Doll Head Switcher

While the gay sexuality of men involved in the sex trades is (at times incorrectly) presumed, the involvement of lesbians and bisexual women in the sex industries is virtually erased. As a speaker at the June 1982 Prostitutes: Our Life—Lesbian and Straight conference in San Francisco explained, “Many prostitute women are Lesbians—yet we have a fight to be visible in the women’s and the gay movements. This is partly due to our illegality but also because being out about our profession, we face attitudes that suggest we’re either a ‘traitor to the women’s cause’ or not ‘a real Lesbian.’

In her 1987 essay Lesbians and Prostitutes: A Historical Sisterhood, Joan Nestle highlights the shared history, experiences, and perceptions of lesbians and sex workers. As Nestle points out, “In the early decades of the twentieth century, Lesbians and prostitutes were often confused in the popular and legal imagination.” Indeed, “One of the prevailing models for explaining the ‘sickness’ of prostitutes in the fifties was that prostitutes were really Lesbians in disguise who suffered from an Oedipus complex and were therefore hostile to men.” Lesbians and sex workers not only shared social stigmas, they shared subversive strategies for liberation—Nestle posits that “successful prostitution accomplished for some whores what passing for men did for some Lesbians: it gave them freedom from the rigidly controlled women’s sphere.” She also traces the origins of police tactics used to terrorize queer communities to those used to enforce antiprostitution laws, concluding that “whore and queer made little difference when a raid was on.” It is unclear how deeply rooted the conflation of lesbianism and prostitution remains in the public imagination. Nevertheless, what is clear is that both lesbians and sex workers fail to conform to conventional racialized notions of femininity. As “lost women,” they are perceived as both sexually available and inviolable, and subject to state control. Mutually reinforcing archetypes based on race and/or class often bolster these assumptions.”]

the good dutiful girl responds to the repeated question of “are you cold?” by sweetly and politely answering in the negative until he has asked the requisite three times, increasing the level of pain and discomfort she feels each time. By remaining stoic and sweet and uncomplaining, and by lying about harm she may or may not be experiencing, she earns the story reward of wealth and true love and happiness.

the bad wicked girl complains her head off all three times, and is frozen to a block of ice. no wealth, no warm furs, no fortunate marriage. she fails the test of stoicism and endurance because she accurately describes the situation that is occurring: an otherworldly fatherly being making it colder, then asking her whether or not she thinks it’s cold. He doesn’t kill her because she’s bad or wicked, or ugly, or a terrible stepsister, although those are all common elements in retellings of the story. He kills her because when he makes it cold, and asks her whether or not she thinks it’s cold, she confirms that that is indeed the reality she is experiencing.

i’ve raised nearly 3.5k since i started, and a lot of that has come from you all!!

if you have anything to spare please consider helping me out!

and if you would like a little something in return, consider purchasing an art print from my online store! <- link to the online store

if y’all hated the last tapestry I made I got something even better. happy pride!

also didn’t block this one so don’t even ask

I’m so happy to announce that my comic OUTSIDE ARE THE DOGS is slated for a fall release with Silver Sprocket!

Melle, a lonely trans student, is drawn into a mysterious spirituality group through their crush and tasked with caring for the group’s growing pack of angel dogs. As the dogs overrun Melle’s apartment and their health deteriorates, Melle begins to confront a deeper truth about their gender and the conditional love binding them to the cult. When one angel starts to grow sick, Melle must choose between preserving the faith that is destroying them or finally choosing themself.

I’ve spent years working on this now, and it’s finally close to being in people’s hands. If you love queer horror, I hope you’ll love this book.

Muzzle Monday & the first day of pride month? Had to do a mini drop!

‘Classic’ & ‘Slot’ style muzzles have SOLD OUT