Devon Hunter

(In the spirit of providing useful information and a place for intelligent dialogue, www.DevonHunter.info accepts well written blog entries about topics of concern to adult entertainment. The views expressed in the following article are not necessarily shared by the operators of the hosting site. Archived guest writers’ articles will be listed under Interviews & Essays.)

The best way to alienate your fans

In my previous post, I talked about a few ways to draw people to your work and connect with them in order to promote loyalty and increase visibility. For my last post with Devon, I want to share a story with you to illustrate a great way to lose not only fans, but subscribers for your various studios.

I am an erotic author.  As part of that discipline, it’s my job to imagine wicked, sexy scenes for my novels.  Last week I had a thought for one of my favorite adult models on a scene for a specific studio which with he is affiliated.  The idea was simply a role reversal with another model (an idea that was not unique to that site); however, for this particular model, I hadn’t ever heard of him doing any kind of switch like this, despite seeing countless comments wishing that he would do so.  I wrote out a quick sketch of my idea and emailed it to the model.  We’d emailed a few times previously, so I figured there would be no harm in doing so.

I was mistaken.

To say that he was not receptive to the idea would be a grave understatement.  As someone who also receives emails from fans, I saw that there were two ways he could have dealt with my email.  The first would have been to simply say that he didn’t think the idea would work.  This I would have understood and accepted.  Instead, I received a rage-filled, hateful email (with a cruel follow up message just for good measure).  I was shocked by the sheer aggressiveness and almost violence of his response, as were the friends I shared it with.
The results of that email included me pulling my subscriptions from the sites he is affiliated with, informing those studios of his interactions with their subscribers, and the withdrawal of my friends’ subscriptions.  I realize that to an industry such as gay adult films that this is merely a drop in their bucket against a bankable model’s lure, but I just could not justify paying hard-earned money to someone who would treat a fan so harshly for merely trying help increase his fan base.

My advice to you, from one professional to another, is this: If you receive an email, tweet, Facebook post, blog comment, etc. that angers or upsets you, do not respond while you are angry.  Once you hit that send button, you cannot take it back, and you have absolutely no control over what happens to the email. Have someone else look over your reply to see if there is the possibility that what you say may come back to haunt you. Think about the possible repercussions of your email.  Would you say the same comments in a blog post or on Twitter?  You just might, because there is nothing to stop the recipient from posting your email anywhere they choose.

I did not name the model or re-post the conversation publicly, because I’m not a vengeful person.    My email obviously upset him, and I’m honestly sorry that it did.  It was never my intention.  This post serves merely to remind you that once you post something on the internet (either via email, or sites such as Twitter), you can’t ever get it back.  There are thousands of bots monitoring Twitter to re-post tweets.  Even if you delete the original post, it’s still out there forever.  So, take a deep breath, or even a walk before you respond to someone in anger, because your reputation could depend on it.

Wishing you a wonderful and productive 2011,

- J. P. Barnaby
www.jpbarnaby.com
Twitter: @JPBarnaby

Erotic fiction is more than just moans, grunts, and physical pleasure. To J. P. Barnaby, erotic fiction consists not only of the mechanics of physical love, but the complex characters and relationships that lead to those all-encompassing feelings of need and longing. Sex without context is merely sex – but sex coupled with attraction, with explosive repercussions – that is good erotic fiction.

Hello Nothing much to report here. Just wanting to give a quick update.

I had a successful trip to DC this past weekend, and last night I got to visit with my friend Sean Knight (once I got home to Charlotte). He was here while I was away, and then we went to dinner once he was finished with his itinerary. It was a very satisfying 72 hours.

I also heard from Fabscout that I have some video work to do in August, and I just scheduled a new art shoot with an up-and-coming DC photographer. Honey, we feline types always alight upon our tootsies.

I have some new interview ideas (since I’ve not had any new conversations for the Interviews tab in a long time). Also, I completed a Skype interview with Jayson of The Cock 2 Go Show, and I’ve been in touch with some other people who would like to talk to me about LGBT adult entertainment issues. I’m excited, because some of these people are not specifically connected to porn blogs, and a couple are actually very large names with a broad audience. It means that I am in a position to have a conversation about the purpose of my blog outside the confines/comforts of a niche audience. And why shouldn’t I combine art, porn, and escorting into a divergent form of LGBT activism? I want to do my little bit in my little way.

Wow. I had more to report than I thought. I hope the week is starting off well for you. xoxo

Devon Hunter: Please tell me: a) the contact info you would want used in the interview, b) a brief description of the organization’s history,  c) and how the organization fills a gap in standard attitudes towards sex workers.

Stacey Swimme: I am the Development Director of St. James Infirmary.

St. James Infirmary provides compassionate and non-judgmental health care and social services for all sex workers, while preventing occupational illnesses and injuries through a comprehensive continuum of services. We offer free, confidential medical and social services for female, male, and transgender, sex workers.

We are the first peer run occupational health and safety clinic for sex workers in the United States. In our case, peer run means that the majority of our staff, current or former sex workers and are active clients of the clinic-that is they also receive our services. The nature of peer-to-peer services creates a safe space where sex workers can feel safe in discussing their sexual health, seek out services that are appropriate to meet their needs, and receive culturally competent care. Sex workers tend to be pathologized in medical environments, resulting in fractured relationships with medical providers and inadequate care. At the St. James Infirmary participants have no fear of their occupation interfering with their right to receive quality medical care.

What services do you offer at the Infirmary, and how are these services funded?

About one third of our funding comes from the City of San Francisco and state of California through their respective AIDS prevention funds. This support has been slashed in 2009 as the city and state are both facing severe budget cuts. We also receive in-kind support from other clinics and HIV/AIDS prevention organizations.

We’ve recently become qualified for some third-party billing programs such as Medi-Cal and FamPACT (a family planning fund). Through these programs we’re able to receive reimbursements for some of the clinical services provided, such as gynecological care. These reimbursements are helping to off-set costs, but often still do not cover the full expense that we put out for these services.

The rest of our funding comes through private foundation grants and private contributors. Individual private donors who contribute small amounts, anywhere from $20 to $200, are really helping us keep our program going.

Our services include Primary Care, Transgender Hormone Therapy, HIV/STD/HCV Counseling and Testing, Hepatitis A/B Immunizations, Acupuncture, Massage and Reiki, Peer and Mental Health Counseling, Support Groups, Health Education Workshops, On-site and Street-based Syringe Access & Disposal (NEX), Street and Venue-based Outreach, Wound/Abscess Care, Food and Clothing, Harm Reduction Supplies, Apprenticeships and Internships, Community Research, and Education. We are open 3 days a week: Tuesdays 1-6pm (NEX) and Tuesdays 3-6pm (wound and holistic care); Wednesday 6-9pm (drop-in and appointment-based Medical services); and Thursdays 1-4pm (appointment-based transgender healthcare) and Thursdays 6-9pm (drop-in primary medical care).

A full list of the support groups, meetings, and other opportunities to participate or receive services is available at our website at www.StJamesInfirmary.org.

What type of political/social/cultural climate is required for a city to have an organization like St. James? What kind of cooperation is needed from local authorities?

This project was made possible because of the unique vision of Sex Worker rights activists from COYOTE and the Exotic Dancers Alliance (EDA). In 1999, via collaboration with the Department of Public Health STD Control and Prevention Section (known as “City Clinic”), the University of California San Francisco, COYOTE, and EDA the St. James Infirmary started as a private non-profit 501(c)(3)

Having a rich history of sex worker rights organizing in San Francisco (first with COYOTE, then BaySWAN, and later the Exotic Dancers Alliance) was central to ensuring that this would be a strong peer-led effort that would honor the true needs of sex workers. Several things happened that made this possible. In 1996 the San Francisco task force on prostitution made recommendations that the City should fund occupational health services for sex workers. In 1998, sex workers rights activist from COYOTE and EDA called the Director of STD Control and Prevention of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Dr. Jeffrey Klausner and proposed a clinic model for sex workers that went beyond HIV and STI testing. This was the beginning of conversations and alliances to be made that provided the framework for a peer led occupational health and safety clinic for sex workers.

First we were just open one night a week at City Clinic. For five years, every Wednesday night 6-9pm, City Clinic was open to sex workers and their current partners for services ranging from primary care, STD screening and prevention, and free sexual health resources to items such as condoms. In 2003 we got our own clinic! Our hours were expanded, and a wealth of services were added.

How do you protect the privacy of the people who seek your help?

Participants are never required to provide identification. Whatever name, gender and other identities an individual wishes to be known by at our clinic are what goes into their medical records. The records are only accessible by staff who need them. Since we are mostly peers and share a desire for privacy, participants have no reason to fear that we will be insensitive about this. Medical records are protected under privacy laws and can only be shared with outside sources at the request of the participant (patient) or through a court ordered subpoena. However, we are not an anonymous test site, we are a confidential test site. Under the law, positive HIV and STI test results are disclosed to the Health Department. But if a person is using an alias, than that is the name that is reported with the test result.

What measures would you suggest if someone wanted to pursue founding a similar organization for their own area?

Collaborate! Start by building a relationship with a local clinic that sex workers in your community trust. Sometime Planned Parenthood is a good place for sex workers, sometimes they’re not. Clinics that serve LGBTQ communities also tend to be kinder to sex workers, but again, it’s hit or miss in some towns.

You also need a strong sex worker community to advocate for a rights-based approach to healthcare. Team up with your nearest Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) chapter or other regional sex worker rights group. Talk with other sex workers in your community about what their actual needs and interests are. Remember, sex workers had been building community in San Francisco for over 25 years before SJI was created. That foundation and well-connected members of our community are how this was possible.

In 2006 you offered a scholarship. Can you tell me how that happened and whether or not it is an on-going program?

The scholarship program we offered was a one-time program that was the result of unclaimed settlement money in a class action lawsuit. In 2003, a group of exotic dancers filed suit against some strip clubs in San Francisco and then settled the case (Siefred v. Centerfolds, et.al. Case No. 305470). After the court exhausted attempts to reach all the original plaintiffs in the case, the Court ordered that unclaimed money from the settlement be used for a grant program focused on education, job training assistance, and alcohol/drug treatment counseling for members of the dancer community. The St. James Infirmary was one of several agencies that received grants from this program. We decided to use our grant money for scholarships to any dancer who could verify that they were currently enrolled in school or a job training program and had danced in San Francisco since 1998. The money was then paid directly to the educational institutions. It was a really amazing opportunity for us to redistribute that money to the community. All together we awarded over $60,000 in scholarship money to about 30 exotic dancers.

Which organizations do you collaborate with and how/why?

In San Francisco:
SF DPH, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, SRO Collaborative, Coalition on Homelessness, Coalition to Save Public Health, the DOPE Project (Harm Reduction Coalition), City Clinic, TransTHRIVE, Positive Directions, Harvey Milk Democratic Club, BaySWAN, and others.

Sex workers rights: We are a community organization member of the Desiree Alliance, we work with other sex worker rights groups as well including SWOP.

What benefits do you see your community enjoying because of the work done at St. James?

Most importantly we are a safe haven with understanding supportive peers. From personal experience and from speaking with others, I know that having a sense of community and a place where you feel welcome contributes to a sense of self-value that motivates us to be healthy and informed. In addition to all of the free services we offer, such as massage or accupuncture, we make friends here. We meet other participants here who will be a safe call when we do outcalls, or who can tell us about a new website to market whatever our unique service is. We circulate a bad date list to help people avoid dangerous clients. People can not only pick up condoms here, but also get info on how to use them or how to be assertive with a client who doesn’t want to use protection. These little details that we understand make huge differences in the lives of sex workers, and these details are often not available at other health clinics.

Are there any obstacles or challenges that hamper your efforts?

Lots! We’re running out of money. That’s the biggest thing. We’ve been holding on for as long as we can to avoid service cuts and cutting back staff hours. But with the reduction in support from city and state, plus the huge cuts that private foundatiuons are experiencing due to the economy, we are in a very tight place right now.

Other challenges: People’s attitudes toward sex workers; the fact that we see sick people arrested and cycled through the jail system; and them then coming out at the other end with their health in even worse a state… all of these things are hard for our staff to see and experience. The criminal status of some of our participants is a driving force in blocking their access to healthcare and safety resources. While we are running low on funds we continue to see money wasted on prohibiting prostitution, which is directly working against our mission to help sex workers stay healthy.

What is the over-arching goal of the organization, and how do you measure effectiveness?

The main goal is to give sex workers access to the tools they need to be safe and healthy. More than 70 per cent of participants say that they heard of us through a friend who has been here. This is a major sign of how effective we are being at providing culturally competent care to a very marginalized group of people.

This year is our 10 year anniversary! We’re having a huge anniversary party on June 5th, 2009 in San Francisco. Info will be at our site at http://www.StJamesInfirmary.org.

I was wondering if you might be willing to link to http://www.BoundNotGagged.com, a blog for sex workers?

I would be happy to list your links. And thank you for sharing this incredibly helpful information with me and my readers.

Perhaps this isn’t the case where you live? But I’m working throughout Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. I can speak only from my own experience…

I know several gorgeous dancers of color. Some are Latino, one is Asian, and the remaining are African American. Most of the Latinos do very well, and so does the Asian. I frequently hear complaints from those who are Black, or some mix thereof. I cannot speak for them or from their perspective, but what I can do is voice frustration for them. (If you are a Black dancer, or if you know one, please consider writing a blog entry for the site on this subject.)

Before I continue, let me say this: If you are one of my beautiful Black brothers in the art, you should consider very carefully the venues you choose. I know career dancers who are Black, and who do very well; however, until we as a culture mature enough to see beauty as it is, you are likely to run into a passive form of racism at predominantly White clubs (“I’m not racist. I’m just not attracted to Black guys.” Ergo, I won’t tip them.). It’s impossible to force people to budge on preference, so you’ll need a strategy in mind for placing yourself amongst people who will appreciate you. As a person of color I’m sure it is frustrating to be fetishized, but as a dancer/business man you have to perform where you can make the most money.

I’m trying to make an ugly truth known to a wider base of patrons. I go into this entry knowing that it is a minefield, especially since I’m from the South. But I am not trying to discourage anyone, and I am not trying to offend anyone (likely, that will happen whether I try or not). What I do want to do is bring attention to the fact that most Black dancers work hard. The sad truth is that it’s because they have to. I’ve seen it first hand far too much – the White dancers who just stand there like (poorly rendered and often arrogant) sculptures and get money literally thrown at them, while the Black dancers putting on a fucking show come off with a tiny fraction of the same… It’s not right.

I am not going to tell people whom they should fantasize about, nor am I going to lecture people about racism. Both tirades would be ridiculous at best. What I can do is remind patrons that everyone has bills to pay, and that everyone is hurt by rejection/invisibility/marginalization. Yes, you as a patron are there to exercise your right to dawdle over the dancers you like. But please consider the entertainment value of what you are seeing. Regardless of which dancers make you hot, are there any that simply command respect just because their skills are amazing? Would it kill you to tip a brotha for being off the chain?

One of the frustrations in this career is that what you make isn’t necessarily connected to how much you work out, whether or not you’re nice, and being a good performer. You are at the mercy of Whim. Whim is the god of moodswings. We aren’t rewarded or compensated on a regular, consistent basis for anything other than the benefiscence of Whim. Speaking as someone who has had bad nights and knows how frustrating they can be, please consider interacting not just with the dancers who make you think “Mmmm!,” but also with those who make you think “Ahhh!”

I’m gay. The default political setting for that in this country is Democrat. Yes, there are gay Republicans walking through the world, which I am confouded about to be honest, but variety is the spice of life. Yes, I voted for the Obama/Biden ticket; however, it wasn’t as easy as I’d imagined it would be. I had a bit of a hissy fit at the polling booth…

Let me first say that I have never been registered with any particular party: I don’t want to be limited during the primaries. Today I voted a mixed bag of Democrats at the national level, Libertarians at the state level, and as best as I could for local “stuff.” I do not believe I am well-served by voting down a straight party line. So, I wanted to make it clear first and foremost that I am not simply a pre-programmed liberal voter. I’d have voted for Green candidates if there’d been any in my area running. I love the precepts of the Green platform. It’s really perfectly aligned to my personal philosophies. I wish it had more traction as a party.

Okay, this is where the anxious foot stomping comes in: I accidentally walked out without my notes… I couldn’t leave the polling station to go home and get them. The people there didn’t have any lists of any names or anything at all to help me remember my choices! I voted with true confidence at the national and state levels, but I’m really hoping I did okay for the local races. It was then that I had to flip back to the front and face the presidential bubbles.

When I went into this I had the following in mind: If Obama is that far ahead in my state, I will write in the names of the Candidates for the Green Party. If McCain is stomping Obama in my state, I’ll do the same. However, if there’s any possibility that Obama might actually need me to push the balance in North Carolina, then I’ll vote for him (bearing in mind that Obama was my FIFTH choice as a Democrat and that I didn’t rule McCain out completely until he selected The Abominable Snow Woman). Seems like a pretty good strategy.

Until I realized that I was really looking forward to voting Green but had walked out without my notes. Suddenly I was forced to vote Obama, because I drew a blank on the Green candidates’ names!! Nevermind that North Carolina may swing toward him and that I’d decided in that case I’d vote for him anyway… the point is that I’d taken away my own damn choice!!! I stood there for at least 15 or 20 minutes hemming and hawing… The octagenarians kept coming over to make sure I was okay, and one even patted my shoulders affectionately.

So. There it is. After nearly two years I finally placed my vote. I’ve been so ready for this election to hurry up and be over. Now it is. I’m completely underwhelmed.