not what they think one should look like. You probably see a million
sex workers every day that just don’t fit your idea of who they
should be.
There’s also a misconception that people who get into sexwork
probably have mental health issues. They sometimes do, butit’s
the other way around: sex work is a really good job to havewhen
you need time off. I have bipolar II and sometimes I can’t workfor
a month, but I’m in a position where I can call my boss andsay
I’m not coming in for the next month, and know there’s a jobfor
me when I get back. Or if things are going really well, I canwork
a heap and stockpile money for future mental health crises.
I got into comedy because I had a Tumblr blog where I wouldwrite
anonymous stories about my job. I started realising I was pretty
funny, and thought it would be cool to perform, but I didn’t havethe
confidence to do it for a really long time. I signed up for animprov
class, and thought I’d just take this one-off class to make mefeel
more confident – the idea of public speaking was a nightmarefor
me before that. Improv changed my life. I met a girl there whowas
a stand-up comedian, and she took me under her wing and showed
me how to go to an open mic night, how to structure a set,and
I went from there.
I was inspired by Queenie Bon Bon – a Melbourne full-servicesex
worker who did a comedy show about sex work. I thought, “MyTumblr
stuff is pretty funny; I wonder if I could do that, too?” My punchlines
are generally commentary on how people see sex workers, orthe
ways in which sex work is just like any other customer servicejob,so
it came out a lot more political than I intended it to be. I was justlike,
“You know what’s funny? Comparing getting an STI test at thedoctorwiththeway I would interact with someone else’s genitals, except
they’reviewed very differently.”
Mymumbrought her 73-year-old boyfriend to my show in Perth,
andIwas like, “Mum, does Bruce know what a ‘brown shower’ is?
Becauseif he doesn’t, you’ll have to explain it to him beforehand!”
Theycame and were fine, and afterwards they were more interested
intalkingabout a busker they saw somewhere else at the Fringe
Festival.Like, “Oh yeah, your show was good, but we saw this girl
withahula hoop, she was terrific!”
I’minavery privileged position that I can be completely out about
whatIdo. I’ve always known I had the kind of mum who wouldn’t
careabout that stuff, and I’m lucky the partners I’ve chosen are
generally on board with sex work and understand and respect it.
Formostpeople, being out can be so difficult. Think about telling your
familyand every romantic partner you’re ever going to have in the
futurethat you’re a sex worker – it’s hard.
I’vehadso many sex workers see my show – full-service workers,
strippers, cam girls, porn performers – and they’ve said how
important it was for them to see their lives reflected. That means
themostto me. What I’m doing is for sex workers before anything
else.I’vehad a lot of ‘muggles’ (non-industry folks) tell me it’s
totallychanged their views on sex work, or given them an insight
intotheindustry they didn’t have. I thought I’d get a lot of shit
fromother comedians because I’m talking about something quite
vulnerable and edgy, but actually, I think most of them are quite
intimidated by a woman talking about sex, so no one heckles me
orgivesme a hard time. They’re just like, “Ahhh, a lady’s talking
aboutsex again!”Photo
Phoebe Powell
pieces of me