Sex work stigma runs deep, so it is common for parents of adult sex-working children (especially when they first find out) to feel shame about their kids’ choice to enter the sex trades.
In this very special fourth episode of When We’re Not Hustling, host Jessie Sage sits down with her mom to discuss her mom’s experience of being the parent of an adult sex worker. In a simultaneously intellectual and intimately personal conversation, Jessie’s mom details her reaction to Jessie’s career choice, the schism that it caused between them, and the healing that brought them back together.
Jessie’s mom also talks about the ways that second-wave feminism influenced her perception of what it meant to be a sex worker, and why she felt the need to grieve the relationship they had before Jessie became a sex worker. They talk about their process of reconnection, touching on the freedom that sex work can provide, the importance of caretaking, and the healing power of letting go of judgment along the way.
Jessie and her mom consider what the ideal relationship between the parent of a sex worker and their child looks like, and ultimately find solace in judgment-free love.
This episode is a testament to the power of relationships, how they grow and change, and how to maintain them through difficulty and strife.
You can find the written version of this interview on Tryst’s Blog.
- Host: Jessie Sage (@sapiotextual)
- Guest: Jessie’s Mom
- Producer: Emily Foster
- Intern: Anna Fischer
- Music: Benjamin J Benamati
The show is brought to you by Assembly Four.