This post is two-fold... a practical announcement and a dig at banking discrimination against adult industry professionals. Sex workers and adult creators will be all too familiar with the prejudice from banks and payment processors that impact their livelihoods. Most financial institutions do not allow:
Porn performers
Escorts
Content creators
Adult toy sellers
more
to have a bank account with them (banks) or to accept payments using their processing services (merchant processors etc.) - besides the fact that in most countries, these services are perfectly legal.
I have a friend who has a pretty big adult toy business, she was going to use Stripe to process payments, but stripe insisted on her changing some of the wording on her ads and not selling certain toys. So she told them to jog on and went elsewhere.
I had a Stripe account, and they closed it, due to sex coaching being 'adult content' - apparently. Of course this is ridiculous, they asked to see my 'licence' - we don't have therapy licenses in the UK, so I sent them my diplomas and certificates, they then emailed me in terrible English to say my account was being closed.
Whatever...
The thing is, I am privileged because my branding and site clearly are therapy and coaching, Stripe just, well, they are stupid, so it is easy for me to use my other payment processors... that is the announcement by the way... please see fees page for payment details. It also gave me the nudge to be more international in my marketing and acceptance of currencies, including crypto, as I had been dragging my lazy heels.
But.
It really hit me. The insecurity facing sex workers, performers, content creators - they can have their financial lifelines cut with no warning nor explanation. It's called morality policing, morality banking...
and the community is fighting back against banking discrimination.
There are cases going to court, human rights abuses challenged, and I also see new payment processing companies in the process of launching - run by those previously discriminated against.
The huge corps that discriminate against adult performers et al. need to be careful how they treat those apparently lower down the social hierarchy than them.... for being down here (I include myself in this, being at the intersection of stigma) ... for it is this treatment, this cruelty - that fuels us to climb to heights they can only dream of.
This is where we start fires. All consuming fires, that light the way for all who have suffered in the darkness.
Shine your light.
Matt X
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