Rock Paper Sex, Volume II

Trigger Warning

From working through the pandemic to Black Lives Matter, Rock Paper Sex, Volume II: Trigger Warning is timely, controversial, and provocative.

This sequel offers a wide range of stories from the sex industry in St. John’s. As new voices are introduced and some from Rock Paper Sex, Volume I are revisited, key themes emerge, including barriers to safe sex work and the intersection of sex work with human trafficking. This unique collection provides a space for voices of LGBTQ sex workers, dancers, escorts, street-based workers, a massage parlour owner, and others in a startling and compelling investigation of the industry.

Contributors

Kerri Cull

Kerri Cull is the author of Soak (2012) and Rock Paper Sex: The Oldest Profession in Canada’s Oldest City (2017). She has a Master of Arts in English literature and a Bachelor of Education in post-secondary education, and is currently working on a diploma in police studies. She lives and works in St. John’s.
Chapter Contributors Pages Year Price
In the introduction, the author reflects on the first volume in this series, and notes that her feminism is what inspired this work.
5 $0.50
This chapter focuses on a sex worker who entered the industry to fund their transition from male to female.
8 $0.80
In this chapter, the author interviews an Indigenous, female-identified sex worker who was featured in the first volume. This individual now has a regular day job, and engages in sex work four or …
4 $0.40
This chapter features a 42-year-old gay man who owns and operates three adult massage studios. He also runs NL Adult, a free service that connects sex workers with clients.
3 $0.30
In this chapter, the author interviews a young woman who works in an adult massage parlour. While she feels like an empowered business woman, she also believes that non-consensual interactions …
13 $1.30
This interview features a woman who started sex work through camming, then moved on to stripping. She then began working in an adult massage parlour. She receives a lot of support from her …
8 $0.80
This chapter focuses on a woman whose husband has frequented sex workers. She believes that far from being "bored at home," men turn to sex workers because their wives are exhausted …
8 $0.80
In this chapter, Cull interviews a woman who entered the sex trade as an escape from a violent relationship. She feels that sex work saved her life, and feels that the laws governing sex work …
9 $0.90
This chapter profiles a young transgender man who turned to sex work after a period of homelessness. He wants people to know that sex work does not exist in a vacuum: it has bad aspects, good …
8 $0.80
This chapter is an interview with a Black woman in the stripping industry. Although she has special talents that stem from her circus training, she has been turned away by owners of strip clubs …
7 $0.70
In this chapter, the author interviews a man who has bought sex for two decades. He can’t live without the thrill of his clandestine “other” life, and the thrill caused by his …
8 $0.80
This chapter is an interview with a woman who worked with a program that helped women exit the sex trade.
18 $1.80
In this chapter, Cull interviews a woman who began working in the sex trade when she lived in a family shelter. She later left the sex trade, and became involved with organizations that help …
5 $0.50
This chapter profiles a woman who struggled with drugs and alcohol, and now suffers from PTSD. Now in recovery, she has left sex work behind and receives support from the Blue Door Program.
8 $0.80
This interview profiles a woman who engaged in street-based sex work for about 7 years. She felt that drug use was the main reason women engaged in that kind of sex work.
4 $0.40
In this chapter, Cull interviews a woman who fell into sex work and exploitation through a relationship. After a suicide attempt, she lived in a shelter in Saint John’s, where she received …
21 $2.10
This short chapter describes an app that helps protect workers and clients at Blue Door.
2 $0.20
This chapter is an interview with a woman who works as a DJ and bartender at strip clubs.
5 $0.50
This chapter is an interview with a St. John’s city councillor regarding the massage parlour moratorium which was in place from 2015 to 2020
3 $0.30
In this chapter, Cull profiles a student who turned to stripping to make ends meet.
9 $0.90
This chapter concerns a woman who works as a stripper and helps educate people on the kinds of human trafficking that are associated with forced sex work.
15 $1.50