It's sex worker pride day. My experiences in the sex trade were mixed. Some, like being trafficked or experiencing sexual violence while working consensually, were mostly horrible. Some, like helping folks relearn how to receive touch after trauma, were mostly lovely. 1/

But no matter what, I consider myself extremely lucky to know & love people who have been or are in the sex trade, because they are unfailingly the kindest, most giving community I've known. So for those of you who don't know (that you know) any sex workers, a few stories. 2/

I once helped a homeless Latina trans teenager who had been through hell. She told me that the safest she'd felt during the years she was homeless was living in a motel on the "wrong side of town," bc the sex workers who lived there took care of her & didn't let her go hungry. 3/

I've tried to find services before for trafficking survivors and come up entirely short through normal anti-HT channels (largely because few know how to be trans-inclusive), & had friends at sex worker rights or support agencies immediately help. 4/

(Related: Make a donation to support sex worker mutual aid! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DcK4J1-P_q_uSCDkveFuBdCxx7kj1RUSg5hw_t3U6kw/edit?usp=sharing) 5/

Some of the most innovative and grassroots-thinking approaches to ending human trafficking that I've ever encountered or seen in practice came from sex worker safety agencies and organizers, and from sex workers themselves. 6/

Basically, the degree to which people in the sex trade (current or past) step up to take care of each other is breathtaking & powerful, & something we should pay attention to. It's like a family, & once they know you're in, they will fight for you to the ends of the earth. 7/

And while it means that I have to be careful about opening or scrolling my IG or Twitter in business meetings (), I couldn't be more honored to have some of y'all who follow me on Twitter trust me to put words to issues in ways I hope will help you stay safer. 8