Scarlot Harlot Made Sex Worker Rights Her Life's Work

Bay Curious

KQED

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.9 • 999 Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It has been called "the world's oldest profession," but it's not one that's often discussed openly. Of course, we're talking about sex work. Attitudes about certain parts of the industry—from porn to strip clubs—have evolved over time, and so has the language used to discuss it. Even the term "sex work" is relatively new. This week, reporter Steven Rascón brings us the story of the woman who coined the term, and the history of the sex worker rights movement. This episode contains frank discussions about sexual acts, and sex work—some of which is criminalized in California. And it includes some outdated language. Additional Reading: Read a transcript of this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Steven Rascón. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale, and Ana De Almeida Amaral. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Nastia Voynovskaya, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Karan Newhouse and I'm nima Goveer. We're the co-host of Mind Shift from
0:05.3	KQED a podcast all about challenges and solutions in education. Our new season is
0:11.3	out now exploring new ways to engage students.
0:14.4	Then Miss Smith, that was the coolest class I ever had.
0:16.8	And I was like, by golly, I've unlocked some sort of secret.
0:20.3	Or how innovative education models can help kids in the hardest circumstances.
0:25.0	A child doesn't want to come to school.
0:28.0	That's a red flag for me.
0:30.0	Check out Mindshift wherever you get your podcast.
0:35.0	From KQED.
0:37.0	A quick note before we get started, this episode contains frank discussions about sexual acts
0:42.1	and sex work,
0:43.4	some of which is criminalized in California,
0:46.0	and it includes some outdated language.
0:50.1	It's a $14 billion dollar industry in the United States, but you're unlikely to read about it in the Wall Street Journal.
0:57.0	It's been called the world's oldest profession, but you can't go to college for it.
1:02.0	It's been part of our region's story since the earliest days of the Gold Rush,
1:07.0	and yet our history books tend to skim over some details.
1:11.0	I'm talking about sex work. From the early days in San Francisco
1:16.7	when brothels lined Pacific Avenue to the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s that saw a proliferation of strip clubs,
1:25.6	porn shops, and massage parlors, sex has practically always been for sale in this town.
1:31.2	Public attitudes about fully decriminalizing sex work have swung back and forth over the years,
	...

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