by Aya de Leon

In an era where we in the US fight for the idea that Black Lives Matter, to be black and female, African and a sex worker, is to inhabit a location of deepest neglect and disregard.

By Cinnamon Williams

“What does that liberatory sexuality look like? I mean, let me theorize that it may very well be that celibacy is the face of that liberatory sexuality.” -bell hooks

A while back, I read an article on Huffington Post about sugar daddy/sugar baby relationships and it was quite interesting and very eye-opening to say the least.

The sugar daddy phenomenon is certainly nothing new. We’re all familiar with the notion of older men lavishing younger women with gifts and money in exchange for having them around. But it seems to have become much more popular in recent years than many (myself included) realize. A quick Google search of the term “sugar daddy” pulls up many well-populated websites that facilitate a variety of sugar daddy interactions. 

The first time I ever heard another woman say that engaging in sex work was liberating was during my graduate course study at DePaul University. I was in class chomping away at a dry, turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich from the cafeteria when out of the blue the words came rushing from my classmate’s lips. There I sat with this frozen look across my face staring at the young lady as if she had completely lost her mind. What kind of feminist, or better yet woman, would promote such foolish propaganda? Had she completely lost her mind?

(Guernica Mag) A few years ago, I sat on a panel with notable feminist academics and a femi­nist pornographer—all of whom were well-respected. I was put on the spot when asked, “Do you consider yourself and your work to be feminist?” I didn’t know how to answer. I tried to steady my voice as I replied, “I’ve never really given that any thought.” The other panelists gave their view of my work and what they knew about me… but the question, which I had to answer for myself, remained: “Am I a feminist?”