International Whores' Day
A religious experience
Above: St. Cecilia Gentili in Judson Memorial Church, from the Queer Saints Series by Jason Tseng
It’s June 2 2025, the 50th anniversary of the incident that originated International Whores’ Day! This day commemorates the occupation of a church in Lyon, France, to protest police violence.
Read a 1975 NY Times article about the occupation. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/07/archives/200-prostitutes-of-lyons-in-siege-at-church.html
Yesterday, I attended a service organized by Veronica Vera at Judson Memorial Church. (I have intense issues with organized religion, but I make exceptions for Judson.) During the service, I was blessed to read a summary of Cecilia’s Act in honor of Cecilia Gentili, a bill currently before the New York Assembly, which states:
“AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to decriminalizing sex work; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating to prostitution (Part A); to amend the criminal procedure law and the civil practice law and rules, in relation to eliminating prior criminal records and making other related changes; and to repeal certain provisions of the criminal procedure law relating to the prosecution of prostitution offenses (Part B); and to amend the multiple dwelling law, the public health law, the real property actions and proceedings law, the real property law, the vehicle and traffic law, and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to making conforming changes (Part C).” Read in full https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A3251
About the Queer Saints art series hanging in Judson Memorial Church
https://www.queersaints.com/about
There’s a video of the June 1 service on YouTube:
This includes a teaser for a documentary about Arlene Carmen, the sex workers’ ally who started Judson’s relationship with the sex workers rights movement.
For those who are new to the concept of decriminalization, it’s easy to confuse it with legalization. Decriminalization is the elimination of legal penalties for exchanging money for sexual services. Legalization is the development of a system to regulate it. I’m advocating specifically and solely for decriminalization.
Read more about the benefits decriminalization versus legalization https://decriminalizesex.work/why-decriminalization/briefing-papers/decriminalization-is-the-only-solution/
If you are hesitant to support the decriminalization of sex work because you have been socialized to believe that sex work is human trafficking and that lifting the penalties against it will make children vulnerable, I understand! But neither of those things are true. Decriminalization of the exchange of money for sexual services is distinct. The criminalization of wage theft, fraud, coercion, extortion, exploitation, assault, and child abuse will all remain 100 percent in effect. I understand your socialization because I’ve been socialized the same as you; but I’ve come to understand how the socialization is part of a colonial and carceral system that serves the wealthy, not the vulnerable. Furthermore, the anti-trafficking movement has unfortunately turned into an industry which deliberately works to confuse sex work and trafficking, in order to maintain a system that rewards biased research and violent raids with funding and status, as well as funding for police and carceral institutions, without “rescuing” exploited workers at all.
Read more about the anti-trafficking industrial complex. https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2258-not-your-rescue-project
To everyone who has ever been called a whore, happy International Whores Day! And to all sex workers everywhere, may you be seen, may you be heard, and may you know you are loved.
A transcript of a conversation with workers from the 1975 occupation:
The book in my IG carousel:
https://crossroadsbooksonline.net/products/prostitutes-our-life
Thanks for this. The Queer Saints portraits are stunning