Last week, I posted an interview with oldschool sex workers' rights activist Norma Jean Almodovar.  This week, I wanted to feature one of my favorite of the current generation of activists, Serpent Libertine.  Serpent blogs at SexPros.net, posts videos at RedLightDistrictchicago.com, works as the director of SWOP Chicago, and made one of my favorite sex worker videos, "Sex Workers WANT to Stop Trafficking."  If you're near Chicago, make sure to check out the Sex Worker Film Festival, taking place August 11th-13th.  I liked the idea of asking people of different generations the same questions about activism, and see their perspectives.  I hope you will, too.  I bolded some bits I found especially worth reading.

Furry Girl: How did you become a sex worker?

Serpent Libertine: A roommate of mine was working as a pro-domme at a dungeon and I thought it was something I could do. After I lost my job as a dog walker, I called and asked the manager for a job there. Unfortunately he dicked me around a bit and never did put me on the schedule, but I found work at another dungeon, and for awhile, as a pro-sub (most people have a hard time believing that about me). Since then I've moved onto escort work and ran my own escort agency for awhile.

FG: Was there a particular event that motivated you to become an activist?

SL: I've been an activist of some sort since my late teens, first with the riot grrrl movement and pro-choice/feminist causes and then I ran with the local anarchists for awhile until I started to see through their bullshit. As far as sex worker rights activism goes... I'd been wanting to do something locally for awhile, but didn't really have a network of friends in the industry to organize with. Then I attended the launch party hosted by SWOP-Chicago founders kittenINFINITE and Betty Devoe and got involved with sex worker activism after that.

FG: What sorts of things are you involved in as an activist?

SL: I do a lot, it's kinda taken over my life. It's hard because I don't get paid a dime to do this stuff and it eats up so much of my time. Currently I'm the director of Sex Workers Outreach Project-Chicago, an advocacy group for sex workers. Just in the past month I've met with a local alderman to protest his proposed "prostitution-free zone", collaborated with another activist on the development a large scale survey of providers/clients/sex industry professionals on sex trafficking in the community, worked a booth for SWOP-Chicago at a porn convention, organized with members of another activist organization on a series of PSAs about sex worker/ GLBTQ youth harassment, done street outreach as a volunteer with Chicago Recovery Alliance, and curated/organized the first ever sex worker film fest in Chicago. I also have the video podcast, which doesn't get updated nearly as much as I'd like because I'm so busy.

FG: In looking back on the history of sex workers' rights activism in America and elsewhere, how do you see things as having changed over the years?

SL: There's a lot more organizations now spread out all throughout the US, not just in San Francisco, where it seems like this movement was centralized for a long time. I think this idea of having one or two cites where all progressive and radical activity is taking place is kinda pointless. The work needs to be done in the cities and places that are traditionally more conservative and it seems like little by little, there's more networks popping up in smaller cities. There's a lot more awareness about this industry now and a lot of the activists are getting more media attention.

FG: Could you share a story about an activist failure or disaster you have experienced, and how you were able to recover and learn lessons from the set back?

SL: I guess the worst failures are just ideas that were thrown around, but never followed through, which is pretty common. Oftentimes it's hard to get people to bottom line projects and the work gets dumped on the same two or three people every time. There's also been a lot of projects and collaborations that we've gotten involved with, but just fizzled out for one reason or another, usually due to people flaking out or losing interest. I think the biggest failure with this movement as a whole is that people just aren't fully committed to it, or want to do something, but once they realize that there's actual work involved, they back away. Most of the other disasters I've experienced involve people whose personalities who weren't conducive to activism work. People promise to do something and then drop the ball. I've moved forward from everything pretty smoothly but I can't say they wasn't disappointing at the time.

FG: What impresses or inspires you about the early days of sex workers' rights activism in America?

SL: The Hooker's Ball Margo St. James used to put on were pretty impressive, all the stuff Carol Leigh did back in the day. Most of the most impressive stuff happened outside of the US, such as Australia, where there SW rights movement is large and very organized.

FG: What do you think sex workers' rights activists are better at doing now?

SL: We're a lot more visible and vocal now, a lot more media savvy, thanks mostly to social networking, which has really changed the face of activism.

FG: Have your views on activist strategies and campaigning changed, and if so, how?

SL: Yes, I think they evolve over time, as I become more experienced at all this stuff. You learn from mistakes, what works, what doesn't. I've never been a fan of large scale protests because I don't believe you change people's minds by standing on a street corner with a sign yelling some wacky chant. Being an activist to me is about educating people on a less hysterical level... by talking to them individually, speaking on panels, presenting at colleges, even the advocacy videos. If people view you as crazy or "the other", they stop listening.

FG: What are the most pressing issues you would like to see sex work activists focus on in the coming 10 years?

SL: Creating more unity among other types of sex workers, breaking down stigma not just surrounding sex work, but amongst each other. I think the focus on prostitution-related issues has the tendency to alienate sex workers who aren't involved in that from getting involved as activist. That said, we need way more organization and funding. We need more dedicated volunteers willing to speak up on the issue and be able to follow through with large-scale projects that shift public opinion of sex work.  We need to challenge criminalization of prostitution but realize that it's not always a realistic goal.

FG: What message would you like to share with people who are thinking about getting involved in sex workers' rights activism, but have so far hesitated?

SL: I understand a lot of people hesitate to get involved because they don't agree with what a certain group or person has done, but there's strength in numbers. The more people that get involved, the more likely we are to reach our goals as a community. The reason why many of the activist organizations have not been effective is that they lack volunteers and manpower to get things accomplished. There's different ways to be an activist and it's best for individuals to decide what works best for them. But don't not get involved because you didn't like what so-and-so did or you don't agree with a certain stance an organization had on something. Do your own thing. Create the change you want to see.