Written by Jessie Sage, originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. At one point in my life, I had a corporate office job, where for a time I was the only female employee at my location. As the only one, I ran into strange problems that my male colleagues didn’t. Most notably, our boss wouldn’t let […]
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How do performers pack for the ‘week-long porn camp’ that is the Adult Video Network convention?
Written by Jessie Sage, originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. I’m writing this week from the Adult Video Network convention in Las Vegas. The annual convention hosts both the largest porn awards show of the year and also the Adult Entertainment Expo, where fans can meet their favorite porn stars, attend seminars about the state […]
Topless enquirer craves bearded beau
Written by Jessie Sage, originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. One of the most interesting things about writing this column has been interacting with readers who relatively frequently contact me to tell me about how my work relates to their thoughts, feelings, and relationships. Though less common, I also have folks ask for advice. This […]
‘You’re damned if you don’t look a certain way, and damned if you try to’
Written by Jessie Sage, originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. Recently I posted a photo of myself on social media, commenting on how I like the gray streaks in my hair and choose not to conceal them with dye. While I was certainly fishing for responses about the aesthetics of my choice, what I didn’t expect […]
Stripping helped autistic woman notice the dichotomy between her club persona and autistic self
Originally published in the Pittsburgh City Paper. Reese Piper is an autistic writer and stripper living in Brooklyn, N.Y. She writes about disability, her experiences stripping, and the labor laws that impact her. This week, I sat down to talk to her about what it is like to be an autistic stripper. When you were […]
Does a sex worker’s ‘sexual circuitry’ get sunk by seas of sexual content?
Written by Jessie Sage, originally published by the Pittsburgh City Paper. I read a story years ago about the 1998 AVN awards and there was a bit about how the judges who had to watch hours and hours of film found their sexual circuitry kind of burnt out by the end. Many people can’t imagine […]
Trunk full of condoms gets important conversation started
Written by Jessie Sage, originally published by the Pittsburgh City Paper. As an organizer with the Pittsburgh chapter of the Sex Worker Outreach Project (SWOP), I often receive swag and supplies from some of the organizations we partner with. Recently, Planned Parenthood physicians gave our group several bags of condoms to pass out at events […]
Identifying, processing, and accommodating the emotions involved with sex work
Written by Jessie Sage, originally published by the Pittsburgh City Paper. I have a client, let’s call him Joe, who has been a regular for at least two and a half years. He calls me every few weeks, and we often text in between calls. He’s in a bowling league, and I keep track of […]
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