S2, Ep 3 Wild Iris: The Violence of (Sex) Work
In this week’s episode of The Pleasure Podcast we have a rare interview with Wild Iris - sex worker and Queer woman of colour. Her name and voice have been altered to protect her anonymity.
Wild Iris speaks eloquently and openly about her experiences of having sex with men in order to fund her true passions in life. Iris shares how her autism, negotiating the social interactions and office politics, meant keeping a ‘regular’ job was virtually impossible and how that led her to consider sex work. We discuss the various forms of sex work and her views on ‘sugaring’. Wild Iris reveals how the majority of her time is devoted to administration rather than sex: the business of hotel bookings and websites.
Iris talks openly about the groups of men she works with, the services she provides and what it’s taught her about men. Fascinatingly she reveals how her sexuality intersects with the work she does and how her skin colour makes men view her, in the world vs in a private sexual space.
Iris talks movingly about loneliness and otherness, the isolation of sex work; and sadly, why relationships with health care and particularly the Police are a source of threat and violence to sex workers, how the current law continues to make sex workers remain at risk.
Read Wild Iris's Gal Dem article on loneliness and sex work here. Whilst she prefers to stay away from social media, if you would like to contact her directly, Wild Iris has given permission for her email address to be shared: wild.iris.366@gmail.com.
If you're affected by any of the issues raised in this episode or interested in learning more about keeping sex workers safe, please check out the links:
The Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance Movement (SWARM): https://www.swarmcollective.org
National Ugly Mugs: https://uknswp.org/
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CW: This episode has mentions of rape and sexual violence.
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As usual, we would love to hear from you and continue the conversation. Email us at hello@thepleasurepodcast.com or tweet us @ThePleasurePod.
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Social Media:
Naomi Sheldon: @NaomiSheldon1
Anand Patel: @therealdranand
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