Columns

“On the Whorizon” Podcast Launches

I’m so excited to announce my new podcast, On the Whorizon, that I am co-hosting with the amazing MelRose Michaels. On The Whorizon is a podcast about what’s on the whorizon for sex workers, and how to navigate it. It is available as a podcast whenever you get your podcasts, and also in video form […]

What Can Phone Sex Operators Tell Us About Men & Masculinity?

When you think of phone sex, what comes to mind? I am assuming that for most of you this conjures up imagines of the cheesy, soft-focus 1-900 ads from the 90’s. Kenny G playing in the background, a scantily clad woman saying in a near whisper, “Come chat with me…” I saw these ads for […]

No Simp September Frustrates Online Sex Workers

The underlying problem for the NoSimps is not that we booby streamers and the TikTok dancers exist; rather, the problem for NoSimps is their own feelings of shame, inadequacy, and unfulfilled entitlement to sex that they attempt to assuage

Parenting As An Out Sex Worker

Parenting is hard and talking to your kids about sex is hard. Being an out sex working parent is complex in a way that makes these conversations even more delicate.

What Does an Orgasm Feel Like?

Some thoughts on coming.

Feeling Sexy in a COVID World

“Sex and art are the same thing.” – Pablo Picasso

Sex worker client fantasies are reflecting the reality of the pandemic

Originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. Audio smut producer and phone sex operator April Would has a regular client who enjoys office-based fantasies. Last week when he called, something interesting happened: He changed the setting of their typical scene. “You are now in my home office,” he said to her. “But you’re still my […]

How parents can keep ‘sexy time’ alive when quarantined with kids

Originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. The other day, my partner and I were in the living room surrounded by toys with Sesame Street blaring in the background when he stealthily asked if I wanted to go upstairs for a little afternoon romp. Now, I am someone who is almost always game, but in this particular […]

“What are you into?” It all depends on context.

Originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. In my line of work, I get asked a lot of questions about my sexual preferences and history and most of them don’t bother me. Except for one: What are you into? This question isn’t unique to my work; I remember when I did more online dating I got […]

Being unapologetic about one’s body in a fat-shaming society

Originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. Last week, Pittsburgh-based artist and poet Christina Springer was a guest speaker in the class I’m teaching on sex work and sex workers. She read from her collection of poems, The Splooge Factory, which draws on her time as the receptionist at an erotic massage parlor/dungeon in the early 2000s. […]

The delicate art of calculating tax deductions in the sex work industry

Originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. Last week I found myself combing through an entire year’s worth of bank and credit card statements in order to make a list of business expenses. It’s that time of year again: tax time. Perhaps others are more organized than I am and keep spreadsheets throughout the year […]

Princess Berpl and the business of cosplay porn

Originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. In 2014, Princess Berpl was working full time as a nurse and would come home from work only to start her side hustle: making independent amateur pornography clips and working as a cam model. After about two years into these double shifts, she had an idea. Berpl, who […]