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Slixa Essay Contest

$10,000 in prizes awarded

In the wake of the signing of the FOSTA-SESTA package into law, charitable giving and providing support for community based organizations, events, and initiatives are at the forefront of our minds here at Slixa.

In December of 2018 we issued our first ever call for entries on the subject of FOSTA-SESTA and were completely overwhelmed by the volume and quality of thoughtful responses we received. It was clear that this community is already profoundly aware of the damaging nature of these laws and well informed on their potential future ramifications.

Entrants were asked to submit comprehensive, well researched, in-depth essays focusing on FOSTA/SESTA, and how the legislation has legally, and politically impacted the community at large and service providers personally.

Day to end violence against sex workers
International day to end violence against sex workers
Stop SESTA & FOSTA

Final Judging Panel

Sinnamon Love

Sinnamon Love Sinnamon is a multi-award winning adult entertainer, inducted into both the AVN and Urban X Halls Of Fame, having appeared in more than 330 films. Previously, she has spoken about copyright infringement abuses on behalf of the Free Speech Coalition, was a contributing author to the Feminist Porn Book and is in college full time in Brooklyn, NY, where she resides. Find out more at singleinbrooklyn.com and follow Sinnamon on Instagram @iamsinnamonlove.

Conner Habib

Conner Habib Conner Habib is a writer, lecturer, sex workers' rights activist, and host of the podcast Against Everyone With Conner Habib. For two years, he was the Vice President of the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee. He is one of the few people to have won awards for writing, teaching, and porn. To find out more about Conner, listen to his podcast and find him on twitter: @connerhabib.

Slixa’s judging panel had the difficult task of ranking some truly thought provoking work and deeply personal stories shared by these writers, but they found our first, second, and third place entries, and we’re proud to share them with you.

Winning Entries

FIRST PLACE

Against FOSTA/SESTA: One Canary's Cry From Inside the Coal Mine

By Lucy Kahn

“Each of us affected by this bill are multi-faceted beings leading complex and interwoven lives at the intersections of many identities and demographics. While currently the impact of FOSTA/SESTA is felt most acutely by those of us participating in the commercial sex trade, this bill affects everyone—sex workers are just the canaries in the coal mine trying to make our warning call before it’s too late.” Read the full essay now.

Lucy will receive $2500 USD and her chosen advocacy group, SWOP Los Angeles will receive a matching donation from Slixa. Find out more about SWOP LA at the end of Lucy’s essay.

RUNNER UP

The Death Of The Dabbler and The Erasure Of Sex Work From The Common Internet

By Grace Marie

“It really is amazing to me that less than a decade ago all the online tools necessary for my survival in this business were free and accessible to women in every city -- and not just the big cities catered to by ad sites -- every city! Craigslist was effectively the anti- pimp: a safe space where adult sex workers from all over the world could freely advertise their offerings and screen clients from the comfort of their homes with no need of a pimp to broker the deal.” Read the full essay now.

Grace will receive $1500 USD, and her chosen advocacy group SWOP Los Angeles will receive a matching donation from Slixa. Find out more about SWOP LA at the end of Grace’s essay.

2ND RUNNER UP

Global Implications Of FOSTA

By Meghan Peterson

“The anti-trafficking industrial complex, which includes non-governmental organizations and legislative bodies, actively harms sex workers by promoting moralistic agendas, furthering carceral feminism, and diverting funding from workers who could benefit from social services rather than rescue efforts.” Read the full essay now.

Meghan will receive $1000 USD, and her chosen advocacy group, COYOTE, will receive a matching donation from Slixa. Find out more about COYOTE at the end of Meghan’s essay.

Slixa is proud to support the diverse, thoughtful, and radiant community before us. In the weeks to come, we will share a selection of the other works submitted which – while they may not have placed – were oh, so close and filled with insight and optimism that it would be a shame to leave them unpublished.

We are grateful to our judges for taking time from their busy lives to review these works and help us spread the word about our call for entries. And we are most grateful to the providers who poured a bit of their souls onto their keyboards so that we might more fully understand what this community faces.

For more information, please contact contest@slixa.com.

For press inquiries, please contact press@slixa.com.