I’ve been in the sex work industry for over 13 years, and I’ve seen many, many changes. 

I started when advertising was done mainly in the Yellow Pages and a little bit on a website called Backpage, which was shut down in April 2018. The United States Government made a law against sex trafficking called SESTA/FOSTA; this led to the FBI shutting down the website in the name of “fighting sex traffickers,” which resulted in a bit of a scramble for us independent providers. With the removal of Backpage, an important and safe platform was taken away from us; it forced many of us into dangerous situations, such as using badly-managed agencies or walking the streets. Luckily, Twitter and Reddit became sex-worker-friendly(ish) platforms for us to connect with clients and find a community of other sex workers.

Over the next couple years, I worked my big butt off to establish myself as a reputable BC provider. I built my own website, made business cards and stickers, paid for many professional photos, and made all the social media accounts. This led to an unexpected but lovely discovery of an amazing and tight-knit community of fellow sex workers all over Canada. This experience was completely opposite from my first years in the industry, when most sex workers didn’t work together or even want to; there were lots of competitive and self-preserving attitudes, which negated any desire to work together. This was, of course, a necessary approach to maintain safety and discretion, with sex work still operating in the shadows of society.

At the beginning of 2021, I started working with a collective of boss-ass-bitch sex workers who call themselves Women Gone Wild. We gained a name for ourselves over the next few years by hosting events such as orgies and open-house brothel parties. No one else was really doing what we did on the West Coast, and that was exciting. A buzz was developing, and our popularity was growing—which also brought more and more sex workers into our little community.

I know the majority of the population believes that sex workers are lonely drug addicts. That’s the stigma that the media has propagandized, and it is simply not true. This perception makes it easier to dehumanize and other us, which leads to harm and isolation. 

The reality is that all the providers I know and love are mothers, sisters, wives, girlfriends, brothers, fathers, husbands, boyfriends, friends, teachers, nurses, website designers, clothing makers, accountants, and, most of all, amazing humans. We pay taxes and run businesses and are involved in every part of society.  

If you are a sex worker reading this and find yourself feeling isolated, hesitant to reach out, or scared to connect, please know that there are many amazing people in this industry who are eager to welcome you with open arms.

Meeting so many sex workers over the years has been such a fun and magical time. I feel blessed to call so many beautiful providers my close friends. My life is full of love and support and understanding that makes it so exciting to live every day. 

Sex work is real work, and in turn holds the same nuances as any other industry—which deserves all the respect as such. There may be a sex worker in your life who you are unaware of; the same thing goes for clients of sex workers. A few places to find sex workers in Canada would be Twitter (X), Tryst.link, or NakedTruth.ca, as well as at the back of this very publication’s printed version!

Our community is a rich and diverse one that I am so proud to be a part of.