Hey, kittens. It’s Throw Back Thursday, so we’re checking out a piece from April of 2012. Obviously the bits about joining the protest aren’t relevant now, but the fight remains the same against bad science and shit journalism. The attached is of the protest, featuring Melissa Bang-Bang, who co-organized the event. Click here to read the letter I read at the event.

In late March there was a sting operation conducted at a Philly strip club that busted a handful of women for soliciting prostitution. The Daily News, a subsidiary of the Philadelphia Inquirer, posted this piece, masquerading as journalism. In it, Dr. Mary Ann Layden, an ardent anti-porn academic, is quoted repeatedly, making outrageous, unscientific and alarmist statements about strippers, violence and the world of sex work (and is the only academic quoted at all).  She implies all women in exotic dance are fueled by drug addiction and unable to make their own choices, she vilifies and pathologizes men who use porn or visit strip clubs and she makes illogical associations between sexual content and violence. 

And did I mention she was the only so-called expert quoted in the story? There’s no counter-balance to her wildly not-backed-up claims or context about how her career is built on a foundation of sex negativism. And so, on May 1st, Philadelphia’s concerned citizens are invited to a protest outside the offices of the newspaper. We’re calling them out for a truly biased and misleading article that demonizes and marginalizes an already shunned population and lazy, shoddy reporting.

What can you do?

• Learn more by listening to this AWESOME PODCAST where I explain, in much more detail, the errors of her commentary

• Join the protest taking place in Philadelphia at 3 pm
• Contact the Daily News and tell them that you support good journalism, not shady moralizing.
• Again, listen to the AWESOME PODCAST and share it with others. You can also find it on iTunes, with all the other episodes of the Sex with Timaree show.

Questions? Comments? Violent reactions? Email sexwithtimaree@gmail.com See more at http://www.facebook.com/sexwithtimaree and http://tinyurl.com/swtpod