Liz offers sex worker-affirming therapy and she runs a monthly support group for sex workers, which you can attend in person in New York City, or virtually. She also recommends the services of Manhattan Alternative Therapy and Kintsugi Therapy Collective. You can reach out to her for more information at therapy@lizafton.com.

If you are seeking mental health support and you also work in the adult industry, you deserve mental health providers who are capable of meeting you where you’re at, and operate from a sex work-affirming perspective.

Mentioned in the episode:

• My article for Rewire News Group: Sex Workers Remember Victims of Gilgo Beach Killer: ‘Our Sisters’

• My new e-book about media bias against sex workers

Upcoming events:

• 5/31: Sex Worker Sunday service & dinner at Judson Memorial Church (Manhattan)

• 6/14: Sex Worker Open Mic (Brooklyn)

• 6/17: Sex Worker caravan heading to Long Island to witness the sentencing of serial murderer Rex Heuermann, in solidarity with the eight women he confessed to killing. Contact me for more.

A few weeks later, I put out a call for people who wanted to participate in the documentary I was filming about the love lives of sex workers. Trixxie volunteered, and joined myself and a group of our peers in an on-camera support circle, where we discussed our dating experiences.

In this episode, Trixxie reflects on a traumatic relationship where their sex work was a factor. Parts of this may be difficult to listen to; we discuss pregnancy, abortion, sexual assault, and anti-trans hate.

What happened to Trixxie is terrible. And also, in hearing them tell their story, we have the opportunity to bear witness to a person with a tremendous spirit.

I hope you can make it out to see Trixxie rock the mic on Wednesday, but if not, you can stream their music here!

His behavior was so aggressive and controlling that it influenced which gigs she would agree to take, and even impacted her desire to keep performing.

Jessie’s story is harrowing, but it’s important to witness. It illustrates how anti-sex worker bias often affects people who are not even in the adult industry. In a patriarchy, where sex workers are treated as disposable, no woman, femme, or queer person is ever safe from the dangers of being labeled “whore” (derogatory).

This episode is dedicated to anyone who’s experienced whore-shaming abuse, especially if you’re an actual sex worker.

No one deserves that.

Subscribe now

News & Announcements

MY FILM IS SCREENING IN BROOKLYN
NYC-based sex workers and their friends are invited to Bodies of Work, a screening of three short films by sex workers, about sex workers. My new documentary about the love lives of sex workers is included in the lineup. Click here to RSVP for free.

SUBSCRIPTIONS TO MY SUBSTACK ARE NOW $5/MONTH
They used to be $8. If you’re currently a paid subscriber, your subscription has been adjusted to reflect the new price. If you’d like to become a paid supporter, click the button below:

Subscribe now

Unfortunately, the potential for dangerous contact with law enforcement is something that no sex worker can afford to push far from their mind—even the minority of workers whose jobs aren’t criminalized.

In the last podcast episode, therapist Liz Afton explained that, unfortunately, sometimes a sex worker’s own partner is responsible for exposing them to police.

There are so many ways this can go down. An abusive partner who wants power and control may report you or threaten to report you for doing sex work. A partner who is naive or ignorant may not understand your vulnerability in the first place, and could bring you into contact with police, under whatever circumstance, because they believe law enforcement is there to protect you both.

In my new documentary, Beloved, NYC-based sex worker Celeste shares a powerful anecdote about the time they dated someone who, unbeknownst to them, was entering law enforcement. They join me on today’s podcast episode to talk more about that situation, as well as moms, book recs, and safety tips for workers.

Beloved: a film about the love lives of sex workers is streaming through 3/15/26

My new documentary is part of the Lift-Off Film Festival, and available to watch online for a brief window! Tickets are $12, and your purchase gives you access to all the films in Beloved’s category. You’ll also be able to vote for your favorite film—enough votes could help Beloved earn a live screening in England (yay).

WATCH BELOVED

Even those of us who run in queer, leftist, progressive circles, where sex work is publicly accepted, our private lives are often a different matter.

Episode one of the new season features a conversation with Liz Afton, a therapist who works with sex workers and their partners. She walks us through some common relationship red flags that she sees in partnerships where the sex worker is not being treated well:

Red Flag #1: “Sex work is basically cheating”

Many industry babes, myself included, have been accused of “cheating” just by going to work. Jealous, insecure partners may insist that when you do things like communicate digitally, physically meet up with, or engage in sexual/erotic activity with your clients, that you’re being “unfaithful” to your relationship.

Liz explains that this is an incorrect framework for approaching the conversation.

Red Flag #2: YOU can’t escort, because that would violate MY boundaries.

Or, “If you do XYZ form of sex work, it would violate my boundaries, so I’d leave you”.

This is a line that I repeatedly heard from a past partner. And it’s a line that worked on me. It kept me broke and anxious, because I really believed that if I branched out to other forms of sex work besides stripping, I’d be “violating their boundaries”.

I knew in my gut it was wrong. But I didn’t know how to verbalize why until years later, when I interviewed Liz Afton the first time, for my film—by the way, did I mention she’s in the film?

Red Flag #4: Covert Financial Control

We discuss how a partner’s negging, nagging, or threatening behavior regarding a sex worker’s job can translate into the shrinking of the sex worker’s bank account.

Red Flag #3: Chronic Distrust

A lot of sex workers have had relationship experiences where, no matter how honest they are, their partner never trusts them. Liz and I talk about the ways that chronic distrust erodes the foundation of any relationship, and its lasting effects on individuals.

Stay tuned, chickadees ~ there’s so much more to come!

Xx,

Delilah

• Beloved, my new film about the love lives of SWers

• Podcast theme music: Penelope, written and performed by yours truly