Audacia Ray's Blog, page 67
July 20, 2010
Denial of Service: Sex Workers Confront Dr. Eric Goosby and Protest the Anti-Prostitution Pledge
Over the last few months, I've been consulting on communications for the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP). Mostly, my team and I have been working on internal communications and strategies for the organization, but since this week is the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, we've been working to get NSWP's messages out to the world. Here are some details on an action that was led by sex workers this week. I must admit, the first of the two videos I've posted below makes me a...
July 19, 2010
Red Umbrella Diaries: August 5th with Veronica Vera & Podcast Launch
When I started thinking about the most awesome way to do the Red Umbrella Diaries, and that things I could include to make it extra good, I decided that I really needed to be doing an audio podcast instead of video. I've got two episodes up so far, and am planning on releasing them on Sundays. The first episode is me reading a piece called "Gripe: The Relationships Between Club Staff and Dancers" by Mona of the blog Civil Undressed. I selected her piece from the submissions to the blog...
July 8, 2010
At the New Museum July 10: Projects for a Revolution in New York
Projects for a Revolution in New York
Experiments in Collective Research and Action: Some Proposals
Saturday, July 10, 2010
At the New Museum, 235 Bowery NYC
FREE, starts at 12:30 pm – I'll be speaking between 3:30 and 4:30 pm
Organized by Programs for Research and Outreach (PRO) as part of the exhibition "Museum as Hub: In and Out of Context REDUX," this event shifts between elements of a seminar, performance, screening, lecture, discussion, spoken-word event, conversation, and encounter...
July 7, 2010
Blog Carnival Call for Posts: Well Seasoned
Lots of people ask how they can be involved with the Red Umbrella Diaries if they can't get to New York to see or perform in the show. The Blog Carnival is a way for sex workers and their allies to participate in the Red Umbrella Diaries from afar. Every month, I do a carnival of pieces of writing on the upcoming event's theme.
For the next event, which takes place on August 5, the theme is Well Seasoned: Stories of Pros with Some Experiences Under Their Belts. Here's a little something to...
July 1, 2010
World Cup Fever: Has it Really Led to an Increase in Trafficking?
This post original appeared on the International Women's Health Coalition blog, Akimbo.
World Cup mania has struck worldwide, and along with the stories about team victories and groups of fans gathering cheer on their home teams, are stories about the economic effect the World Cup has on South Africa. Countries host sporting events on the scale of the World Cup and the Olympics for a number of reasons, but attracting tourists and boosting local economies is certainly a big motivator.
Despite...
June 24, 2010
Red Umbrella Diaries on July 1 – Coworkers and Co-conspirators
Hosted by Audacia Ray
Happy Ending, 302 Broome Street between Forsyth and Eldridge, in New York City
Thursday, July 1. Doors at 7 pm, reading from 8-10
21 and up – FREE
15% of the bar tab supports PROS Network (Providers and Resources Offering Services to sex workers)
Starring:
Damien Luxe is a multi-media performer and artist who has worked in DIY/indie print, web, theater and audio production for over 10 years. She has performed all over Canada and the US, has two self-published music...
June 23, 2010
Audacia Ray's Video Keynote: A Rights-Based Perspective on Improving the Lives of People in the Sex Industry
This is a video keynote speech I produced to be shown at the LOVER magazine conversation on sex work in Utrecht, Holland on June 23, 2010. Though the bulk of the conversation at the event is about local prostitution law, I was asked to provide a rights-based perspective to get the conversation started.
Thanks to Marije Janssen (website in Dutch) for the invitation. Hopefully next time I'll be delivering my speech in person.
Transcript:
The sex industry is complex and contains many different...
June 22, 2010
The Reason I Left School: Children of India Sex Workers Speak Out
This post was originally published on the International Women's Health Coalition blog, Akimbo.
Last fall, when I took a trip to India, visited with SANGRAM in Sangli district and shot a lot of video, I got to see the beginnings of a video project that was giving people in the community the skills to produce their own films. The Community Video Unit (CVU) is a project run by Video Volunteers over the course of eighteen months, and 10 people in Sangli were just starting to learn how to operate a...
June 17, 2010
New York State Allows Trafficking Survivors to Vacate Prostitution Convictions
On June 15, 2010 the New York State senate passed a bill that, effective as soon as Governor Paterson signs it, enables survivors of human trafficking to vacate their convictions for prostitution-related offenses. This amendment to New York State Criminal Procedure Law grants those who were trafficked into commercial sex the opportunity to start over with a clean slate.
The Sex Workers Project (SWP) worked closely with Assembly Member Richard Gottfried to draft and introduce the bill in April ...
Sexual Assault and Sex Workers: Some Things to Chew On
Chloe Angyal interviewed me for a piece in the Christian Science Monitor called: What would you do if you saw a woman being abused? Would it matter if she were a prostitute? No matter what a woman wears or how she acts, she deserves to be treated humanely.
My quote is one sentence on the second page of the article, but I thought I'd share the longer interview Chloe did with me via email, which better captures my perspective:
1) Briefly, what is your general perception of how sex workers are...
