Why Sex Work Decriminalization is a Feminist Issue

In July 2015, Amnesty International called for the global decriminalization of sex work in order to support "harm reduction and the human rights principles of physical integrity and autonomy." The backlash to this statement by the world’s leading human rights NGO is merely the latest chapter in an ongoing controversy within feminist discourse.

Based on a massively popular article originally published by Tina Horn on Refinery29, this lecture will guide students through major global feminist issues that intersect with the sex worker rights movement. From economic justice to trans freedom from violence, from employment discrimination to pop culture representations, from rape culture to HIV care, attendees will learn data and analysis about escorting, BDSM, porn, stripping, and camming beyond sensationalist headlines.

With a decade of experience in various parts of the sex industry, and many years covering related issues in articles, books, lectures, and podcasts, Tina Horn is the perfect person to take students on a well-researched yet colloquial dive into these contentious topics. Students will hear perspectives from sex workers themselves (with an emphasis on voices from trans*, POC, and other marginalized communities), and gain broad but detailed knowledge of the complicated history and hopeful future of feminist sexual labor politics.

The Whore Singularity

When sexually-themed online media business owners can be indicted for prostitution, when a minor can be prosecuted for “exploiting” naked images of himself, everyone’s freedom of sexual expression is under attack. Whether you share naked pictures with your partner, post online escort ads, or masturbate on a webcam, your digital sexual imagery can and will be weaponized against you through harassment, public shaming, or by the law. As more and more people become naked on the internet (professional and amateur, consensually and non-consensually), persistent whore and slut stigma affects everyone.

This workshop will address important subjects of digital privacy, modern intimacy, and the way everyone is affected by sex worker stigma.

We will politicize current events such as the Rentboy and MyRedBook raids, several cases of teenagers caught sexting, the “Fappening,” and more.

You will learn concrete risk-aware assessment tools for digital privacy, how to combat whore stigma and slut shaming in your work and personal life, and why you should (and how you can) support the decriminalization of sex work.

Polyamory Beyond Non-Monogamy: Self Love, Friendship, Flirtation

Platonic friendships, exes, fantasies, solo time: it’s not just sex with other people that brings up intense feelings of jealousy. How can we use the tools of non-monogamy culture to improve trust and compursion in all aspects our relationships? And what can polyamory principles teach us about getting our needs (for attention, intimacy, and abundance) met whether we’re currently sleeping with other people or not?

The Whorearchy

What is the Whorearchy? How can understanding it help us to combat whorephobia? This portmanteau meaning Whore-Hierarchy is a term originating from and used within the sex worker rights movement describing social stratification within the industry. In this lecture we’ll explore the intersections of identities from race to gender to class in how fantasies are marketed, pop culture representations from “trashy strippers” to “high class call girls,” and how to find yourself on the Whorearchy.