Legal Sex Workers And Others In Adult Industry Denied Coronavirus Aid

LOADING ERROR LOADING When Congress passed the massive $2 trillion bailout bill last week, it made sure that self-employed people or other independent workers could apply for loans or grants from the Small Business Administration. The very first page of the online application says that in order to be an “eligible entity” that can receive monetary relief from the bill, an applicant cannot “present live performances of a prurient sexual nature or derive directly or indirectly more than de minimis gross revenue through the sale of products or services, or the presentation of any depictions or displays, of a prurient sexual nature.” Prurient, which is defined by Oxford as “having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters,” is a vague categorization that broadly includes thousands of workers in the U.S. As stated, the clause excludes everyone who works in the legal sex industry including strippers, porn performers, producers, directors, sex toy manufactures and many others. “It seems if I sold any other product, for example chairs instead of blowjob machines, I would have been able to receive payroll relief funds.” - Brian Sloan, owner of Very Intelligent Ecommerce Inc. Suki Dunham, founder of sex toy company OhMiBod, wasn’t surprised when she heard about the prurience clause. “We need a compassionate acknowledgment of our work as legitimate labor,” Andre Shakti, a sex worker based in Baltimore, told HuffPost. Jordan darkly joked about what could be next for workers in the sex industry as the coronavirus spreads: “I can’t help but wonder if I will be excluded from being provided a ventilator if need be, due to my profession.” The Countdown To Trump Is On On Jan. 20, Donald Trump will reclaim the most powerful seat in our nation's government.