25 Mar Surviving armchair activism
Posted
in Getting started
Being online sex workers means that a good deal of us are perpetually logged in for most aspects of our business. And generally, social media is the communal spot where we advertise ourselves and build our fan base. While it’s a wonderful tool for us to utilize in our never-ending quest for growth, it’s also where we get to let our persona develop into the little star we’ve always wanted to be. With that in mind, it’s also a little nerve-wracking; no matter how hard we try to stay out of powder keg issues, they’re always around us. When we’re creatures of the internet, getting caught up in something that could drag us towards cancellation might mean certain death for our livelihoods.
That’s not to say that cancellation and boycotting is inherently negative. Collective shaming and outrage are powerful tools we can use against individuals or entities that genuinely deserve to be held accountable. Sometimes, it’s the only option we have to make ourselves heard. But it seems like sex workers are frequently asked to take major hits to their own income or financial stability for one cause or another.
It’s one thing to personally boycott Chick-fil-A or Starbucks when you’re morally opposed to their operations or ideology, but nobody is going there to harass the people who work there (except for that one guy who promptly had his life run into the ground). Whether we’re steel workers or accountants, we all pay taxes that go to any number of things we might hate, like war machines, the prison industrial complex, or corporate bailouts, to name a few. I don’t remember seeing anyone calling for mass resignations in protest. So, why us?
For instance, last year, an industry-leading company that produces popular tip-activated toys released an ad that was objectively offensive and in terrible taste, and they certainly deserved to have been dragged for it. But it only took a few hours before there was a shock wave moving through the online sex work community calling for cam girls to stop using those toys. It was shocking to see people jumping all over each other. Those tip-activated toys can make or break someone’s room, and they are pretty expensive as far as toys go.
Another recent example is the call to delete our accounts on a massive fan subscription site in response to large donations the executives had made. It’s completely understandable to want to do something to fight against things that we’re in moral opposition to or disgusted by, but small creators were being pressured to the same degree as massive influencers to boycott a major industry platform that serves as the largest revenue source to a lot of us. If a person is fortunate enough to have the means and resources to step away from one of their platforms, that’s awesome and an admirable thing to do. But who benefits from pressuring vulnerable and stigmatized groups of people into jeopardizing their financial stability?
That’s not rhetorical. Who might benefit from us going at each other like that? Why are we being asked to upend ourselves in ways that will do exponentially more harm to us than it would to whatever company is in the crosshairs? Is there no concept of irony when this is all happening on X/Twitter? Who even starts the call to action? It’s not too far-fetched to think that it could come from trolls who despise us for what we do or even people in the industry with bad intentions. Tiktokers or Instagram folks hounding sex workers to abandon one thing or another and lashing out at them over issues that are never black or white. We also have to take into consideration that a not-insignificant number of people don’t even consider us human and would like nothing more than to watch us suffer.
In the end, it all comes down to what you feel is right and how you want to express that while adhering to your conscience. You can scroll past and keep your opinion to yourself, but you also have every right to make your thoughts known. If using your power as a consumer or creator to boycott is your choice, dope, but you can’t force people who don’t have that kind of privilege to do the same. You can make a positive impact on any of these things that you care about by donating to those causes. Cupcake Girls and Pineapple Support are great resources for sex workers, and you can search vetted charities and organizations to make contributions to at charities.org/charity-search
Riley Cyriis is a New England-based indie content creator and mortician. She owns Cyriis Studios with her partner, Ryan Cyriis. She’s a cult survivor, a heavily-armed liberal, and the enemy of corruption and greed.
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Being online sex workers means that a good deal of us are perpetually logged in for most aspects of our business. And generally, social media is the communal spot where we advertise ourselves and build our fan base. While it’s a wonderful tool for us to utilize in our never-ending quest for growth, it’s also where we get to let our persona develop into the little star we’ve always wanted to be. With that in mind, it’s also a little nerve-wracking; no matter how hard we try to stay out of powder keg issues, they’re always around us. When we’re creatures of the internet, getting caught up in something that could drag us towards cancellation might mean certain death for our livelihoods.
That’s not to say that cancellation and boycotting is inherently negative. Collective shaming and outrage are powerful tools we can use against individuals or entities that genuinely deserve to be held accountable. Sometimes, it’s the only option we have to make ourselves heard. But it seems like sex workers are frequently asked to take major hits to their own income or financial stability for one cause or another.
It’s one thing to personally boycott Chick-fil-A or Starbucks when you’re morally opposed to their operations or ideology, but nobody is going there to harass the people who work there (except for that one guy who promptly had his life run into the ground). Whether we’re steel workers or accountants, we all pay taxes that go to any number of things we might hate, like war machines, the prison industrial complex, or corporate bailouts, to name a few. I don’t remember seeing anyone calling for mass resignations in protest. So, why us?
For instance, last year, an industry-leading company that produces popular tip-activated toys released an ad that was objectively offensive and in terrible taste, and they certainly deserved to have been dragged for it. But it only took a few hours before there was a shock wave moving through the online sex work community calling for cam girls to stop using those toys. It was shocking to see people jumping all over each other. Those tip-activated toys can make or break someone’s room, and they are pretty expensive as far as toys go.
Another recent example is the call to delete our accounts on a massive fan subscription site in response to large donations the executives had made. It’s completely understandable to want to do something to fight against things that we’re in moral opposition to or disgusted by, but small creators were being pressured to the same degree as massive influencers to boycott a major industry platform that serves as the largest revenue source to a lot of us. If a person is fortunate enough to have the means and resources to step away from one of their platforms, that’s awesome and an admirable thing to do. But who benefits from pressuring vulnerable and stigmatized groups of people into jeopardizing their financial stability?
That’s not rhetorical. Who might benefit from us going at each other like that? Why are we being asked to upend ourselves in ways that will do exponentially more harm to us than it would to whatever company is in the crosshairs? Is there no concept of irony when this is all happening on X/Twitter? Who even starts the call to action? It’s not too far-fetched to think that it could come from trolls who despise us for what we do or even people in the industry with bad intentions. Tiktokers or Instagram folks hounding sex workers to abandon one thing or another and lashing out at them over issues that are never black or white. We also have to take into consideration that a not-insignificant number of people don’t even consider us human and would like nothing more than to watch us suffer.
In the end, it all comes down to what you feel is right and how you want to express that while adhering to your conscience. You can scroll past and keep your opinion to yourself, but you also have every right to make your thoughts known. If using your power as a consumer or creator to boycott is your choice, dope, but you can’t force people who don’t have that kind of privilege to do the same. You can make a positive impact on any of these things that you care about by donating to those causes. Cupcake Girls and Pineapple Support are great resources for sex workers, and you can search vetted charities and organizations to make contributions to at charities.org/charity-search
Riley Cyriis is a New England-based indie content creator and mortician. She owns Cyriis Studios with her partner, Ryan Cyriis. She’s a cult survivor, a heavily-armed liberal, and the enemy of corruption and greed.