LOS ANGELES — Pink Triangle Press and its media outlet, Xtra, will host a free Facebook Live webinar, titled “Protest and Pleasure: A Revolution Led by Sex Workers,” to discuss how “sexual liberation and mutual liberation go hand-in-hand,” noted a rep, on Wednesday, September 29, at 2 p.m. (PDT).
Chanelle Gallant, an Xtra contributor and organizer for sex workers’ rights, will host the event; ASL interpretation will be provided.
Pink Triangle is currently marking its 50th anniversary as Canada’s leading LGBTQ2S+ publisher.
“Joining the discussion are Monica Forrester, the director of Trans Pride Toronto and an award-winning activist who fights for low-income and racialized trans people; and Toni-Michelle Williams, the executive director of Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative (SNaPCo), an Atlanta-based organization working to build safety and end the criminalization of the Black trans community,” the rep said. “Together, they’ll explore a conversation on why trans women of color sex workers are leaders in the revolution in sexual liberation.”
Gallant has observed that “sex workers have developed the most transformational sexual liberation politics of any social justice movement.”
“But Black trans women sex worker activists like Toni-Michelle and Monica do not get the recognition they deserve as visionaries dreaming a new world and as political leaders strategizing on how to get us there,” added Gallant. “This event is an opportunity to listen to them in conversation as they bring together inspiring political vision with humor, compassion and so much wisdom about sex.”
Gallant noted that “times have changed since the founding of Pink Triangle Press 50 years ago. It was time to revisit what ‘sexual liberation’ means today.”
Over the summer, Xtra published Gallant’s six-part series “Protest & Pleasure” examining these issues.
“With the ‘Protest and Pleasure series,’ I set out to explore how power, money and politics shape our sexualities by talking to some of the most brilliant LGBTQ2S+ activists, thinkers and creators who are working toward social, economic justice and sexual liberation,” said Gallant.
Rachel Giese, director of editorial for Xtra, connects the webinar discussion themes to queer history.
“Fifty years ago, a fiery and idealistic group of activists in Toronto launched the influential — and occasionally infamous — gay liberation newspaper, The Body Politic, leading to the establishment of Pink Triangle Press, the publisher of Xtra,” she said. “The aim of the founding collective was to advance the cause of sexual liberation — particularly for people who were marginalized.”
“And that work is far from over: whether it’s the crackdown on adult content on sites like Tumblr and OnlyFans, the ongoing criminalization of sex work, or the pearl-clutching response to queer artists like Lil Nas X, many of us still are censured, censored or punished for our desires,” said Giese. “So on this very important anniversary of Pink Triangle Press, Xtra wanted to look at what sexual liberation means in the 21st century. Chanelle was the perfect person to work with on this series.”
Find the Facebook Live details here and follow Chanelle Gallant on Twitter.
