I haven't had much time to write on the ho revolution lately, so I wanted to draw my readers' attention to Egypt again.  (See an earlier post on the intersections of how society treats both sex workers and Muslim women here.)

Focus on the country is waning, and I'm now only following one Egyptian tweeter/organizer myself: @Sandmonkey, who is now known to be 29-year-old Mahmoud Salem.  He posts tons of stuff - from coordinating protests as they happen, to thoughts on the economy, to how to talk to average people about politics - and it's been interesting to keep following the very-much-not-complete revolution going on in the country through his eyes.  Sure, Egyptians ousted president Hosni Mubarak, but now what?  With the country under temporary military rule, people are trying to sort out "which way forward?"

It might seem like overthrowing an Arab dictator, and American sex workers fighting criminalization and stigma, are about as different as two causes could be, but I've found a lot of commonality reading Sandmonkey's tweets.  (Pardon me if I sound like a fangirl.  Full disclosure: this chick will always melt for smart political dudes.)  I wish I'd saved or re-tweeted more of my favorites so I could find them now, but here's a sampling of things I've liked, which cover the three big points that I want to highlight:

Public outreach

One of the overall themes I've found both with Sandmonkey's tweets, and other things I've read about Egypt's revolution, is the importance of young people reaching out and talking to older generations and people who disagree with you.  Sandmonkey is regularly urging his followers to talk to their families, their neighbors, anyone they encounter, and debunk myths and explain what the January 25th revolution is really about.  Sex workers badly need to do this sort of thing, and better facilitating public outreach is my goal with my upcoming not-for-profit project, SWAAY.  You can't change the world without being bold enough to start talking to lots and lots of normal people and explaining why they ought to get on board with your ideas.

Mutual aid

Another issue, not at all new to sex workers, is of the importance of taking care of your own communities when the state and police fail to help you.  Even though the specifics are different, the point is very much the same: we must look out for each other.  In the last 6 weeks, I've seen Egyptians on Twitter posting about things like neighborhood watch patrols to protect themselves from government thugs, warning systems at the Tahrir Square camp to alert other protesters if police were coming, the construction of physical barriers for protection, medical volunteers treating injuries, supporters making food and bringing it to those on the streets, women leading protests during the day after men protected them during the night, and later, people popping up to sweep and repair damage to their city after the massive protests.  (Sandmonkey was arrested and beaten while delivering medical supplies to a makeshift clinic for protesters.)  We will take care of ourselves because no one else is going to do it for us is the kind of vital empowerment from within that all types of outliers require.

There's room for everyone

Not everyone is going to be at the front lines.  Not everyone can be a full-timer.  We all have things of value to contribute, and if we can all spare just a bit of our energy, we can make a big impact.  I don't think I'd be good at trying to reach out to the police in an effort to get them to be less violent, rape-y, and discriminatory against street-based sex workers.  I don't think I'd be good at policy and lobbying stuff, I don't want to be on TV as a spokesperson, and I lack the skills to help people with medical issues.  Thankfully, other people are good at those things.  I think I'm pretty good at explaining complex issues in accessible terms, debating anti- sex worker myths, and I know how to operate clean, easy-to-navigate web sites.  Diversity of skills and interests is an asset, not a weakness.