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Life and Sex Work in Portland, OR




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There's the anecdote about Portland having the most strip clubs of any city in the US. Along with these strip clubs there are a lot of women doing sex work in and around the city. How do they feel about it? How do they do it? Who are they? And where do they get the support they need. This short looks at sex work and the social services agencies that have gathered together to provide services and resources for a very present, and yet hidden and dismissed, group of women working in Portland.
jarratt

15 responses // Life and Sex Work in Portland, OR

  • really interesting story. nice work, jarratt!
    HenryG
  • I found this pod to be informative about a segment of the population I think about often. . A 52 year old granny sex worker? Iconoclastic to say the least. Well filmed and a good editing job. I think your pod is ready for TV.
    AnaMireles
  • I live in North East Portland where I am forced to be around the homeless drug dependent population. They like to congregate one block from my house. I have talked to many of the girls and older women as they have solicited themselves to me and or asked for money. (Not the ones in this video) Many will do anything saying that they just want food. But truthfully, when I asked what they would like to eat or that I would gladly get them food, the truth comes out. For drug dealers, soup and a sandwich is not currency. With the sex workers around also come drug dealing and theft. Crack and meth are the two I am approached with the most.
    I commend the health workers that are trying to help the sex workers and those young women who need help.
    One sex worker in this video believes that by having sex with one married man she is saving the mans marriage. In my opinion that is exactly what ends marriages. Lol
    GarrettShields
    1 response to this
  • Thanks for such an interesting & fairly balanced look into this world that people try and sweep under the rug so much.

    My brother-in-law complains about how much Portland copies other places, but I think that they are rather cutting edge on environment and compassion.
    rahulbrown
  • I think this piece is really well put together and the people you interviewed made good characters. Very informative and surprising as well. The sound came out pretty clean even though you seemed worried. Plus it didn't even feel 10 minutes long. Good work. How long did it take to make this?
    wolfgangmn
    1 response to this
  • cool.
    dawnamo
  • What a great story! I just did a school paper and presentation on PWCL and Bad Date Line here in Portland and wish I had known of this video so I could've shown part of it in my presentation. I did a community outreach internship with Outside In a year ago and witnessed many of the footage you have. Thanks for creating this and highlighting the positive action that is being made by these organizations.
    gramham
  • I'm very interested in moving to Portland, from Detroit. I've heard a lot about the drug use and prostitution in Portland, yet I'm still not turned off by it's very compassionate communities! The needle exchange hit me the hardest. This idea of a new alternative approach to drug users is fabulous! You can't force people to end their drug habits but you can help them be save!
    Audiogeek
  • excellent work jarratt. Well filmed and edited. Good incorporation of women in that line of work as well as the people working to provide resources and health care to this population.
    nas2219
  • Great work Jarrat. Something that was missed is that when these girls are popped by the police and convicted of prostitution - they must register as a "Sex Offender" with the state while the "johns" are given essentially a slap on the wrist comparatively. Now - how about a pod on the lack of Domestic Violence shelters! Keep up the good fight!
    OMP
    • OMP
    • 3 months ago
  • ... I enjoyed the perspective you took on this issue... as it is important to embrace the reality of how others live, and still be a part of the solution. This takes away stereotype, and plugs into real life.

    Hopefully someday, sex work can be recognized as a very real part of our society, so we may then place controls on health issues, sex crimes, and quality of the product and experience!

    Sex doesn't ruin lives - disease, lies and crime do!
    ajaariel
  • portland,oregon needs some excitement since there is nothing to do in portland,oregon i mean who in the hell want to move to portland,oregon it sucks in portland and there is no diversity in portland,oregon except for that black woman is that pod
    santana01
  • Great pod. I grew up in the Portland area and as a child and even in my teenage years, I must have been completely unaware of the number of sex workers there. I knew about a high rate of drug use by teens hanging out around Pioneer Courthouse Square, they were always smoking and asking for money. Seeing these women point out places they go to turn tricks just blew my mind since I recognized nearly everywhere they went.

    I also hadn't heard of the term "survival sex" before I saw this pod. It's an interesting term, I think it conveys the reality of what some woman face in trying to provide for themselves while lacking the skills or desire to find other professions. Keep uploading Portland-centric content!
    ajcowley

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