminalized sex work. There's a solid number of countries 405 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:33,440 Speaker 1: that have legalized, that is to say, government regulated sex work. 406 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:35,679 Speaker 1: And there's countries where sex work is legal as long 407 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: as you don't organize it like a business. Like I 408 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: was saying, in the United States of America, the freest 409 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 1: country on earth, we have some of the most restrictive 410 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,879 Speaker 1: laws in the world about sex work. I think people 411 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: like might have thought we were like normal. We're like, oh, 412 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,399 Speaker 1: everyone kind of does this except in Amsterdam or something. 413 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: You know, like half the world is as bad as us. 414 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,360 Speaker 2: But like, yeah, well, because we love our police in prisons, 415 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:00,240 Speaker 2: and so the more things we can criminal. 416 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: The better, especially poor women. Those are some people we 417 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: fucking love to criminalize. It's really true. Anything we see 418 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: as vice. Ooh, that's not going well. 419 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, are you going to talk about backpage and Cesta Fasta? 420 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:18,360 Speaker 1: I am not. Can I jump in with that? Yeah, totally? Okay. 421 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:22,920 Speaker 2: So the just in terms of like harsh us stuff 422 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 2: Sesta Fasta, which Kamala Harris passed and loved and promoted, 423 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:30,640 Speaker 2: so a lot of sex workers were critical of her. 424 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 2: In addition to all the many other reasons to be 425 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 2: critical of her. What Cesta Fasta did is made it 426 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 2: harder to screen, as you were talking about before screening 427 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 2: clients because it shut down a lot of Internet sites 428 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 2: where sex workers would do the screening. 429 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,120 Speaker 1: And these were laws that were passed. 430 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 2: Yes, Cesta fast is still in you can fact check that, 431 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 2: but as far as I know, Cesta Foster is still alive. 432 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:52,919 Speaker 1: And well, yeah, no I believe so. 433 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so that you know, and sex workers find 434 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 2: a way. We have lots of channels to you know, 435 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 2: continue to try to keep each other safe, but it's 436 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:03,919 Speaker 2: a lot harder because of sex to fasta. 437 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: Yeah. I hate how a lot of We're gonna talk 438 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: about this a little bit later, but not enough, and 439 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 1: you mentioned this a little bit earlier. I hate how, like, 440 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 1: sex trafficking is a real thing and a real problem, 441 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:18,960 Speaker 1: but it's such a code where it's practically a dog 442 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: whistle for just I hate sex workers. Yeah, when people 443 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 1: talk about like that, is there their concern is sex 444 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:27,879 Speaker 1: trafficking because there's there's people who get arrested, Like I 445 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: talk to someone who got arrested for sex trafficking herself 446 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 1: because she went from one state to another to sleep 447 00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:37,159 Speaker 1: with someone for money. Yeah, you know, and like I 448 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:38,920 Speaker 1: don't know anyway, Yeah, no, I mean. 449 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:42,359 Speaker 2: And then like a sex worker helping another sex worker 450 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,240 Speaker 2: find ways to stay safe could be considered a pimp 451 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:50,280 Speaker 2: because she's like helping another person learn the screening site 452 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:52,359 Speaker 2: for example, like here's how it feels a way to 453 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,359 Speaker 2: stay safe. That person teaching that other person like ye 454 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:57,400 Speaker 2: could be considered part of trafficking. 455 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:02,359 Speaker 1: But there is some legalized full service sex work in 456 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:08,680 Speaker 1: the United States in the freest state in the country, Nevada. 457 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:10,439 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's actually the freest state and 458 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 1: any other context, and that we're going to talk about 459 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:18,479 Speaker 1: how its labor conditions are terrible, but there is some 460 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: legalized sex work in Nevada where you can buy and 461 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:25,200 Speaker 1: sell sex work in licensed brothels and six rural counties. 462 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,680 Speaker 1: It's legal in ten, but only six of them actually 463 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: have brothels. So there are nineteen legal brothels in the 464 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,720 Speaker 1: United States as of September twenty twenty three, and a 465 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,160 Speaker 1: couple weeks ago, the news broke that one of those 466 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 1: nineteen brothels is unionizing Sherry's Ranch outside the bustling city 467 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:50,119 Speaker 1: of parump Nevada, population forty four thousand people. How do 468 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,640 Speaker 1: you spell parump. Yeah, I might be pronouncing this wrong. 469 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:57,800 Speaker 1: I don't know. Pah rump. I mean, how perfect is that? Yeah? 470 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:03,200 Speaker 1: We love a double entendra. Yeah. In sex Workerland. It's 471 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,359 Speaker 1: about an hour from Vegas, so it's considered part of 472 00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 1: the Vegas area. Sex work is not legal in whatever 473 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: county Las Vegas is in, which is probably Las Vegas County. 474 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: I don't know how to do my job. And this 475 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,679 Speaker 1: ranch styles itself as a sex resort rather than just 476 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:21,399 Speaker 1: a brothel. It's an upscale kind of place, or at 477 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: least it claims to be, and some of the interior 478 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:25,920 Speaker 1: photos look up scale, and some of the exterior photos 479 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:30,439 Speaker 1: do not look upscale. There have been brothels in that 480 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:35,240 Speaker 1: area in Perump for decades at least, probably longer before 481 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: the limited brothel legalization in nineteen seventy one, there were 482 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,520 Speaker 1: just sort of informal brothels and trailers in this little 483 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:46,240 Speaker 1: crossroads town. Then by the early nineteen eighties, one spot 484 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,720 Speaker 1: gets called Sherry's Ranch, and then its current owner, who's 485 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: not named Sherry, a Chicago cop named Chuck Lee. Oh no, yeah, 486 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:58,880 Speaker 1: wompomp Chuck Lee bought it in two thousand and one 487 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,239 Speaker 1: and rebranded it as an upscale sex resort run by 488 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 1: a cop named Chuck Lee. Oh gosh. The workers are 489 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,959 Speaker 1: organizing as the United Brothel Workers as part of the CWA, 490 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:17,679 Speaker 1: the Communication Workers of America. And I'm more aware of 491 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: the labor conditions than strip clubs than brothels, since there's 492 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,280 Speaker 1: nineteen brothels in the United States, but based on what 493 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:27,160 Speaker 1: I'm reading, it sounds comparable. It is the same problems, 494 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,679 Speaker 1: types of problems that I've talked to dancers about. The 495 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:35,399 Speaker 1: workers at Sherry Ranch are independent contractors rather than employees. 496 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:39,680 Speaker 1: The bosses they're like, no, no, no, no, Our contractors 497 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:44,119 Speaker 1: prefer their independence, but all of the workers are like, no, 498 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: we would like to be employees, so we have labor 499 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:50,359 Speaker 1: protections please m hm. And I'm suspecting this is my 500 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:53,240 Speaker 1: inference here. The brothel owners probably took notes from the 501 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 1: way that dancers at strip clubs were treated, and they 502 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: use very similar loopholes to make sure workers have the 503 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:01,600 Speaker 1: worst of both worlds of employee and freelancer. 504 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:04,960 Speaker 2: That's like adjunct teaching, which is the thing I have 505 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:08,879 Speaker 2: also done at colleges, and it's really bad, and you 506 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:10,600 Speaker 2: get paid a lot worse than you do than when 507 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:11,520 Speaker 2: you're a sex worker. 508 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:17,959 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's why it's good to know. Their schedules and 509 00:28:18,119 --> 00:28:21,520 Speaker 1: rates are set by the brothel, which takes fifty percent 510 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: of their tips and another thirty percent off the top 511 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:27,920 Speaker 1: if any customer shows up in the complementary limo service 512 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 1: that is provided by the brothel, which most customers do 513 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: because it basically is like, hey, we're a Vegas brothel. 514 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 1: You just got to get in this limo for an 515 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,720 Speaker 1: hour in order to come here, right. Workers generally leave 516 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:44,560 Speaker 1: with about thirty percent of what their customer pays them woof. 517 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 1: And I believe that on top of that, they're paying 518 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:49,920 Speaker 1: for their own room and board at the ranch themselves, 519 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:52,560 Speaker 1: although I wasn't able to confirm that, but I read 520 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:56,959 Speaker 1: one thing that implied that. And since they're not employees, 521 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: the brothel doesn't have to contribute to their taxes, so 522 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 1: they're the same double taxes that freelancers get hit with. 523 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:05,880 Speaker 1: The workers stay for a few weeks at a time 524 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 1: at the ranch, and while they're there, their laptops are confiscated, 525 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: their email, I believe, is monitored, the audio of their 526 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: rooms is monitored to eavesdrop on the negotiations with customers 527 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:18,920 Speaker 1: to making sure they're not like, give me some money 528 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: that I'm going to keep, make sure that Sherry and 529 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:27,080 Speaker 1: the cop don't get it. That's not the direct quote, 530 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: but you know, and for years the workers kind of 531 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: didn't think they could really do anything about it because 532 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: of this tenuous legalization. Their work is barely legal, and 533 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: that gives their employers so much power and negotiations. So again, 534 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: not good for workers. Nope. Then, in December of last year, 535 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:53,840 Speaker 1: twenty twenty five, for those of you listening in the 536 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:58,720 Speaker 1: future on a scavenged technology device left over after the 537 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:01,840 Speaker 1: fallout from the bombs that dry in twenty thirty three, 538 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: but for us here in the present, in December of 539 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: last year, twenty twenty five, Sherry's ranch tried to force 540 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:11,720 Speaker 1: a new contract onto everyone that was far and away 541 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: more exploitative. And I bet if you're thinking, I wonder 542 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: if AI is fucking over sex workers, the answer is yes, 543 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:24,040 Speaker 1: it sure is. This new contract. This is funny because 544 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 1: this is actually similar to the contracts that a lot 545 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:29,840 Speaker 1: of labor unions in all entertainment is dealing with right 546 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 1: now too right, It's like, you can't just get our 547 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 1: AI likeness for free, you know, this new contract would 548 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 1: allow the brothel to use the worker's likeness with a 549 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: quote irrevocable worldwide, perpetual royalty free, non exclusive license. It 550 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: also takes the power of attorney away from the workers 551 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:53,520 Speaker 1: in case they produce any content like porn and don't 552 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 1: immediately transfer the intellectual property to the ranch. Wow, this 553 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:02,600 Speaker 1: power of attorney extends after death. If someone shoots a 554 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:06,160 Speaker 1: porn then dies, the ranch would still be able to 555 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:11,160 Speaker 1: sign as them to transfer ownership over to them. Worker 556 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:15,440 Speaker 1: Jupiter Jetson told the press, quote, this is how you 557 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:19,320 Speaker 1: find yourself on a website offering AI companionship without ever 558 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:24,080 Speaker 1: seeing a penny. So they decided to organize. And if 559 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:28,440 Speaker 1: you want to organize, why am I bad at this today? 560 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,240 Speaker 1: You know, if you had coolers on media, I wouldn't 561 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: even have to do this. 562 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:36,800 Speaker 2: Organize your wallet to subscribe. 563 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:46,840 Speaker 1: Rachel's got it today? Anyway, here's some ads and rebec 564 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:51,000 Speaker 1: So the workers start trying to organize. They want fair contracts, 565 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:53,960 Speaker 1: they want transparent fee structures, they want the right to 566 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,280 Speaker 1: collective bargaining, and I suspect they probably don't want AI 567 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:00,800 Speaker 1: companions of themselves being used for free and to perpetuty 568 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: after they die. If anyone, Sophie, I think I can 569 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 1: say this, if anyone makes an AI model of me 570 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,200 Speaker 1: after I die, it's legal to kill the person who 571 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,320 Speaker 1: makes that model. Is that correct? That's correct? Okay, I 572 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:16,760 Speaker 1: just wanted to make sure. So now Jetson, who has 573 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,480 Speaker 1: worked there for eight years, was fired alongside another worker 574 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,560 Speaker 1: as soon as they started organizing, and then a third 575 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:26,240 Speaker 1: worker was fired for refusing to sign the new contract. 576 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:32,360 Speaker 1: Retaliatory firing is, of course, patently illegal, but incredibly common 577 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:36,640 Speaker 1: across all industries, and the biggest battle they're facing right 578 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 1: now in their union drive is that they need to 579 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:45,280 Speaker 1: be understood as employees, and they basically need to prove like, no, 580 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,760 Speaker 1: we really are employees. You're just treating us like this 581 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:50,520 Speaker 1: because you want to get away with some bullshit. And 582 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:53,400 Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen, I believe it was Sherry's Ranch, they 583 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: had a federal lawsuit to try and classify the workers 584 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:58,520 Speaker 1: as workers, but it was settled out of court in 585 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three, and I haven't found more information about 586 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:05,120 Speaker 1: what the settlement looked like. Maybe there'll be more information 587 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:07,080 Speaker 1: out by the time you read this, especially after the 588 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:09,040 Speaker 1: bombs have fallen. Obviously, is that going to be the 589 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:12,440 Speaker 1: main flashpoint that is going to cause the War of 590 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:17,680 Speaker 1: twenty thirty three. But these workers, they have a precedent 591 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:22,440 Speaker 1: for sex worker organizing, and that precedent isn't in Vegas, 592 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:28,360 Speaker 1: but in another wild West den of Sin, San Francisco, 593 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:29,760 Speaker 1: former Den of Sin. 594 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 2: I mean, it's actually full of real sin now, I know, right, 595 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 2: like really awful tech pros and the most intense wealth 596 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 2: disparities I've witnessed. I mean, I know there's amazing listeners 597 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:45,760 Speaker 2: in SF right now, but man, every time I go 598 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:48,560 Speaker 2: to that city recently, it's like very grim. 599 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:51,719 Speaker 1: I agree. Literally, the next line of my script was, Oh, 600 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: how the mighty have fallen? Oh how the money have fallen? Indeed, 601 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 1: rip to San Francisco of your. 602 00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:59,800 Speaker 2: Indeed, indeed, yeah, tell the people what it used to be. 603 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 1: Like, Well when I first went there in eighteen forty 604 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: nine in the gold Rush, because we are going back 605 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:08,960 Speaker 1: to then. I'm trying to spread this rumor that I'm 606 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 1: a vampire and through the bombit Haymarket. You are, Yeah, 607 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:14,000 Speaker 1: I think it's like one of those things where I 608 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,800 Speaker 1: feel like the best way to hide is by liketing, 609 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:21,319 Speaker 1: like I'm a vampire, and everyone's like, yeah, whatever, you 610 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: fucking nerd, you are a vampire. No, no, yeah, exactly totally. 611 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:30,520 Speaker 2: It actually makes like so much sense. I'm surprised I 612 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:31,920 Speaker 2: have not heard that rumor sooner. 613 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's why no one see me during the daylight. 614 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:39,960 Speaker 1: So I've talked a little bit before on the show 615 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,120 Speaker 1: about the history of San Francisco and that it was 616 00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:45,880 Speaker 1: sort of a wild Western city form. Originally it was 617 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 1: a tiny frontier wall. Originally it was occupied by the 618 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: Indigenous people from whom it was stolen. But you know, 619 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:54,960 Speaker 1: in the United States sense, it was a tiny frontier 620 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:58,680 Speaker 1: town until in eighteen forty nine the gold rush started 621 00:34:58,719 --> 00:35:01,640 Speaker 1: and the city became a boom town. And we've weirdly 622 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,040 Speaker 1: talked about this chunk of San Francisco several times. If 623 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:06,640 Speaker 1: you want to listen to our episode about the The 624 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:08,920 Speaker 1: Spirit of the forty eight Ers, which is about the 625 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:12,600 Speaker 1: refugees from Europe who came over in eighteen forty eight 626 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:15,799 Speaker 1: after the failed revolution in Europe, and then we've talked 627 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:19,719 Speaker 1: about it in our Wild Western Sex Work episodes with 628 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:23,920 Speaker 1: Courtney Cosack and probably other times. Oh and then a 629 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:26,000 Speaker 1: whole bunch of like Stonewall episodes and anytime we talk 630 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:29,920 Speaker 1: about gay stuff anyway. San Francisco, for a city that 631 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 1: I kind of dislike, you come up a lot, but 632 00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 1: I think I kind of dislike it because I could 633 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:36,239 Speaker 1: never afford to live in it. By the time I 634 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:37,759 Speaker 1: started hanging out in the Bay, there were squats in 635 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:41,440 Speaker 1: Oakland and Berkeley and not in San Francisco. Right, Okay, 636 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:44,800 Speaker 1: So eighteen forty nine, there's a gold rush cities of Boomtown, 637 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:47,680 Speaker 1: and it was always a place for sailors and gamblers 638 00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:50,239 Speaker 1: and sex workers and various na'er do wells and all 639 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,920 Speaker 1: the good and bad ways. You had a red light 640 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:56,680 Speaker 1: district called the Barbary Coast during the gold Rush. It 641 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,600 Speaker 1: was full of dance halls and saloons and storefront opium shops. 642 00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:02,719 Speaker 1: Like like I think we kind of like see it 643 00:36:02,719 --> 00:36:04,719 Speaker 1: as like, ah, you know, it's like a like a 644 00:36:04,719 --> 00:36:07,040 Speaker 1: little sketchy place. Like no. I could literally walk into 645 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:08,560 Speaker 1: the drug store and be like, hello, I would like 646 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,880 Speaker 1: crime drugs please from the crime store that has a storefront, 647 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:15,720 Speaker 1: and they would be like, here's your crime. Organized crime 648 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:18,279 Speaker 1: was there, of course, because when there's crime happening, there's 649 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:20,640 Speaker 1: people who want to organize it and or profit off 650 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:24,480 Speaker 1: of it. Ex cons from Australia New York showed up 651 00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:28,200 Speaker 1: and brought their gangs with them. The district's name was 652 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:31,680 Speaker 1: a reference to North Africa's Barbary Coast, which was famous 653 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:37,239 Speaker 1: for slavery and piracy crime. And at first I was like, well, 654 00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:39,840 Speaker 1: San Francisco wasn't actually a slave port in the traditional sense. 655 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:45,280 Speaker 1: But there's two forms of non free work happening there. 656 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:50,279 Speaker 1: One there's shanghai in happening. And this is continuing to 657 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:52,800 Speaker 1: use old time eracist language like Barbary Coast and shanghai, 658 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:56,040 Speaker 1: and shanghaiing is where you get drugged at a bar 659 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:58,320 Speaker 1: and wake up on a ship and suddenly you're hired 660 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:01,840 Speaker 1: as a sailor without your consent. WHOA. Yeah, this is 661 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:06,320 Speaker 1: like really common all throughout the Western world and probably 662 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:08,040 Speaker 1: other places, but that's the only place I've personally read 663 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:10,040 Speaker 1: about it where you just are literally like, ah, I'm 664 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:13,040 Speaker 1: out on the town and I got drunk. Oh there 665 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:15,160 Speaker 1: was drugs in my drink. Oh, now I'm on a ship. 666 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:17,520 Speaker 1: Oh a third of us are going to die on 667 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:22,560 Speaker 1: this voyage. Yeah. The poor have never been treated very well. 668 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: I'm starting to think that the porscheite organized as a class. 669 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:28,240 Speaker 1: H you might be onto something. 670 00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:32,720 Speaker 2: This also feels like another sort of I think myth 671 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:36,279 Speaker 2: is that trafficking only has to do with sex, and 672 00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:38,880 Speaker 2: what you're saying, you know, is that it doesn't. And actually, 673 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:43,000 Speaker 2: in the US, the most trafficked workers are agriculture workers 674 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:43,960 Speaker 2: and domestic workers. 675 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:48,359 Speaker 1: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Yeah, And unfortunately, 676 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:53,799 Speaker 1: the other group of unfree thing happening in San Francisco 677 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:59,040 Speaker 1: in the Barbary District Barbary Coast was enslaved Chinese sex 678 00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:01,799 Speaker 1: workers who were trafficked from China. And I've talked about 679 00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:03,279 Speaker 1: this a greater length and my sex work in the 680 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,000 Speaker 1: Wild West episodes a couple of years ago, and it's 681 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:08,719 Speaker 1: there's like these topics that every time I bring them 682 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:10,719 Speaker 1: up on this show, I'm like, oh, crap, I got 683 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:14,200 Speaker 1: to bring up the eugenics common among everybody in the 684 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:17,560 Speaker 1: nineteenth century, or you know, whatever this thing is. And 685 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:21,759 Speaker 1: sex trafficking is both a real problem and a boogeyman 686 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:25,400 Speaker 1: brought up by anti sex work activists. They like advocate 687 00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:28,320 Speaker 1: for laws that harm women and don't meaningfully impact sex trafficking. 688 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:31,520 Speaker 2: But it was really yeah, great way to put it. Yeah, 689 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:36,520 Speaker 2: both real and a boogeyman. Repeat that forever. Yeah. 690 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:39,239 Speaker 1: People aren't very good at holding two thoughts at once. 691 00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:44,239 Speaker 2: People love nuance. People are really good readers and critical thinkers. 692 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:48,600 Speaker 2: People can really think beyond short from video content. We're 693 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:52,120 Speaker 2: really in like a rich time of human thought. 694 00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:54,040 Speaker 1: I often, I don't know if you're can be proud 695 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:55,440 Speaker 1: of this or not. I often describe you as the 696 00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,600 Speaker 1: person who finally explained to me what dialectics meant. 697 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:00,920 Speaker 2: You do give me that title, which I yeah, I guess, I'll, 698 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:02,320 Speaker 2: I guess, I'll proudly. 699 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:06,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, but don't worry, audience. We're not going to explain 700 00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:08,960 Speaker 1: it right now. But it's basically this thing we're talking about, 701 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:13,240 Speaker 1: depending on which version of dialectors you use. But you're sorry. 702 00:39:13,239 --> 00:39:16,120 Speaker 1: It's like the amount of times I say the phrase 703 00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:20,680 Speaker 1: two things can be true at once. Yeah, and yeah, 704 00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:24,719 Speaker 1: that's the whole statement. Uh huh. Yeah, that's like all 705 00:39:24,719 --> 00:39:26,440 Speaker 1: you need to say. Sometimes people are like, yeah, but 706 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:28,240 Speaker 1: what about this other thing, and you're like that seems 707 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:33,520 Speaker 1: also true. Yeah, like congratulations, I can point out other 708 00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:36,560 Speaker 1: true things. M M and accordion is a free read instrument? 709 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:40,080 Speaker 1: Is that relevant to what we're talking about Yeah, sorry, 710 00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:41,759 Speaker 1: there's an accordion in my line of sight. It's all 711 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:46,439 Speaker 1: I had the same instrument family as the harmonica, now 712 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:47,120 Speaker 1: you know. 713 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:47,640 Speaker 2: No, I know. 714 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:51,480 Speaker 1: Wow, thank you for telling us. Yeah, you're welcome. So 715 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,520 Speaker 1: the Barbary Coast of San Francisco was a pretty wild place, 716 00:39:56,880 --> 00:40:01,840 Speaker 1: and there's this other type of people who make money 717 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:04,400 Speaker 1: off of like laschevious. I don't know how to pronounce 718 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:09,120 Speaker 1: this word, like saltry, sordid things, you know, and it's 719 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,160 Speaker 1: entertainment people like us right now, this isn't even an 720 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:15,160 Speaker 1: ad pivot, but they've been doing this forever. A writer 721 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:18,800 Speaker 1: at the time, in eighteen seventy six, Benjamin E. Lloyd 722 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:23,279 Speaker 1: wrote a book called Lights and Shades in San Francisco, 723 00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:25,880 Speaker 1: and it's available on archive dot org. It's linked in 724 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:30,600 Speaker 1: the sources and by my read, this book was meant 725 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:33,759 Speaker 1: to cash in on the sleaziness of San Francisco. But 726 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:37,279 Speaker 1: much like so, instead of true crime podcast, what you 727 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:40,640 Speaker 1: had at the time was people writing aghast moral condemnations 728 00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:43,440 Speaker 1: and like, let me tell you these horrible things that 729 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:45,440 Speaker 1: people do, and they're like, oh and they did what 730 00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:48,720 Speaker 1: to the what? Oh? And people can imagine me making 731 00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:53,520 Speaker 1: facial expressions and handgesters as I do this and pretending 732 00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:55,439 Speaker 1: to be above this vice while actually what they're doing 733 00:40:55,480 --> 00:41:00,759 Speaker 1: is participating in it. Sounds familiar. Yeah, this book is 734 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:04,560 Speaker 1: even plagiarized. I think. Wow. In the introduction of the book, 735 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,440 Speaker 1: they write much that this volume contains has been previously 736 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,600 Speaker 1: offered to the public in print. So therefore we make 737 00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:15,760 Speaker 1: no claim to originality. We have simply revived and endeavored 738 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:21,640 Speaker 1: to renew. What a scam. I know, I love it. 739 00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,719 Speaker 1: They're just like the crime I'm doing is plagiarism to 740 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:27,800 Speaker 1: try and sell books about sex from other books about sex. 741 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:31,520 Speaker 1: And I really want to read this whole book at 742 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:33,799 Speaker 1: some point. But this was me getting lost in context hole, 743 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:35,839 Speaker 1: which is what I do every week. And then at 744 00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:37,640 Speaker 1: some point, right before I have to record, I have 745 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:40,400 Speaker 1: to stop that. But to quote the book about the 746 00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:42,319 Speaker 1: Barbary Coast. So this is what people are saying in 747 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:46,520 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy six, The Barbary Coast is the haunt of 748 00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:50,520 Speaker 1: the low and vile of every kind, the petty thief, 749 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:56,120 Speaker 1: the house burglar, the tramp, the horror monger, leude women, cutthroats, 750 00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:03,600 Speaker 1: murders not murderers. Murderers are all here, licentiousness, debauchery, pollution. 751 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:05,160 Speaker 1: I don't know what means in this context, but I 752 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:09,240 Speaker 1: believe it's some kind of moral pollution, loathsome disease, insanity 753 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:14,000 Speaker 1: from dissipation, misery, poverty, wealth. I like that these are 754 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:17,640 Speaker 1: the two stings right next to each other. Profanity, blasphemy 755 00:42:17,840 --> 00:42:22,759 Speaker 1: and death are there, and hell yawning to receive the 756 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:25,520 Speaker 1: putrid mass is also there. 757 00:42:25,719 --> 00:42:30,319 Speaker 2: Hell yawning to receive the putrid mass. WHOA that goes hard? 758 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:32,239 Speaker 1: Yeah? No, that was like. I found that quote in 759 00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:34,400 Speaker 1: an article about the Barbary Coast and I was like, no, 760 00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:37,120 Speaker 1: I need more ess. That's why I looked up the book. 761 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:41,200 Speaker 1: That's a pretty incredible intro. And do you know what 762 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:43,920 Speaker 1: this is? Again? Not an aatransiction. There's another group that 763 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,400 Speaker 1: hung out there or a name of a group of people, 764 00:42:46,719 --> 00:42:50,080 Speaker 1: The gay Blades hung out there. Have you heard this 765 00:42:50,120 --> 00:42:50,800 Speaker 1: phrase before? 766 00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:53,799 Speaker 2: I don't think so. I mean, is it another gay 767 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:55,920 Speaker 2: hockey team shout out to heter rivalry? 768 00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:00,080 Speaker 1: Oh my god, but they would be gay blades. I 769 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:02,520 Speaker 1: actually know only one of them, the Russian, is a 770 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:05,239 Speaker 1: gay blade. Okay, I can't remember the names, but I 771 00:43:05,239 --> 00:43:08,560 Speaker 1: watched the whole first season amazing, you cried, Yeah, the 772 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:12,040 Speaker 1: Russian is a gay blade, the Canadian is not. So 773 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:13,719 Speaker 1: I was like, all right, what's a gay blade? And 774 00:43:13,760 --> 00:43:16,640 Speaker 1: this led me to realize I didn't know the history 775 00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:20,680 Speaker 1: of the word gay. Obviously it means joyful and happy 776 00:43:20,719 --> 00:43:24,200 Speaker 1: and old timey songs, but why homosexual. I'm like, oh, 777 00:43:24,239 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 1: you know, we're happy, go lucky, right, I don't know, 778 00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:29,200 Speaker 1: but I found a write up on a blog called 779 00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:32,560 Speaker 1: Historically Speaking, and it points out that, going back to 780 00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:37,360 Speaker 1: sixteen thirty seven, being gay didn't just mean happy, but 781 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:39,200 Speaker 1: it was a word for the kind of person who 782 00:43:39,239 --> 00:43:43,800 Speaker 1: was quote addicted to social pleasures. So men and women 783 00:43:43,880 --> 00:43:46,800 Speaker 1: were both gay if they led immoral lives of pleasure 784 00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:51,960 Speaker 1: and vice. Libertines kind of yeah, libertines Oscar Wilde double gay, 785 00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:58,120 Speaker 1: double gay. Yeah. Yeah. It also means that gay is 786 00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:04,000 Speaker 1: a reclaimed slur. Is wow. Love that, Whereas when I 787 00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:06,560 Speaker 1: thought it just meant happy, I was like, whatever, crazer, 788 00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:10,640 Speaker 1: A gay blade is an old timey word for a 789 00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:14,200 Speaker 1: dashing swordsman, or the kind of person who is the 790 00:44:14,280 --> 00:44:19,919 Speaker 1: logical cultural descendant of dashing swordsmen. Incredible, and that rules too, 791 00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:22,799 Speaker 1: and we got to bring that back. If you're like 792 00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:25,120 Speaker 1: trends and wear makeup, I don't care what gender you are, 793 00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:27,680 Speaker 1: and carry a gun you are now a gay blade blade? 794 00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:32,400 Speaker 2: Those are really good criteria. Yeah, like yes, yeah. 795 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:35,359 Speaker 1: Or a sword you can carry us uh legally don't. 796 00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:38,840 Speaker 1: I don't know what about pocket knives. Oh, pocket knives 797 00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:43,680 Speaker 1: could work, especially butterfly knives. Okay, already very gay. Mmmmmm, 798 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:46,000 Speaker 1: I think it's hilarious. At one point, as soon as 799 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:47,879 Speaker 1: I was like an adult and lived in a free 800 00:44:47,920 --> 00:44:51,479 Speaker 1: state by terrible definitions, I like ran out and tried 801 00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:53,279 Speaker 1: all the kind of knives that were illegal when I 802 00:44:53,320 --> 00:44:56,879 Speaker 1: was a kid, you know, and like none of them 803 00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:01,799 Speaker 1: are like good weapons, Like a butterfly knife that is 804 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:05,120 Speaker 1: slower to open than a regular old folding pocket knife. 805 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:07,640 Speaker 2: I can never open a knife fast opening knives is 806 00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:09,040 Speaker 2: not I've never experienced that. 807 00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:12,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, I got really into butterfly knives during my totally 808 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:20,400 Speaker 1: heterosexual interest in knives. The coast was destroyed like the 809 00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:23,600 Speaker 1: cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in nineteen oh six with 810 00:45:23,640 --> 00:45:26,880 Speaker 1: the earthquake that trashed the city. And I'm just kidding 811 00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:29,319 Speaker 1: about the biblical reference because here now I can point 812 00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:33,120 Speaker 1: out one of my other weird favorite facts. I loved 813 00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:36,880 Speaker 1: the tone shifted your voice. It was so fun. That 814 00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:39,719 Speaker 1: was so fun. Thank you. Do you know why in 815 00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:42,800 Speaker 1: the Bible God destroyed Sodom and Gomorra? I don't. I 816 00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:45,560 Speaker 1: mean I probably did at some point. Oh, it's totally fine. 817 00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:48,200 Speaker 1: The regular right wing Christian talking point is that God 818 00:45:48,280 --> 00:45:51,719 Speaker 1: killed Sodom and Gomora are the cities because they were gay? 819 00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:54,759 Speaker 2: Okay, well that's what I mean, sodomy. That's why, right, 820 00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:58,400 Speaker 2: that's why sodomy? Right, yeah, okay, yeah, Like even in 821 00:45:58,480 --> 00:45:59,919 Speaker 2: the Bible, this I didn't source. 822 00:46:00,200 --> 00:46:01,680 Speaker 1: I just spent too much of my time watching this 823 00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:05,839 Speaker 1: Bible scholar named Dad McLellan. In the Bible, God did 824 00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:07,879 Speaker 1: not destroy the cities for being gay, but for being 825 00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:13,160 Speaker 1: horrible to foreigners. They were not being nice to people 826 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:16,000 Speaker 1: who weren't from there. That is why God was like, 827 00:46:16,080 --> 00:46:20,480 Speaker 1: now you're getting smoked. However, in this case, the thing 828 00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:23,160 Speaker 1: that the people were doing to foreigners was raping them 829 00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:26,360 Speaker 1: to death, jeez, which is a It takes a pretty 830 00:46:26,360 --> 00:46:30,120 Speaker 1: inventive mind to interpret that as a condemnation of consensual 831 00:46:30,160 --> 00:46:35,640 Speaker 1: gay sex. So yeah, be good foreigners. I don't know 832 00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:40,040 Speaker 1: that's the better takeaway. Yeah, the Barbary Coast was destroyed 833 00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:42,080 Speaker 1: nineteen oh six along with most of the city. It 834 00:46:42,120 --> 00:46:45,000 Speaker 1: was rebuilt, but a bit more upscale, and then in 835 00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:48,240 Speaker 1: nineteen thirteen there started to be some zoning regulations around 836 00:46:48,239 --> 00:46:51,480 Speaker 1: houses of ill repute, and then prohibition really killed the 837 00:46:51,560 --> 00:46:56,280 Speaker 1: vibe of that era, but the spirit remained in many ways. 838 00:46:56,920 --> 00:46:59,960 Speaker 1: And the reason that San Francisco became a gay hey 839 00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:03,080 Speaker 1: is entirely related to how it was a place for 840 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:08,960 Speaker 1: lifestyle criminality, because being gay was a crime, So you 841 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:12,400 Speaker 1: go to where there's crime and where you can do crime. 842 00:47:13,600 --> 00:47:16,600 Speaker 1: We talked in the Stonewall episodes about Tommy's Place, which 843 00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:18,840 Speaker 1: was a lesbian bar in San Francisco run by this 844 00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:23,600 Speaker 1: butch lesbian gangster named Tommy Vasu who like wasn't actually 845 00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:25,440 Speaker 1: cool people did cool stuff in that same way that 846 00:47:25,480 --> 00:47:28,239 Speaker 1: like we all love pirates, but they're bad people. Yeah, 847 00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:32,720 Speaker 1: you know, Tommy was absolutely a pimp, absolutely pushing drugs, 848 00:47:33,080 --> 00:47:37,279 Speaker 1: like absolutely providing drugs to underage kids. Like yeah, but 849 00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:39,480 Speaker 1: you know it was like a I was just kind 850 00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:43,400 Speaker 1: of doing what everyone who owned bars in that area did. Yeah. Yeah, 851 00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:45,480 Speaker 1: it's been a moment since I wrote about her. I 852 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:47,400 Speaker 1: think she like went to prison, got out of prison, 853 00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:49,800 Speaker 1: and then like she's like in her fifties or sixties 854 00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:52,000 Speaker 1: or someone, and someone's just like, no, it's your time 855 00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:54,400 Speaker 1: to go, and someone like kills her over crime stuff. 856 00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:57,160 Speaker 2: I would like to see like the wire version of 857 00:47:57,200 --> 00:47:59,719 Speaker 2: that of that story, because we would all still love 858 00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:02,120 Speaker 2: tom and Tommy would be a flawed anti hero. But 859 00:48:02,480 --> 00:48:05,200 Speaker 2: so Tommy was probably hot. Is my guest with a 860 00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:06,840 Speaker 2: name like Tommy and be in a butch? 861 00:48:07,200 --> 00:48:11,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't know. Always wore suits and fedoras, like yeah, 862 00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:15,640 Speaker 1: just classy as shit. Do you not cross Tommy vasu So. 863 00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:19,399 Speaker 1: San Francisco has a long and sordid history of sordidity, 864 00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:23,480 Speaker 1: and that's where the Lusty Lady operated. And the Lusty 865 00:48:23,560 --> 00:48:25,960 Speaker 1: Lady the subject of this week we will talk about 866 00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:30,719 Speaker 1: on Wednesday. Who But first we'll talk about anything you 867 00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:33,640 Speaker 1: want to plug me? Like do you already have a 868 00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:35,520 Speaker 1: book out? Could people go find your book? 869 00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:39,240 Speaker 2: People could find Roustbelt Femme wherever you get your books, 870 00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:43,000 Speaker 2: but not Amazon please. You could subscribe to my newsletter. 871 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:44,879 Speaker 1: Which is a very good newsletter. I subscribe to it, 872 00:48:44,960 --> 00:48:45,319 Speaker 1: thank you. 873 00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:48,440 Speaker 2: It's called Radical Love Letters. You could search that or 874 00:48:48,480 --> 00:48:51,800 Speaker 2: search my name? What else I do like writing, coaching 875 00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:55,160 Speaker 2: and I teach workshops sometimes, so just you know, find 876 00:48:55,200 --> 00:48:57,200 Speaker 2: me on the internet and then pre order the book 877 00:48:57,280 --> 00:48:59,439 Speaker 2: when it's out for pre order, which is not yet. 878 00:49:00,080 --> 00:49:04,600 Speaker 1: Yep. Everyone should follow Rachel Substack newsletter and also take 879 00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:06,920 Speaker 1: care of each other. That's the other thing to plug 880 00:49:07,120 --> 00:49:09,879 Speaker 1: is take care of each other because we gotta because 881 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:11,160 Speaker 1: no one else is going to do it for us. 882 00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:20,960 Speaker 1: See you all on Wednesday. Thanks for having me. Cool 883 00:49:20,960 --> 00:49:23,439 Speaker 1: People Who Did Cool Stuff is a production of cool 884 00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:26,719 Speaker 1: Zone Media. For more podcasts and cool Zone Media, visit 885 00:49:26,719 --> 00:49:29,960 Speaker 1: our website Coolzonemedia dot com or check us out on 886 00:49:30,040 --> 00:49:33,200 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, app a podcasts, or wherever you get 887 00:49:33,239 --> 00:49:34,480 Speaker 1: your podcasts.