Fuck You Pay Me supports sex worker advocacy arts-activism in the face of social media censorship

After two years of engaging with audiences, artists and the sex worker community online, the Fuck You Pay Me Instagram account (@fypmshow) was suspended for violating community guidelines this month. There was no nudity on the account but they were still victim to the crackdown on ‘inappropriate’ content by the platform. Continued appeals to reinstate the page have been rejected by Instagram with no guidance as to next steps.

There have been numerous calls for Instagram to clarify their vague guidelines and to discuss sex workers’ rights with those who are being unfairly penalised. The ongoing silencing of sex workers, whose professions are entirely legal, is destructive to community building and activism intended to create a safer work environment. As we move our lives more and more online, are we exposing ourselves to even harsher versions of structural oppressions which already exist?

In contrast to wading through the impenetrable bureaucracy of monolithic corporations, Fuck You Pay Me are honouring their commitment to support the creation of grassroots arts-activism projects around the theme of Sex Worker Advocacy. Their mission is to end sex work stigma and make allies of everyone; they believe that bringing artists and activists together is a great catalyst for change in the public consciousness.

Every night before the production, different special guest artists will perform pieces inspired by the themes of Fuck You Pay Me such as heritage, feminism, sexuality and shame, sex worker advocacy; the performances will include cabaret, stand up, spoken word, burlesque and live art. Confirmed special guests include members of the East London Strippers Collective, comedians Krishna Istha and Sian Docksey, and finalists from Man Up 2019, the world’s biggest Drag King contest. They will also be supporting three first-time performance artists and writers through mentoring, practical support and programming to create pieces inspired by Fuck You Pay Me.

In addition, they are working on the creation of a new project which will see community writing workshops Righting Our Stories – Owning Our Voices; Sex Workers Speak for Themselves run by Nottingham-based poet Midnight Shelley and Anne Holloway of Big White Shed Publishing. A pay-what-you-can showcase of the resulting work will take place in Fuck You Pay Me’s second week entitled Our Turn to Talk / Your Turn to be Listening.

They are also supporting the future life of FANTASY, an immersive exhibition that conceptualises a utopian femme workspace for erotic performers, by providing practical support in finding spaces and sharing the work at Fuck You Pay Me. Curated by Kezia Davies, Harriett Henderson and Samantha Moreno, they aim to address contemporary issues that face strippers and sex workers in the UK. The installation is constructed by artists and strippers using materials and tools sourced though and used by workers in the sex industry. Their work is accompanied by an audio-visual piece by BiRDS collective exploring the expression of queer desire in the strip club.

Joana Nastari and Ellen Spence, Creative Producer, comment, Wherever we go and wherever we are invited, the Fuck You Pay Me project will always bring twice as many people from the community with us. After a call for interested projects and artists, we are excited and humbled to be sharing this platform with some amazing artists, activists and allies, all working with the themes of Sex Worker advocacy and ending shame and stigma. They are creating a new future.

Winner of the Sexual Freedom Awards, Joana Nastari brings her award-winning debut, Fuck You Pay Me to The Bunker. This authentic and hilarious night of entertainment invites audiences into the joy, the magic and the mundanity of working in London strip clubs. Blending theatre, comedy and live music, it is a bitingly observant story of one woman and her job.

Bea’s dreading going home to face the consequences of last night, when her Catholic mum found out what she really does for a living. Challenging the presentation of sex workers as voiceless bodies in mainstream culture and political debate, Fuck You Pay Me is a uniquely empowering personal narrative which demystifies the reality of the stripper community and skewers dangerous stereotypes. This is the no-holds-barred, explosive trip through the world of London strip club culture which had sell-out runs at VAULT and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals 2018.

A direct, nuanced, genius attack on the crippling stigma that surrounds sex work globally (Dazed & Confused).

Fuck You Pay Me comes to The Bunker from Tuesday 7 – Sunday 19 May.

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