June 26 - scripting
Added 2014-06-27 04:45:05 +0000 UTCGot started scripting this comic about how to be a good strip club patron, even though it's not next week's update (which is another review). I emailed a few former and current Portland dancers for the advice they'd give to a first time visitor.
Recently I've seen a handful of articles from sex workers saying they're sick of journalists writing about them, interviewing them for their stories, instead of trusting sex workers to tell their own stories and represent themselves.
I... I hope I'm not doing that? I don't think I am, but I'm a nervous person. I just wanna tell people how not to be a douchebag at the strip club :| But one of my earliest OJST strips was interviewing Piper and turning her story into a comic (http://ohjoysextoy.com/piper) Is that... is that appropriating the story of a sex worker and stripping her of her agency to represent herself? Or was it promoting her own words (with funsies drawings) to a new audience?
Man, I dunno. I just think strippers are cool.
Comments
No, you aren't stripping them of their chance to do their own thing. You're giving advice to people, some of whom need it and need it in a way that isn't talking down to them, about what sex life is like and that's what you do. You're sharing your talents, knowledge, and abilities with others and helping them answer questions they have with good solid information in a fun way vs. trying to find answers amongst the hundred of thousands of douchebags on the internet that make crap up. As far as Piper goes, you told her you were going to publish the interview and turn into a comic right? As long as she didn't have any problems with it, then don't stress yourself over it. As far as the sex workers and telling their stories go...I know that it can be a complicated situation for them, but if the reporters are coming at it from the right place, folks like you, Chester Brown, and dozens of others, they aren't trying to strip them of their stories and ability to represent themselves...it's them trying to help people understand what they're lives are like. And it's great that the sex workers want to tell their own stories, but reporters and you and others can help them do that by giving them a broader audience and put it into a context that the average person can understand. All of that to say, you're doing good work. Don't stress yourself out.
Dani Shuping
2014-06-27 12:04:13 +0000 UTC
