[Sexworkersandfriends..potluck..] SlutWalk Vancouver!

[Fernanda Fukamati]

Dear Empowered Sex Workers, Friends and Allies,


I'm writing to you about SlutWalk Vancouver. Some of you may remember
SlutWalk from last year. The march started in Toronto in response to
comments made by a police officer that "women should avoid dressing like
sluts in order to not be victimized." Women and men took to the streets to
make the statement that victim-blaming and slut-shaming are not okay, and
that no one asks for, or deserves, rape or sexual assault. The movement
caught on and SlutWalks took place all over the world, including Vancouver.

This year, instead of a march, they're holding an event called SlutTalk:
Conversations One Year After the March. It's a two-part event that begins
with a film night (Tuesday, May 15th, 6pm at the Rio Theatre) and
culminates in an (un)conference on Saturday, May 26th from 1-4pm at the
Wise Hall. An (un)conference is "a participant-driven conference where
audience members decide the agenda.  Speakers from various organizations
will be invited to post their panel topics on a board, and audience members
will be invited to do the same. Proposed topics can be prepared in advance,
but topics may also be formed on the spot. The audience gets to rearrange
the agenda however they want, which means they will get to hear about the
topics that most interest them – and they may share their own expertise if
they wish." Proposed topics include rape culture, victim-blaming and sexual
stigma, and the term "slut" (whether or not it is offensive, should/can be
reclaimed, etc.)

You can find out more about SlutWalk and SlutTalk at
www.slutwalkvancouver.net

As a member of the SlutWalk organizing team I'm contacting this fabulous
listserv for two reasons:

1. We are seeking donations in order to cover the costs of holding
SlutTalk. If you would like to support the movement by making a donation,
big or small, please let me know. We need all the help we can get and every
little bit counts. Thank you. :)

2. (and this one's personal) As a sex-positive, sex-work-positive, feminist
sex worker who is pro-reclamation of "slut", I would like to see the voices
of sex workers included in the discussion. There are a number of
anti-sex-work feminist organizations involved with SlutWalk. While I
appreciate the diversity of voices, I  believe that no one should attempt
to speak for sex workers, and I believe that sex worker perspectives are
invaluable and fundamental to any discussions of sexual stigma and slut
shaming. I notice a trend amongst feminist discussion wherein survival sex
workers are spoken for and indoor sex workers are silenced. I would like to
see this change. If you are able to attend the (un)conference and
contribute your ideas, please do so! And if you would like to prepare a
presentation of some kind (possibly with me?), that would be great/let me
know!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!


Much love,

Fernanda


-- 
Fernanda Santeiro Fukamati
fukamati at gmail.com
 <fukamati at gmail.com>cell: 1.604.516.9721
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