Support sex workers or stay off the pole

Support comes in the form of action! Active allyship, not performative behaviour. Simply stating 'I support sex workers' or only supporting a glamourised narrative is not enough. Without understanding, it's not informed allyship. And without this, there's no way we can drive for change.

Ways you can action your support:
- Educating yourself about SWers and issues we face (books, insta accounts, seminars podcasts etc.). Listening to us and our varied experiences. Gaining a deeper understanding of us and the work we do. Understanding our needs and wants and how you can help with this! Check out the resource dump here.
- Writing to your MP about problems facing sex workers on a local and national level. Whether that be trying to keep a local stip club open or advocating for decriminalisation.
-Talking to friends and family about sex work to help spread information and break down stigma in society. Educating pole friends about the sex work roots of pole dancing (as so many polers and studios still insist on erasing the true origins of pole as an attempt to other and distance themselves).
- Being there for sex worker friends, especially when they are having work related issues. Offering non-judgemental support.
- Join sex worker-led strikes and protests in solidarity.
- Supporting sex workers financially: donate to organisations; donate to fundraisers; attend a sex worker's pole class; go to sex worker led events; sub to an OnlyFans; go to the strip club. It's really powerful to directly put money back into the sex industry and is the most direct way to support what we do. Money talks!

There are further things for pole dancers to consider. Be mindful in your appropriation of stipper culture. In truth, if you have the privilege to dance on a pole and to wear our work heels for fun or as a non-sex work career, we need a hell of a lot more support from you than empty rhetoric. We welcome sharing with you, as long as you help us work towards a future where we can exist freely in society. Stigma kills and we are dying.

Think how you can action your support for sex workers today.