Summer reissue: The first episode of the all new Alice Snedden’s Bad News asks why migrant sex workers aren’t legally allowed to operate in New Zealand. First published August 11, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about … Read more
What is OnlyFans and why are sex workers upset about celebrities using it? I heard about OnlyFans at the beginning of the year when friends who were sex workers started using the platform during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Back in March, few people outside of sex workers and their supporters understood or used the platform. … Read more
Visiting a brothel for the new series of Bad News helps convince Alice Snedden that sex work should be available to everyone. Beyond my teenage obsession with the movie Pretty Woman, my knowledge of the sex work industry has always been extremely limited. Like a lot of people I saw it as something I knew … Read more
The first episode of the all new Alice Snedden’s Bad News asks why migrant sex workers aren’t legally allowed to operate in New Zealand. Sex work was decriminalised in New Zealand in 2003, but not for everyone – it remains one of the only jobs migrants aren’t allowed to do. But is the law successfully … Read more
These text conversations (warning: explicit content) with clients prove sex workers are surely New Zealand’s most under-acknowledged public health educators. Imagine you’re a physiotherapist. Hell, you might actually be one, in which case this will be easy for you. In this scenario, we’re still in level four. You can do phone consultations but that’s it. … Read more
Alex Casey talks to six women about how social distancing and Covid-19 is impacting their contact-based industries, from sex work to beauty therapy. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. Social distancing is one of the most important tools we have to prevent … Read more
Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith reviews Bonding, the story of a grad student dominatrix and her gay best friend whom she employs as her assistant. As an academic who researches the media representation of sex work, and who paid my way through post-grad by doing sex work, including pro-domme (professional dominatrix) work, it could have been designed in … Read more
The Monday Extract: “Stevie”, who works in the sex industry as a self-described “trans boy”, talks to social historian Caren Wilton. Photographs by Madeleine Slavick. I was born in a housebus in the early 1980s. On Dad’s side I’m Ngāpuhi, and on Mum’s side Ngāti Maniapoto, in the King Country. We travelled around lots when I was … Read more
There are major barriers for disabled people who want to pursue sex and relationships. They are real and deeply felt. Yet the stigmatising tone of public conversation makes me wary, writes Henrietta Bollinger “Um … advice? From me? Yes, we can,” was my cautious, then tongue-in-cheek answer. “As Obama would say!” The others laughed. It … Read more
It’s time we called time on stigma and discrimination against sex workers in New Zealand, writes criminologist Lynzi Armstrong. Imagine you decide to start a business. You have an exciting idea and great people to collaborate with. You finish your business plan and are ready to embark on your new challenge. But when you go … Read more
In the first of a new series on PhD students delving into fascinating subjects, Madeleine Holden talks to Madeline Henry, who is studying the critical psychology of digital sex work. “Farts. Hiccuping. Pouring squishy food on yourself. Pretending to be a dog. Wearing a bunch of sanitary pads at the same time. And lighting your … Read more
Sex is a struggle for most people, but it can be doubly difficult for those living with a disability, writes Caroline Moratti for the Otago University student magazine Critic. Is sex a basic human right? Not for your parents hopefully, don’t picture that. To access sex remains a struggle that plagues most of our lives. … Read more
High profile escort Lisa Lewis has published an open letter denouncing the NZ Prostitutes’ Collective for its advocacy for migrant sex workers in New Zealand. A Wellington sex worker responds. I’ve been a sex worker in Wellington for the past two years, both as an independent operator and an agency escort, and I was prompted … Read more
How would you earn your living if you and your child had a severe disability? One mother shares how she has found a job that makes her life just a little easier. I’m young, Māori and a sex worker, and my life is harder than you can imagine, but not for the reasons you’re thinking. … Read more