A little media analysis on the situation here…
https://twitter.com/mikestabile/status/1429576130374234113
Just to further underline some of the reporting that got us here (screenshots left off some bylines + want to give you links)… even before the Pornhub fight hit the NYT, @tarpleyhitt at The Daily Beast was digging into Exodus Cry thedailybeast.com/inside-exodus-…
Her stories provided some great leads for my story further investigating Exodus Cry and their use of two decades of sex trafficking panic: newrepublic.com/article/160488…
But see how the CBC framed my reporting: they lead with the Kristof “expose” and offered sex workers as an “other side” cbc.ca/radio/frontbur…
From the beginning, @samleecole at Vice has led the story and consistently emphasized the harms to sex workers. One representative example: vice.com/en/article/n7v…
There’s been a shift from the Pornhub coverage to the OnlyFans coverage, absolutely. I like to think @CharoShane’s piece was printed and taped to Kristof’s desk (that I was told he never went to before covid anyway): nytimes.com/2021/05/18/mag…
But if Kristof weren’t on leave himself right now (he’s “exploring” a run for Oregon gov, yikes) no doubt he’d be on this. He is stubbornly resistant to criticism, even from within his own paper, and when it comes to graphic stories of abuse and sex work, he will never log off.
Sex workers, again, like during SESTA/FOSTA, have rewritten the media narrative to focus on their safety, rights, and political demands. But I also remember, despite that, post-SESTA sex work was still further marginalized, criminalized. The narrative only does so much.
This is pretty different, though: imagine Rep. Bush had been in Congress during SESTA/FOSTA, alongside Rep. Barbara Lee whipping votes against it (as Lee did). What would have happened?
https://twitter.com/CoriBush/status/1428505908934492162
I don’t have any answers on how change should be made for sex workers. (Not my lane, also.) But I keep thinking about these insights from @CeciliaGentili & @agrenell: newrepublic.com/article/154111… 
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