FKA twigs has announced an initiative to support sex workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Instagram, she revealed that she was donating £10,000 to a fund supporting the organisations SWARM, Lysistrata, and ELSC (East London Strippers Collective), who are providing direct financial support to strippers and sex workers. FKA twigs has frequently pole danced in her visuals, and recently released a short film covering her trip to the Atlanta strip club Blue Flame.
“I was 19 when I learnt my first pole move, I learnt a back hook spin from a stripper when I was working as a hostess in a gentleman’s club,” twigs writes on Instagram. “For those of you who don’t know, hostessing is when one person pays another person for their time, anything from a conversation over dinner to sex work, and the club gets a cut of the fee. My lived experience as a very young woman in these environments has not only informed the strong and formidable woman that I am today, but also a lot of my work as a music and visual artist – sometimes even subconsciously.”
“I feel like now is the time for me to step forward, pay respect, and shine a light on the challenges facing sex workers, especially during these uncertain times,” she continues. “Sex workers I know and have met have discipline, craft, talent, and work ethic – not only do they deserve better long-term, but their income has been wiped out by the lockdown and many are invisible to the financial aid available to others.”
She concludes: “There’s a bigger journey in challenging public attitudes, tackling stigma, and fighting for rights and protections – but today I’m inviting you to join me in helping with cash donations to SWARM, Lysistrata, and ELSC.”
In addition to the £10,000 donation, SWARM, Lysistrata, and ELSC wil also take over FKA twigs’s social media channels.
You can donate to the sex worker mutual funds here. Check out twigs’s post below.