I think discussing class in terms of the sex industry and sex worker activism is particularly interesting because sex work is often the reason that people are/not in a particular class. I think for many sex workers, identifying with this class struggle is closely associated with understanding how to get the resources that you need for things such as housing, healthcare, education, etc. and then teaching that to others.

So while we're figuring out how to effectively work together with over-lapping movements such as prison reform or housing action, etc. I think we're also working to help people be as safe as possible and have as much information as possible to have control over their situations and maximize their resources. This is still an avenue that only works for some of course, with deeper issues such as mental/physical health being factors.

But I do think that when we consider poverty in the context of sex worker rights organizing, we have to consider what impacts are being made that are not visibly political, but ultimately have long-term results. I think this rings back to the discussion in Audacia Ray's post about informal networks. I think a lot of the real action that we associate with 'sex worker's rights' organizing is done in spaces that are not visible to the public- or even to some of us.

I think that a lot of people are making thoughtful and challenging comments about race/class in the context of sex work and I'm grateful that there is a lot of work to raise consciousness in this area. Sex workers definitely need more guidance on how to actually contribute to solutions, but I think we should also look deeper at the way that sex worker communities develop and grow over time because I think there is progress being made in less traditional ways and celebrating that will fuel people's enthusiasm to contribute to the more traditional/visible efforts for reform.

Redarding 'decriminalization'- I'm pretty unhappy with that term in general. I don't think it really accurately reflects our goals (not that any single term really will) but I think the word is problematic.

When the un-initiated hear that term, they freak out and think decrim means unrestricted sex-selling everywhere- and what about the children!!! The public really won't get behind that. And the fact is, as you pointed out, many sex workers won't even get behind that.

Phrases that I've been using more are 'alternatives to arrest-based policies' or 'alternatives to criminalization' but those are pretty chunky. I think we'd benefit from re-thinking some of the terminology collectively.

One more point about privilege and activism- Accessibility and communication. I think a major problem that state- and nation-wide groups (opposed to local/city- based) are facing is that long-distance communication methods by default create an exclusive space. We're desperately seeking solutions to this problem and we have a few avenues that we're exploring. But, again, stuff that Audacia mentioned in her post- how do we make sure that we're hearing from people? Even when communication resources are available, such as toll-free conference calls, etc, the nature of organizing by phone can be intimidating, or annoying, or at a bad time- or any number of issues. How much is class a factor in participation and how much of it is culture or inter-personal issues that make communication even more complicated? Is this stuff that can actually be measured as a way to help organizations develop practical solutions?