The Oldest Profession Podcast

The Oldest Profession Podcast reminds listeners that sex workers have always been part of the story. Each episode focuses on an “old pro” from history, contextualizing that figure in their own time and connecting their story to the ongoing struggle for sex worker rights. Your host, Kaytlin Bailey, is a nationally touring stand up comic, notorious old pro, and sex worker rights advocate. She’s partnered with the whole team at Old Pros to create an accessible and entertaining resource for anyone who wants to learn more about sex workers and our place in history. https://oldprosonline.org/the-oldest-profession-podcast

Open to Debate: “Is it OK to Pay for Sex?” 07/02/2024

Pamela Churchill Harriman 01/05/2024

LGBTQ+ Rights & Sex Worker History 12/22/2023

Magdalene Laundries & Homes for Unwed Mothers 12/08/2023

Carol Erwin 11/22/2023

December 17th is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers 11/10/2023

December 17th is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers In this episode of The Oldest Profession Podcast, host Kaytlin Bailey explores the significance of December 17th, which is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. This day has been observed by sex worker advocates and allies worldwide since December 17, 2003. Originally conceived as a memorial for the victims of the Green River serial killer in Seattle, this event reignited the sex worker rights movement and has kept the movement alive for the last twenty years. In this episode, Kaytlin Bailey highlights the challenges faced by the sex worker rights movement in the 1990s and early 2000s, including violence, an increase in law and order policing, and the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. She pays tribute to Annie Sprinkle, an accomplished performance artist and sex worker rights advocate and Robin Few, one of the founders of SWOP USA, who both played a pivotal role in organizing the first International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. This annual ritual hosted around the world on December 17th allows sex workers and their allies to gather, share their stories, and commemorate those who have lost their lives to violence. These events serve as a powerful reminder that sex workers are real people and deserve dignity, respect, and safety. We at Old Pros encourage listeners to attend or host a December 17th event to support the sex worker rights movement and create awareness about the violence faced by sex workers worldwide. For more resources on this episode, please visit our website: This episode was made possible through recurring tax deductible contributions from listeners like you. We’d also like to thank our Season 5 sponsors , , , , and . Original Music by Music by Epidemic Sound The Oldest Profession Podcast is produced by , a non-profit media organization creating conditions to change the status of sex workers in society. If you value our mission, please consider making a recurring contribution that you can commit to, and that we can count on. To learn more visit us at , which is also where you can get Old Pros t-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and more. Of course, proceeds from our shop go to support Old Pros. /episode/index/show/oldpropodcast/id/27915342

The American Plan 10/27/2023

Margo St. James 10/13/2023

The Mann Act a.k.a. The White Slave Law 09/29/2023

Carol Leigh a.k.a. The Scarlot Harlot 09/15/2023

The Comstock Act, Contraception & Sex Worker Rights 09/01/2023

Season 5 - Trailer 08/24/2023

Why January 25th Still Matters Today 01/25/2023

Lizzie Lape: The Most Prolific Madam in Ohio 11/30/2022

The Maimie Papers with Ruth Rosen 11/16/2022

Mae West: Unapologetic Sex Symbol 10/05/2022

Madison Phillips: Old Pros of Raleigh, NC (Part Two) 09/21/2022

Madison Phillips: Old Pros of Raleigh, NC (Part One) 09/07/2022

The Infamous Madams of Water Street in Portsmouth, NH 08/24/2022

Lulu White: Storyville’s “Diamond Queen of the Demi–Monde” 08/10/2022

Madam Fan Jones of Bangor, Maine 06/22/2022

We Organized! OPN Black Sex Worker's Roundtable 06/17/2022

We Organized! OPN Black Sex Worker's Roundtable On this special episode, host and human rights activist Lakeesha Harris gathers a legendary roundtable of leaders in the Black Sex Worker movement: performer/activists Sinnamon Love and Jet Setting Jasmine of the BIPOC Adult Industry Collective, and historian/professor Dr Charlene Fletcher. Together, they discuss the legacy of sex workers in fine art museums, Black women who are silenced in the archives, pleasure influence, mental health care, colorism at the strip club, and more! And Lakeesha gives a raw and righteous farewell to Old Pro News, asserting that no conversation surrounding workers rights and labor organizing is complete without sex workers at the table. Sinnamon Love is a visual artist, published writer, community organizer, and Black Feminist Pornographer. For almost 30 years, Sinnamon has created media that shifts narratives around sex work, BDSM, and motherhood. Love is a fierce advocate for Black Lives Matter, Trans Rights, Sex Workers Rights, & Decriminalization of Sex Work & Cannabis. In 2018 & 2020 she served as a Fellow of the Sex Worker Giving Circle at Third Wave Fund, the first-ever philanthropic organization to put sex workers in a position of grant making. In 2020, Sinnamon founded the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Collective, a national human rights organization dedicated to bridging the race-based, wage gap in the online sex trades by providing access to mental health resources, financial assistance, and peer-to-peer education. In 2021, she participated in a Delphi Panel at Boston University, creating sex education curriculum for US high school students. At the top of 2022, Sinnamon joined the restructure team at the CAST-LA & The National Survivor Network, the largest network of anti-trafficking organizations, to help them move towards a pro-sex work stance. Sinnamon identifies as a kinky, bi, poly, grownup. She is a vibe curator, yogi, Hip Hop & House head, writer, cannabis enthusiast, recovering serial monogamist, #naturallygrey, and happily #singleinbrooklyn. Sinnamon is learning to live with a traumatic brain injury in NYC. You can find out more about Sinnamon at SingleinBrooklyn.com. The BIPOC Adult Industry Collective: https://www.bipoc-collective.org/ Charlene Fletcher: Historian, educator, and writer, Charlene J. Fletcher is the Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Research Associate in Slavery and Justice at Brown University. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Indiana University, specializing in 19th century United States and African American history and gender studies. She also served as a lecturer of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York and an adjunct lecturer in Global and Historical Studies at Butler University. Charlene’s research and forthcoming book explores the experiences of confined African-American women in Kentucky from Reconstruction to the Progressive Era, specifically illuminating the lives of confined Black women by examining places other than carceral locales as arenas of confinement, including mental health institutions and domestic spaces. She seeks to explore how these women both defied and defined confinement through their incarceration, interactions with public, social, and political entities of the period, as well as how they challenged ideas of race and femininity. Charlene’s work is motivated by her personal and professional experiences — particularly her work with individuals and families impacted by domestic violence and incarceration — and these experiences continue to fuel her passion for her work today. Jasmine is a Psychotherapist with a strong emphasis on Intimacy Post Injury/Illness. She is the owner and lead therapist of Blue Pearl Therapy. Jasmine co-owns, with partner King Noire, award winning Royal Fetish Films and together have over 20 years of experience as adult entertainers, directors and producers. The duo’s love of the arts, film and sex education are combined to produce erotica that stimulates and engages the audience to explore their sexual boundaries. Their work on the Decolonization of Sex & Porn and Politics has been featured in Huffington Post, Rolling Stones, Paper Magazine, VICE, Playboy, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, BBC, Psychology Today and more. /episode/index/show/oldpropodcast/id/25951842

Who was Jezebel? 06/08/2022

Special Episode Coming in June! 06/03/2022

The Everleigh Sisters’ Best Brothel in Chicago 05/25/2022

SAFE SEX Workers Study Act Deep Dive Interview – wtih Zola & Mariah of Sex Workers Project 05/20/2022

SAFE SEX Workers Study Act Deep Dive Interview – wtih Zola & Mariah of Sex Workers Project This week, on Old Pro News, we have an extra long interview with Zola Z. Bruce and Mariah Grant from the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. We discussed the Safe Sex Workers Study Act, FOSTA-SESTA, OnlyFans, and many other topics related to tech freedom. For more resources on this episode, visit our website: Bios Zola Z. Bruce MSSW is a social worker, activist and artist who focuses on helping people to create the life they want in all aspects of their career. Originally from Dallas, TX, they moved to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College to study psychology and sculpture, in addition they did a semester abroad with The School for International Training in Kingston, Jamaica where they studied Gender and Development. Zola received their Masters of Science in Social Work from Columbia University in 2001. Afterwards they worked for 12 years in youth development with organizations including the Center for Family Life, McBurney YMCA, and the LGBTQ Center focusing on creating therapeutic art programs for youth and families. Internationally they started a nonprofit, Unified for Global Healing, where they developed grassroots community health initiatives in Haiti, Ghana, and India using the arts to communicate beyond language, class, and cultural barriers. Combining their experiences in art, activism, sex work and social work, Zola currently works as Director of Communications at the Sex Workers Project of The Urban Justice Center (SWP) and started a documentary series for and by sex workers, recently on display at The Museum of Sex. Alongside their work with SWP they continue to create, consult, speak at activist events, teach as an Adjunct Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, is a BDSM instructor and Vice President for KinkOut (KO). Mariah Grant (she/her) is the Director of Research and Advocacy with the Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center (SWP). She is a human rights and migration specialist with a focus on migrant and sex workers’ rights, freedom of movement, and labor exploitation. In her role with SWP, she oversees policy advocacy and development of original research, including ongoing studies on law enforcement violence against sex workers. She has worked throughout the US and internationally on improving anti-trafficking policies to ensure better human rights protections for migrants and sex workers. The Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City are a national organization that defends the human rights of sex workers by destigmatizing and decriminalizing people in the sex trades through free legal services, education, research, and policy advocacy. SAFE SEX WORKER STUDY ACT LINKS Report produced by Hacking//Hustling, authors: Kendra Albert, Elizabeth Brundige, and Lorelei Lee Op-Ed by Fight for the Future Director Evan Greer SWP Statements on SSWSA Senate Bill: House Bill: EARN IT ACT Call your Reps and Senators! Request meetings with your Reps and Senators – and other critical members of Congress – like members of the committees the bill has been referred to: Subscription to a database with contact information Request to Join: Please fill out this form to join the Sex Worker Subgroup of the Federal LGBTQPLHIV Criminal Justice Working Group. Joining the network means being added to the listserv and access to a database of resources for activists and allies, as well as an invite to the monthly working group call. This group supports the decriminalization of sex work, transparency and accountability in state action, and uplifting the leadership of impacted people. Donate to organizations working on this issue, including the Sex Workers Project: /episode/index/show/oldpropodcast/id/25951848

Stella Darby: Beloved Madam of Pendelton, Oregon 05/11/2022

Taxation Without Representation - with Tamika Spellman 05/06/2022

Taxation Without Representation - with Tamika Spellman This week, on Old Pro News, we’ll tell you about two new online reporting programs, only one of which we believe will actually keep sex workers safe. Then, we’ll be chatting with Tamika Spellman, the Advocacy Manager of the harm reduction organization HIPS DC, about the #DECRIMNOW campaign and why we need to center — and pay! — black trans women in the movement. And we’ll fill you in on recent sex work related legislation in Lousiana and Ohio, and why this makes Lakeesha feel like the government just doesn’t want us to survive! For more resources on this episode, visit our website: GUEST BIO AND LINKS Tamika Spellman, Advocacy Manager of HIPS (Honoring Individual Power and Strength) DC, is originally from Buffalo New York but has lived in Washington D.C. on and off since 1988. Tamika has worked with HIPS since June 2017. She has served as a peer educator then worked as a part of the needle exchange program. She has volunteered her time with mobile services giving new works and safer sex supplies to people throughout the District. Tamika knows first hand what the war on drugs has done to the community. She is dedicated to helping others and working to create positive policies and laws to help those involved in sex work and drug use. She has testified on behalf of HIPS at the D.C. Council, spoken on several harm reduction panels, and is very active in both SWAC and the DC LEAD Coalition. Sex Workers' Advocates Coalition #DecrimNow Panel featuring Tamika L Spellman, Pontiannà Ivàn Pendavis, Jessica Raven, Louraca Jackson, Nona Moselle, and Jordan DeLoach “What media should be telling you about the fight to decriminalize sex work” HEADLINE 1 | ‘Report John’ platform in Vallejo California “Vallejo Police Department introduces ‘Report John’ platform to target sex buyers” HEADLINE 2 | Ugly Mugs Netherlands “Sex workers warn each other of aggressive clients on new platform” HEADLINE 3 | New Westminster develops a work plan related to the safety of sex workers “New West aims to keep sex workers safe” HEADLINE 4 | Chippendales are lobbying up “The iconic male stripper group has hired a lobby shop for the first time. It wants pandemic relief” HEADLINE 5 | Update on Noho Strippers Strike MUTUAL AID NAME AND LINK COYOTE /episode/index/show/oldpropodcast/id/25951851

The Age-Old Stigma of Mary Magdalene 04/27/2022

We Plead The 14th Amendment 04/22/2022

The Oldest Profession Podcast

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