LOS ANGELES—The Free Speech Coalition has signed don to sponsor the inaugural CatalystCon Sex Worker Summit. The event—which takes place Friday, Sept. 16, at the Los Angeles Westin—kicks off the fifth annual CatalystCon West.
CatalystCon is an event designed to inspire exceptional conversations about sexuality.
The Free Speech Coalition seeks to prioritize and amplify the voices of those who work in the adult industry, especially as the November general elections nears and performers and more are facing Proposition 60, which could incentivize the harassment of workers who perform in adult films. Creating a safe space for sex workers to share resources and ideas, and forge stronger community bonds, is part of implementing that policy.
The summit will feature speakers from across the sex worker rights movement, including perspectives from adult film, in person services, and survivors of sex trafficking. The presenters will facilitate panel discussions, mini workshops, and networking opportunities.
The all-day summit and luncheon is designed to be a safe, sex worker-only space created to have conversations on current topics relevant to sex worker lives, including issues surrounding legalization, decriminalization, self-care, resources, how sex work can impact personal relationships, and much more.
Speakers include:
Jessica Drake: Wicked Pictures contract performer, writer, and director, as well as a global humanitarian and emerging sexual wellness authority
Jiz Lee: Working in porn for more than a decade and a key player in the queer porn movement, the genderqueer performer advocates for worker rights through writing and as a producer at Pink and White Productions.
ZLV: A sex researcher, public speaker and sexual rights advocate.
Meg Muñoz: An ally and advocate for sex workers, she is a former sex worker and sex trafficking survivor who founded Abeni, a nonprofit organization which seeks to support those who work in the sex/adult entertainment industry. She's passionate about decriminalization, harm reduction, relational support, tackling stigma, and confronting the conflation of sex work and sex trafficking.
Andre Shakti: An educator, producer, activist, and professional slut devoted to normalizing alternative desires, de-stigmatizing sex workers and their clients, and not taking herself too seriously. She wrestles mediocre white men into submission and writes about sex work, queerness and non-monogamy for Cosmopolitan, Harlot, MEL, Thrillist and more.
This is a free event open to current and former sex workers only.
Lunch will be provided courtesy of the Free Speech Coalition.
Registration is required and space is limited. Register at CatalystCon.com/sex-worker-summit/.
