*Photoset is at the bottom of post, skip to the bottom if you don’t wanna read and just wanna see somme hott strippers!*
So, while going through all of the amazing updates that I have planned for you for Feb, I had to contact photographer Kitty Epixcore Bang to get some photos from one of her burlesque events…I’ll be releasing that video and those photos this month! But I was reminded of these photos she took and realizing, it was the last live event I had organized and hosted at the strioclub…Jannuary of 2020. Right before the shit hit the fan, right?
For Me it was a marker in many ways.
We had planned our yearly fundraising event for TeamClearHeels413. TCH413 was a collective of Western MA based strippers. I ran the group for the better part of 3 years. We had a performers only forum, monthly in person meetings, food drives, outreach and support. We monthly went around to each stripclub in the area and stocked up the dressing rooms and bars with narcan, left non perishable food items for dancers to take home, offered peer to peer counseling. We connected dancers with free legal counsel for domestic violence and sexual assault charges, free therapy. We helped with food drop offs to folks, childcare supplies like diapers, even funds for an emotional support cat one time! At our monthly meetings we would have a hot meal for folks to eat, plus tupperware to be able to take some home. We provided rideshares, funds for uber and funds for childcare so that folks would be able to afford to come to the meetings. Meetings were on a specific topic, things like, sexual assault in the club, financial abuse, taxes, drug and alchohol abuse support, labor rights within the clubs, and so on. Sometimes we even had guest speakers or folks from local organizations who would come in and let us know how they could serve the sex worker community. So every year I did a fundraiser at a club and asked for donations, and some of the strippers would donate lapdances and we’d raffle off some sex toys and DVDs and other items. We’d then use the money to do things like buy the food or pay for the baby sitters etc etc.
So, I ran the entire group by Myself. I had help for a while. I started it with My friend and dancer from the club, Juliany, but she ended up moving away to florida, as strippers do. I had a few other folks who pitched in and helped, shout out to Twenty, Sunny Cheex and Stacy Stackz. But mostly, the day to day, fell to Me to organize, motivate and delegate. It was alot. And I made no money from it. In fact I lost alot of money doing it and mostly used My own funds for alot of stuff. And that didn’t include all of the unpaid time I spend at the actual meetings and all the late night phone calls I accepted and sleep I lost. The phone calls and trauma loading got to be alot actually, and took it’s toll on My own mental health.
After this party, we did a few runs of food for folks, and gave some funds to a dancer who about to be evicted. One day I was outside, in the winter, in line at a food bank, waiting to get food so I could drive it 2 hours over the mountain into Springfield and donate it. Anyway, it was freezing, and there was someone behind Me breathing down My neck and sneezing all over Me and I was just like….I cannot do this. This is not sustainable. So, that was My last food delivery that week. When I got to the drop off spot there was a dancer who was supposed to meet us and we had gotten her abunch of specific food because she was living out of a van, so we got her things she didnt need to cook and self care products etc. And she ends up being an hour late because she forgot she was supposed to meet us and was out buying tacos. So I found Myself in a sketchy parking lot in springfield with a bunch of street folks asking me for food, which I ended up giving away alot of.
We ran out of funds, I didn’t have it in Me anymore to try to beg for funds, most of the folks who had been helping Me got busy with other stuff and ya know, just trying to survive.
I published a guide on how clubs could help stop the spread of covid, and contacted each club asking how they planned to keep dancers safe. Alot of people talked shit. I told folks I thought the clubs would shut down and no one listened. Then the clubs shut down. I warned folks that it was gonna be tough moving forward with clubs as a main source of income. Folks talked shit.
But then the focus just became this mad dash to get folks signed up for online sex work, onlyfans, and camming and niteflirt etc. I wrote up guides for how best to do all that, I helped multiple dancers get into camming and watched alot of folks thrive, and make alot of money. Better money than dancing.
Let’s face it, clublife has been on it’s way out at least in New England area for quite some time. SO that’s mostly how TreasureCams.com was formed and ended up being My focus.
That’s My story for now….
The story of TeamClearHeels413.
I feel accomplished when I look back on it.
We did things like march while screaming “sex work is real work” during Noho and Greenfield and Pittsfield Pride marches, which was huge and meaningful (full posts on that another time)
I got to lobby for sex workers rights with state senators, in Elizabeth Warren’s office! I got to advocate in prisons and task forces and at the DA’s office and got to meet some amazing people. (Probably full blog coming on that in the future too)
TeamClearHeels413 too was also instrumental in how I got to run and manage Club Castaway. I approached working with sex workers differently, and ran the club in a way that benefited them the most. Advocating for basic labor rights for the workers every step of the way.
I even got clearance and started the process of building a sex workers lending library, filled with books by and about sex work, and somme books that can just help sex workers! It will be housed at The Sexual Minority Archives in holyoke, MA.
If you are interested in sending some books that we can include in the archive, you can find our book wishlist here:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/35I6UXVE9Z7O4?ref_=wl_share
In the works is also a zine I want to finish and then distribute for free to all the clubs in the area. Basically, a written breakdown of everything I learned, all the resources, phone numbers, advice, and low down. Some action items folks can do for sex workers rghts locally, and some info on where our laws currently stand in MA. Etc Etc Etc. I havent really had the time to sitdown and write this all out, and I also need about $1k more to actually print and distribute the thing soooo…if you are interested in becoming an investor and backer in THAT venture….please get in touch! That may not be til next year….hopefully it’s a bit safer to move about the cabin
Anyway, these are some photosfrom the last party I threw…a benefit for TeamClearHeels413.
It was at the 5th Alarm Gentlemen’s Club in Springfield, MA. Club is now shut down so it was truly the end of an era. One of the last great parties there! Special thanks to DJ Arenzo! He was a great manager and someone I loved working with. I hope to be able to interview him for My podcast some day (Yes, podcast…story for another day)
Enjoy these photos of some of My fave Western MA strippers.
You’ll recognize somme Revenge Krew favorites like Sunny Cheex and Kitten Dabstar.
And then some of My fave Springfield dancers like Cherry La Flame! The one and only!
Photos by Kitty EpixCore Bang! instagram.com/KittyBangPhotography
ENJOY!
I hope you enjoyed My long ass story, there’s many more of those to come!
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”68″ display=”basic_imagebrowser”]Dancers:
Sunny Cheex, Kayla Smith, Bella Vendetta, Cherry Fame, Buster Pants, and more!