When I tell people I'm a happy, out, queer sex worker, they think I'm nuts.


How could I possibly get clients when I tell them I identify as queer, female-to-femme, and refuse to wear the trappings of "sexy femininity" to our sessions? How can a grrl get sex work when she wears jeans, geeky teeshirts, and converse sneakers as often as stockings and heels? When she actively talks about preferring women and trans people to men, rants about feminism and issues with "forced" bisexuality and feminization, and polyamory?


Well, I can't say I've found it to be much of an issue.


I have this image up because it was in the Sunday Sport, an incredibly heterosexist "newspaper" that basically serves to sandwich many, many photos of babes n' boobs with tiny scraps of sensationalist "news". I was asked to do an interview for them, and was initially somewhat hesitant, but when I was allowed to view the proof before publication I was actually almost impressed. And having the headline be "I love it when they suck my strap on" puts a little touch of queer sensuality into a community of people who would never have considered it before. What makes the act of sucking a strap on even more subversive, to me, is that with pegging, it's simple, people get it- anal sex feels nice for men, even if it might make them gay. ::cough:: But with sucking a strap on, it's not about the client's penis at all- it's about them pleasuring me, in that psychological way that sucking a femme's strap on does, and I love that.


Never mind that queer sex has given me a lot of ideas on how to deal with other variations in bodies- when you learn to use a thigh harness, for example, it doesn't matter so much if you can't feel your cock or move your legs- there's ways around that to have sexual experiences. I can't count the number of times my personal experiences have informed professional ones!


It's also been interesting, the more I chat with other girls who webcam, or dance at a peep show, or do Domme work or escorting. I know a LOT of queer sex workers. Like, most of the ones I know identify as queer, at least in California. Which isn't terribly surprising- Michelle Tea's Rent Girl discusses her experiences as a queer escort, for example, and how she had sex with men at work but with women at home, and I know a few people who follow the same idea. My personal upfrontness about my queerness has gotten me sessions with women curious to play with another woman, and yet also attracts men curious about genderfuck (and even a few who are just attracted to my ability to discourse). It's fantastic and leads me to believe that you can, in fact, bring your politics into the work bedroom and have it work out quite well actually. I love refusing to be invisible and on my terms.


It's not just in the world of escorting/Domming that queer sensibilities are popping up, either. Actually, the thing that inspired this post is how exciting the world of queer porn has gotten- and it's just getting better, as this Good Vibrations post points out. Where there was assumed to be no market, one is being created, with quality smut to satisfy all sorts of interests. I've definitely brought your attention to Cyber Dyke, excellent (and local!) lesbian content that embraces all sorts of bodies, and I've reviewed several porn movies that showcased queer talent, like Crash Pad and Speakeasy. I have a huge amount of admiration for Jiz Lee, a genderqueer, feminist porn performer (interviewed here) who insists the mainstream companies they work for use their gender neutral pronouns, thus making genderqueerness visible in a heternormative, cissexist industry. One orgasm at a time, people like Shine Louise Houston, Courtney Trouble, Madison Young and Roxxie are making the world of porn a safe, fun, and accessible place for queer bodies and people. Kelly Shibari's site Padded Kink, which I just shot for, isn't necessarily queer but I found shooting with her to be very sensitive to my queerness, which was excellent.


Well, with that in mind, may I recommend Queer Porn TV, a new project spearheaded by Courtney Trouble and Tina Horn?


Four snippets from their awesome manifesto that I applauded heartily-