Zine, Anonymous, 6 pages, “Look Mum!” distro, Box 183, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 6J6, free
A first-person, political essay about sex workers’ rights that has the kinetic energy of something that is meant to be read aloud. Written from the point of view of a sex worker, Trapped provides a lively perspective that you are unlikely to encounter in a Globe and Mail feature on Bill C-36. Citing hard statistics and eye-opening personal anecdotes, the anonymous author does an effective job linking their experience to abusive police, inadequate labour laws, dismissive unions, dickish management, and even immigration status feed into a wider societal treatment of sex work.
This zine made me angry. It’s frustrating that the same society that demands sex work also demonizes, patronizes, and moralizes to it. This zine expresses that frustration better than I can. While it’s a short read, this zine will give you visceral take on challenges and realities that many folks have the privilege to only have to think about in the abstract. (Chris Landry)