Trouble and Harlot

International Sex Worker Rights Day, March 3rd

Launches Sex Worker Pride Anthem!!

The Sex Workers Film and Arts Festival Presents

Courtney Trouble & Scarlot Harlot

Sex Worker Rights Music Video:

The Burnout

The San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival premieres this sex worker anthem, Courtney Trouble's "The Burnout," a music video by Scarlot Harlot and Courtney Trouble in English, Chinese and Thai. Click for Thai version here. The makers wish to thank and acknowledge the sex worker activists and organizations around the world for their work and inspiration.

In this video, a 'day in Courtney's life' parallels her journey from phone sex to sexual representation/pornography as well as her political journey, interwoven with sex worker demonstrations, clips and photos from organizations listed here.

This music video reflects a personal and local story, and a political story that reaches out to individuals and organizations which resist discrimination and work towards social justice and human rights for sex workers. Many find a common voice in Courtney Trouble's frustration, pride and defiance.

"How soon I got over, waiting alone at home for the telephone. Why do you care?...you can’t see me...don't wanna know me at all, but I know you wanna get off."

Trouble's frustration evolves into a recognition of her mission to 'seize the means of production.'

"It's just like anything else, it's just a job, but we've got the guts to profit off our own skin. They won't acknowledge us until we own enough to control it. They won't respect us until we give them no other choice."

Courtney Trouble has also been an artist, singer, designer, and photographer for many years. Her work can be viewed at www.courtneytrouble.com. Courtney is also the founder of the underground queer porn site, www.nofauxxx.com

Filmmaker Carol Leigh AKA Scarlot Harlot has been a sex worker and activist since the late seventies. A poet and performance artist, she coined the term "sex work" in 1979. She was recently awarded a Creative Work Fund Award to compile her sex worker documentaries as part of the library at the Center for Sex and Culture (www.sexandculture.org). “Unrepentant Whore: The Collected Work of Scarlot Harlot" was published by Last Gasp. For more info, visit her websites at www.bayswan.org/penet.html and www.unrepentantwhore.com

Sex Worker Outreach Project-USA is sponsoring celebrations across the U.S. for March 3rd. Visit www.swopusa.org/March3 for information about events celebrating March 3rd.

History of March 3rd

The 3rd of March is International Sex Worker Rights Day. The day originated in 2001 when over 25,000 sex workers gathered in India for a sex worker festival. The organizers, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, a Calcutta based group whose membership consists of somewhere upward of 50,000 sex workers and members of their communities. Sex worker groups across the world have subsequently celebrated 3 March as International Sex Workers' Rights Day.

DMSC writes: Knowing the usual response of international bodies and views of academicians and intellectuals of the 1st world [many of them consider that sex workers of third world are different from 1st world and can't take their decision] a call coming from a third world country would be more appropriate at this juncture, we believe. It will be a great pleasure to us if all of you observe the day in your own countries too...We need your inspiration and support to turn our dreams into reality.

Email: swfest@bayswan.org

Visit: www.sexworkerfest.com/Trouble

Courtney’s performance at

Cell Space as part of

The Sex Workers Art Show Tour

Also visit Sex Workers Present

from APNSW, to view many sex worker videos including “Taking The Pledge”

from the Network of Sex Work Projects.

Thai translation by

Empower, Thailand

www.empowerfoundation.org

Chinese translation by