In December, Gizelle and other dancers began working with the SOAR Institute, a sex-worker advocacy organization, to create a long-term organizing strategy. “What Gizelle and many other women have done since the fall is to start to shed light on the egregious labor violations that exist in their industry,” said Melissa Broudo, co-director of SOAR, “I’ve been in the sex-worker rights movement for over 15 years, and to see broader movements and organizations embrace sex workers is really beautiful. That is really what Gizelle and her colleagues have done.”
While the movement is still in the early phases of building a concrete agenda, the Stripper Strike has already made a difference for many dancers. “Girls have told me there has been a bit of change in some of the clubs. The money has shifted toward the dancers in some places,” said Gizelle. “A lot of women have reached out [to me] and been very supportive. They’re like, ‘you’re doing a great job. We thank you so much for speaking up for us.’”
Working with SOAR, the Stripper Strike brought a cohort to the NYC Women’s March in January. Gizelle also marched with sex workers at the Las Vegas Women’s March. “So often within the broader feminist movement, and we’ve seen this happen specifically within the Women’s March, sex workers are either explicitly not included or implicitly not included as part of a broader women’s rights platform,” explained Broudo. “We wanted to have a vocal and notable contingent around sex worker rights in that space.”
Organizers from the International Women’s Strike USA are also working with the Stripper Strike. The group aims to connect dancers to other labor groups organizing women workers in sectors such as restaurant work and domestic labor, and invited Gizelle to speak at their rally in Washington Square Park for International Women’s Day on March 8. Despite the bad storm that hit NYC that day, an estimated 1,000 people were in attendance. “Sex work is work,” she said during an emotional speech. “Stigma perpetuates exploitation and drives violence. Black and brown women are amongst the most marginalized and exploited people in this country... I’m here today on behalf of all strippers, all sex workers, and my black trans sisters to raise awareness and demand the right to protection.”
“What we can provide is a platform to come together with other struggles that can strengthen the struggle that the strippers are waging,” said Ximena Bustamante, an organizer with the Women’s Strike. “Usually people understand sex work as an exceptional kind of work, but it generally shares conditions of many women workers, in the sense that it’s precarious and they don’t have contracts, security or retirement. They can also be fired at any time, harassed or discriminated against.”
With the support of these organizations, Gizelle hopes to develop Stripper Strike contingents in cities across the country and to develop a national advocacy agenda. Gizelle is also working on forming a nonprofit organization that has an online presence to raise awareness and resources for the Stripper Strike movement. She hopes to garner enough donations to provide financial and legal support to dancers who experience abuse in the clubs.



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