Charis welcomes contributors femi babylon, Ashley Paige, and AK SAINI, for a conversation moderated by Tina Horn in celebration of We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival edited by Natalie West with Tina Horn.

This collection of narrative essays by sex workers presents a crystal-clear rejoinder: there's never been a better time to fight for justice. Responding to the resurgence of the #MeToo movement in 2017, sex workers from across the industry--hookers and prostitutes, strippers and dancers, porn stars, cam models, Dommes and subs alike--complicate narratives of sexual harassment and violence, and expand conversations often limited to normative workplaces.

Writing across topics such as homelessness, motherhood, and toxic masculinity, We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival gives voice to the fight for agency and accountability across sex industries. With contributions by leading voices in the movement such as Melissa Gira Grant, Ceyenne Doroshow, Audacia Ray, femi babylon, April Flores, and Yin Q, this anthology explores sex work as work, and sex workers as laboring subjects in need of respect--not rescue.

A portion of this book's net proceeds will be donated to SWOP Behind Bars (SBB).

This event is free and open to all people, especially to those who have no income or low income right now, but we encourage and appreciate a solidarity donation in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Charis Circle's mission is to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CharisCircle?code=chariscirclepage

We will be archiving this event and adding closed captioning as soon as possible after airing so that it will be accessible to deaf and HOH people. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. We are actively learning the best practices for this technology and we welcome your feedback as we begin this new way of connecting across distances.

By attending our virtual event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.

Tina Horn hosts and produces the kink podcast Why Are People Into That?! She is also the creator of the sci-fi comic book series SfSx, the author of two nonfiction books, and contributor to Theater of Terror and Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World, as well as to Rolling Stone, Hazlitt, Glamour, and Jezebel.

femi babylon— formerly known as suprihmbé— is a genderfluid byke, hoodoo-american, and erotic labor theorist who coined “proheaux womanist” and “proheauxism.” In 2018 she won a grant from the Party Noire Collective and went on to publish libra season. Known as thotscholar on Twitter, she catapulted into the realm of notorious on social media by tweeting about poverty, erotic labor, race, reproductive justice, and bisexuality. A born and bred midwestern genius, her words have been published in VICE, Wear Your Voice, Autostraddle, Afropunk, and Yale University's LPE Blog. She is also a member of the SWOP-USA Board of Directors. Her work is available at thotscholar.com.

Ashley Paige is a Queer, Black, & kinky nonbinary femme who’s taken NYC by storm for well over a decade. As a Professional Dominatrix, Fetish Porn Performer, BDSM Educator, and sex worker with more than 13+ years in the adult industry - Ashley is a force of nature that creates and inspires change in every community to which she belongs. Dedicated to empowering other underrepresented peoples – her work as an activist, model, writer, and speaker focuses on amplifying the voices of Black & Brown womxn, Trans POC, and sex workers worldwide. The driving force behind Ashley’s work is to bridge the gap between eroticism, healing, catharsis, and kink – while making BDSM, touch therapy, and quality smut with BIPOC more accessible to the communities with which she identifies. Through sharing her unique perspective gained through the intersections of kink, race, intimacy, vulnerability, and sex – Ashley diligently works toward shattering the stereotypes of what Black womxn, Femdom's, and sex workers are - while highlighting that kink can be a healing experience for all, regardless of identity. Ashley also co-hosts #DommeNation, a monthly podcast which highlights the lived experiences of Black & Brown folks involved in the BDSM community (all parts of the community) & aims to prove that Black, Brown, Indigenous, Queer, Trans and Disabled folk not only live this life, they elevate it.

AK SAINI is a sex worker, storyteller, and activist whose advocacy work has been featured on the cover of the New York Times Magazine, and Marie Claire listed them as a sex worker better suited for the presidency than Donald Trump. They have curated sex worker storytelling events and film festivals in numerous cities and played a lead role in the passage of statewide legislation to end the use of condoms as evidence of prostitution-related offenses in New York State.