I’m saddened to share that my Instagram account of YEARS has been deactivated. What was a means of generating income so that I can make a living has been shut down by the fatphobic and anti-sex work team that runs IG & FB. Already, I’ve seen a detrimental blow to my income. What may seem like a small hit to some, is a much larger problem. Instagram doesn’t like plus size women or sex workers.

The country doesn’t like sex workers either, currently.

In the short period of time that they’ve been law, FOSTA/SESTA have already drastically changed the landscape of the internet. Free speech is being destroyed and taken away under the guise of “saving sex trafficking victims”. Instead of helping those who are actually in need of help (trafficking victims), FOSTA/SESTA have meant that sex workers are having to go further underground. If we, the willing who have chosen sex work as a means of making a living, are forced further underground, what do you think that means for those who traffic humans?? Further underground they go, making their trafficking even more difficult to find and halt.

BackPage is down. Craigslist removed the personals section. The tools sex workers used to screen and verify that their clients are safe are gone. Sex workers are going missing and  dying.

I’m 100% sure that I’m missing some changes being made to the internet, but hopefully you get the picture.

But nobody cares. Who cares about a bunch of dead whores? Nobody, when it’s under the guise of saving sex trafficking victims.

There’s a huge difference between sex work and sex trafficking. Trafficking victims are taken without their consent, forced to into modern day sex slavery. Here are some links about the topic: Rolling Stone | TechDirt | Elle

Sex workers, on the other hand, willingly chose to be a part of the sex work industry. Whether strippers, escorts, cam babes, femdoms, pro-subs, fetish models, pornstars or any other type of sex work, we have chosen to be here. I’ve heard the argument from non-sex workers that we only do this for the money. Well, DUH. That’s why anyone does ANY job – for the money.

Housing isn’t free. Gas, power, and water bills aren’t free. Food isn’t free. Clothing isn’t free. Of course sex workers do this for the money. We’re just like every other human being who has a job: we just want to pay the bills. Our jobs are looked down upon because we chose to be a part of the radical idea that pleasure is a part of life.

The censorship from FOSTA/SESTA have meant that even social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are cracking down on sex workers. Even sex workers such as myself, who do not offer any escort services, are having our accounts deleted because of the censorship that is slowly taking over the internet. This censorship is killing people. This censorship is taking away the ability to work safely, to promote our work, to pay our bills.

“Get a real job” is hardly good advice. Sex work IS work. Sex work allows those with mental or physical disabilities who are unable to work a “traditional” job, a means to make a living from home.

These bills are damaging to our income. They’re damaging to our mental health. They’re damaging to our physical health. If that doesn’t bother you… You are losing your freedoms. These bills ultimately change how you can use the internet.

____________________________________________

Please follow my new Instagram account: @SydneyScreams