Sex Worker Dress as Identity, Statement, and Resistance in the 21st Century

Heels on the Street, Umbrellas in the Sky: Sex Worker Dress as Identity, Statement, and Resistance in the 21st Century

Above: Sex Workers at a Protest in Kenya.

Via NSWP

Upcoming Presentation at Dress and Body Conference!

October 29-30, 2021

https://www.dress-body-association.org/conferences

This presentation will survey the ways in which 21st-century sex worker activists engage critically with dress as a medium to express identity and resistance. The clear platform high-heeled shoe, likened to Cinderella’s glass slipper, has become a symbol for stripper strikes and sex worker pride marches; Jacq the Stripper has used the slogan “Tip Her” on hats and t-shirts to acknowledge the value of erotic labor; and trans activist Monica Jones has used original art and graphics on clothing sold to fundraise for legal fees. AMMAR in Argentina used the recognizable dress of street workers to make a statement about human rights. Organizations such as Daspu in Brazil and Sistaaz of the Castle in South Africa have developed their own styles, and have brought a bold and colorful aesthetic inspired by their workwear to the streets, to fashion show runways, and to art galleries. And above all, the red umbrella, with its vivid sartorial flair, has become the global symbol of sex workers’ rights.

Methodology:

Jo Weldon has been conducting formal research into the intersections of sex work, dress, fashion, and culture during a residency at the New York Public Library, studying published research and academic writing on related topics. She studies news and popular entertainment media to analyze their representations of sex workers to the general public. She is part of a network of sex workers’ rights activists who utilize fashion and dress in their logos, fundraising, and protests, and is interviewing members of that community for her project. In addition, she has experiential insight into the professional purpose and legal regulations of sex workers’ work clothing from four decades of working in the sex industry. The purpose of Weldon’s current project is to present the topic of sex work’s intersections with culture through the perspectives of sex workers. Her body of work is designed to raise questions and direct the questioners to those who are most in the know: sex workers themselves.