We Organized! OPN Black Sex Worker's Roundtable

We Organized! OPN Black Sex Worker's Roundtable

Author: Old Pros June 17, 2022 Duration: 53:58

On this special episode, host and human rights activist Lakeesha Harris gathers a legendary roundtable of leaders in the Black Sex Worker movement: performer/activists Sinnamon Love and Jet Setting Jasmine of the BIPOC Adult Industry Collective, and historian/professor Dr Charlene Fletcher. Together, they discuss the legacy of sex workers in fine art museums, Black women who are silenced in the archives, pleasure influence, mental health care, colorism at the strip club, and more! And Lakeesha gives a raw and righteous farewell to Old Pro News, asserting that no conversation surrounding workers rights and labor organizing is complete without sex workers at the table. 

 

Sinnamon Love is a visual artist, published writer, community organizer, and Black Feminist Pornographer. For almost 30 years, Sinnamon has created media that shifts narratives around sex work, BDSM, and motherhood. 

 

Love is a fierce advocate for Black Lives Matter, Trans Rights, Sex Workers Rights, & Decriminalization of Sex Work & Cannabis. 

 

In 2018 & 2020 she served as a Fellow of the Sex Worker Giving Circle at Third Wave Fund, the first-ever philanthropic organization to put sex workers in a position of grant making. 

 

In 2020, Sinnamon founded the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Collective, a national human rights organization dedicated to bridging the race-based, wage gap in the online sex trades by providing access to mental health resources, financial assistance, and peer-to-peer education. 

 

 In 2021, she participated in a Delphi Panel at Boston University, creating sex education curriculum for US high school students. At the top of 2022, Sinnamon joined the restructure team at the CAST-LA & The National Survivor Network, the largest network of anti-trafficking organizations, to help them move towards a pro-sex work stance.

 

Sinnamon identifies as a kinky, bi, poly, grownup. She is a vibe curator, yogi, Hip Hop & House head, writer, cannabis enthusiast, recovering serial monogamist, #naturallygrey, and happily #singleinbrooklyn.

 

Sinnamon is learning to live with a traumatic brain injury in NYC.

 

You can find out more about Sinnamon at SingleinBrooklyn.com.

The BIPOC Adult Industry Collective: https://www.bipoc-collective.org/

Charlene Fletcher: Historian, educator, and writer, Charlene J. Fletcher is the Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Research Associate in Slavery and Justice at Brown University. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Indiana University, specializing in 19th century United States and African American history and gender studies. She also served as a lecturer of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York and an adjunct lecturer in Global and Historical Studies at Butler University.

 

Charlene's research and forthcoming book explores the experiences of confined African-American women in Kentucky from Reconstruction to the Progressive Era, specifically illuminating the lives of confined Black women by examining places other than carceral locales as arenas of confinement, including mental health institutions and domestic spaces. She seeks to explore how these women both defied and defined confinement through their incarceration, interactions with public, social, and political entities of the period, as well as how they challenged ideas of race and femininity.

Charlene's work is motivated by her personal and professional experiences — particularly her work with individuals and families impacted by domestic violence and incarceration — and these experiences continue to fuel her passion for her work today.

 

Jasmine  is a Psychotherapist with a strong emphasis on Intimacy Post Injury/Illness. She is the owner and lead therapist of Blue Pearl Therapy.

Jasmine co-owns, with partner King Noire, award winning Royal Fetish Films and together have over 20 years of experience as adult entertainers, directors and producers. The duo's love of the arts, film and sex education are combined to produce erotica that stimulates and engages the audience to explore their sexual boundaries.

Their work on the Decolonization of Sex & Porn and Politics has been featured in Huffington Post, Rolling Stones, Paper Magazine, VICE, Playboy, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, BBC, Psychology Today and more.

 

https://www.jsjlinks.com/

 

https://pineapplesupport.org/n-jasmine-johnson-decosta/

 


History is often told through the lens of the powerful, but what about those who operated in the shadows? The Oldest Profession Podcast turns the spotlight on the figures who shaped culture from the margins. Hosted by Kaytlin Bailey-a stand-up comic, advocate, and self-described notorious old pro-this series digs into the lives of specific sex workers from the past, placing them firmly within the context of their era. You’ll hear about courtesans who influenced politics, brothel owners who built empires, and street-based workers who fought back against oppression, all while drawing clear lines to the modern movement for rights and dignity. It’s a blend of rigorous historical research and the kind of candid, often humorous perspective that only someone with Bailey’s unique background can provide. Created in partnership with the team at Old Pros, this podcast doesn't just recount anecdotes; it argues that understanding these "old pros" is essential to understanding our collective story. The tone is engaging and accessible, merging the depth of a history lesson with the relatable punch of comedy. For anyone curious about the untold chapters of social history, this show offers a compelling, humanizing, and surprisingly funny journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Oldest Profession Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Old Pro Panel: Melania Trump [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:44:24
On the historic Election Night of 2020, Kaytlin Bailey and Dr. Charlene Fletcher of The Oldest Profession Podcast sat down for a candid discussion about Melania Trump. The conversation explored whether or not Melania can…
Shirley Cavanaugh [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:08
Shirley Cavanaugh, a down on her luck sex worker, blew the lid off a corrupt police department in Pittsburgh in the 1950s. By chance she was falsely accused of shooting a cop, but instead of backing down, she fought back…
Holiday Special: Coming Out Stories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:57
Trigger warning: this episode discusses suicidal thoughts. Coming out as a sex worker can be an act of courage, a moment of rupture, or a slow, ongoing negotiation with the world. In this holiday special of The Oldest Pr…
Decriminalization in Rhode Island [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:03
For decades, Rhode Island effectively decriminalized indoor, consensual sex work—and the sky didn't fall. It got safer. Kaytlin traces the legal fight, the raids, and the politics, then digs into new evidence: a ~40% dro…
History of Decriminalization in Australia: Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:48
In this second and final episode on the decriminalization of sex work in Australia, host Kaytlin Bailey picks up where we left off: the 1995 vote to decriminalize sex work in New South Wales. We look at what happened aft…
History of Decriminalization in Australia: Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:35
In 1995, New South Wales, Australia became the first place on earth to fully decriminalize adult consensual sex work. How did that happen – and what can today's decrim campaigns learn from it? In this first of two episod…
Decriminalization in New Zealand [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:10
New Zealand became the first country to decriminalize sex work in 2003. NZPC leaders Catherine Healy and Annah Pickering tell the story of how it happened—and what came after. For more information, including a complete l…
Georgina Beyer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:05
Georgina Beyer made global history as the world's first openly transgender mayor and member of parliament. In this episode, host Kaytlin Bailey traces Beyer's path from boarding schools and strip clubs to the halls of po…
Carmen Rupe [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:46
Carmen Rupe was many things—drag queen, sex worker, business owner, activist, icon—and almost the mayor of Wellington. This week, Kaytlin Bailey tells the story of New Zealand's most beloved old pro, tracing her journey…
Legalization in Nevada [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:58
Nevada is the only U.S. state with legal brothels—but is it working for sex workers? In this episode, Kaytlin Bailey sits down with Jupiter Jetson, who works in a legal brothel, Dr. Barbara Brents, sociologist and expert…