Fund America's first sex workers' rights billboard!

by Furry Girl

07.18.11

Yup, you read that right.  SWAAY has just kicked off a campaign to put up a billboard in Los Angeles for one month.  Go to EpicStep.com and pledge your support!

Why LA? Because for better or worse, as we've learned from Ashton Kutcher's dangerous bumblings, LA is filled with people that influence the nation, so I want to try and influence them.  But, even if no one "important" ends up mentioning the campaign or helping it create buzz, there are still countless members of the general public that are going to see the billboard.  (If this is successful, I'd love to run this billboard in other cities.  Next on the list would probably be New York City, Washington DC, and Chicago.)

What is Epic Step? Epic Step is a great idea for a startup - Kickstarter for billboards.  They handle dealing with the outdoor media company, collecting money from SWAAY's various supporters, and have assured us that they love a good controversy.

Why not buy a billboard directly? Two important reasons.  For one, SWAAY simply does not have thousands of dollars sitting around waiting to be spent.  Secondly, since Epic Step collects your donations and pays the billboard company directly, SWAAY doesn't receive that money and therefor, doesn't have to pay taxes on it.  Epic Step's markup is less than the taxes SWAAY would pay on fundraising $7k directly.  Plus, I would rather see a cut of your donations go to a politically-inclined startup than the government.  Especially since the Seattle city government, where SWAAY is incorporated, has decided to declare war on escort ads and kiss up to the Demi and Ashton Foundation.

How much? $7300 for 4 weeks in a high-exposure location in LA.  I know how huge that number seems, but I also know there are a thousand people out there who care enough about sex workers' rights to kick in $7 each.  In the event the billboard is not funded, your card will not be charged.  We have 30 days to raise that amount, and you won't be billed until and unless it ends in success.  (I was informed that Epic Step apparently puts a hold on your card for the amount you pledge, which will either go through as a charge or be released at the end of the fundraising period.)

Why this particular design? I spent a bunch of time thinking of what I most want to convey to the general public about sex work.  But then, I realized that I was getting ahead of myself, since very few people even know the term "sex worker."  So I want to start small, and educational.  I want to just tell people what "sex worker" means, as well as a topical point about how sex work is not sex trafficking.  I had a longer version initially, but it just had too many words on it for a billboard.  My design sense is generally to keep things simple, and I based this billboard idea on the God billboards you see in flyover land.  They stand out not just because of message, but because of simplicity amongst more colorful and visually cluttered ads.  It's my hope that in a city of fashion and ostentatious displays, something this simple will stand out.

Please support this project!  Donors who pledge $7 or more also receive a 10-pack of SWAAY's stickers.  We have 30 days to get this funded, so please help now and share the link. To get your stickers, forward your confirmation email and mailing address to swaay AT swaay.org if the billboard is funded.





18 Comments »

  1. Too bad the site appears to require an account, or permission to post to your Facebook, in order to donate. You'll miss out on a lot of donations that way.

    Comment by LaBlua — July 18, 2011 @ 7:40 pm

  2. LaBlua: Yes, you have to register for an account, but it can be an anonymous pledge. Since EpicStep isn't fundraising via mailed in jars of pennies, you do have to disclose some form of electronic payment info to them. If you'd like to support SWAAY, but have serious anonymity concerns, we take money orders and concealed cash sent to the address on this page: http://swaay.org/donate.html

    Comment by Furry Girl — July 18, 2011 @ 7:44 pm

  3. I just donated. This is a fantastic idea. I hope more sex workers do this. I would love to see more involvement from women all over the country. I had always wondered why we had not thought of doing such a thing before. I am emailing a number of my clients for support and donations for this!

    Comment by Guilty Pleasures — July 18, 2011 @ 9:29 pm

  4. GP: Hopefully this will get funded and I can bring the idea to other cities. (NYC and Chicago are the two others I would love to get.) This is the sort of pro-active stuff I want to do with SWAAY, so thanks for helping fund it.

    Comment by Furry Girl — July 18, 2011 @ 9:31 pm

  5. I will get this up on theproviderpage.com/cms asap, to help the cause and send in a personal doantion too. GOOD WORK LADIES.....!!!
    Lets raise enough cash to get billboards in NEW ENGLAND TOO.

    Comment by Bella — July 19, 2011 @ 7:17 am

  6. Awesomeness. Thanks for taking the initiative on this! People NEED to understand the difference! I'm sharing this as widely as I can!

    Comment by Wrenna — July 19, 2011 @ 5:41 pm

  7. Thank you!!! Sharing this all around, what an awesome idea.

    Comment by Kaje — July 20, 2011 @ 6:32 am

  8. I'm blowing this up on the bookface. This is awesome.

    Comment by Miss C — July 20, 2011 @ 1:49 pm

  9. $1000 raised already! Nice work :-)

    Will pick up a prepaid card and donate ASAP.

    Comment by Kelly James — July 21, 2011 @ 1:13 am

  10. Thanks the support and linkage, everyone! I'm thrilled that it's over $1000 after 3 days, but it still has a ways to go. Keep on linking and tweeting and sharing it with people.

    Comment by Furry Girl — July 21, 2011 @ 1:16 am

  11. One quick thing to think about: I'd do the "Sex work is not the same as forced sex trafficking" as well as "SWAAY.org" in a bright color to attract the eye...

    (Just a thought...however, this is not my project so please feel free to tell me to STFU at any time :-))

    Comment by Kelly James — July 21, 2011 @ 1:21 am

  12. And by the way, the SWAAY site is really, really well done! I just ventured over there and am really impressed :-). Great job!

    Comment by Kelly James — July 21, 2011 @ 1:39 am

  13. Kelly: Thanks for the praise on the site! I'd love to get some submissions on how people can be respect clients and allies, if you want to help: http://www.swaay.org/submissions.html

    I thought about making the URL blue in the billboard, but more than even getting people to the site, I want to highlight that sex work is not trafficking. If I can only get people to see a few fleeting words, I pick the message over a link to more info that explains that message.

    Comment by Furry Girl — July 21, 2011 @ 1:58 am

  14. Will definitely link to this.

    Of possible interest for the next SWAAY link round-up:

    http://gawker.com/5821686/website-that-outed-porn-stars-gets-a-taste-of-its-own-medicine

    Comment by Infidel753 — July 22, 2011 @ 1:07 pm

  15. Great idea. REALLY hope it gets there. if not - keep trying. It's good to see the "There's Probably No God" banner. Yep. That's what I've thought since I was 11 years old.

    Comment by Simon A — August 8, 2011 @ 6:41 pm

  16. Simon: The "No God" graphic wasn't my own invention, if you click the link, you'll see the atheist bus campaign that spawned the image.

    Comment by Furry Girl — September 10, 2011 @ 6:44 pm

  17. Comment by Trackbacks — May 17, 2012 @ 7:53 am

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Comment policy for Feminisnt: I do not publish blatant insults and trolling. You must use a name/handle other than anonymous or asdf because I am tired of giving space to detractors who are too lazy to pick a fake handle and too scared to use a real one. I no longer publish comments bitching at me about how feminism is the greatest thing ever. And I may not publish your comment if I have already addressed that specific issue several times already. Read my responses to other comments before asking a new question. Finally, if your comment hinges on an obvious logical fallacy, I might not publish that, either, except to make fun of you. All new commentors have their first comment held for moderation. Commenting on my blog and taking up space on my server is a privilege, not a right.

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