Stripped by SIA

It's week 2 of Season 3 and I have been meaning to invite this week's guest onto the show for some time now. As I have guest lectured in a couple of her classes over the last year already, her invitation was long overdue. This week I am bringing on licensed therapist and counsellor, as well as adjunct professor of Human Sexuality and Florida State University, Alicia Armstrong, onto the show! With over ten years of experience working in the field, Alicia brings her seasoned expertise working with clients to this week's episode. She is well-versed in sex education, gender as a construct, victims of gendered abuse, sex work, anxiety and depression, and the list goes on. This episode is structured a little differently as there were a lot of questions that came in (we all need a little therapy in our lives, right?) in regards to disconnecting work from intimacy, constant comparisons, dealing with emotional labour and stigmatization, triggers and gaslighting, trauma and more. Honestly, this episode will probably require a second half at some point in the season to go over some of these topics in even more detail as we barely scratched the surface! Alicia also gives some sound advice on how to self-care, how to cope, and how to take care of your mental wellbeing and provides some excellent resources specific to those who partake in the sex work industry. Listen in! @counselingwithalicia https://www.counselingwithalicia.com facebook.com/counselingwithalicia.com Resources: Pineapple Support Society - an organization supporting the mental health of adult industry workers. Psychology Today - ind a therapist. Don't forget to LIKE, RATE, SHARE, REVIEW and SUBSCRIBE! @strippedbysia @siasteph www.stephsia.com twitter.com/strippedbysia https://www.patreon.com/Strippedbysia

2 Maj 20211h 33min

Wow... well, WELCOME TO SEASON 3 EVERYONE!!! What an amazing ride this has been so far! Thank you to everyone who has listened, wrote in, asked questions, recommended and referred guests, those who have reached out, and of course, my insanely intelligent guests - I really couldn't have done this with you all. Season 2 was very politically-charged and dived deeper into my advocacy for sex workers. Season 3 will continue onto ride that wave to further educate civilians, aim to decriminalize sex work and to destigmatize the industry. Thank you. For the Season 3 opener, I invited (and surprised) longtime veteran in the sex industry, Adrie Rose. Adrie was a former escort hailing from Miami, Florida and who now resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as she is attending school. She is a sociology graduate and most of her research is focuses on financial institutions and how they respond to the decriminalization of sex work. We first dive into how she got involved with this type of research and how she ended up in it (because she really didn't want to do it before) and we begin to inspect the increasingly difficult ways marginalized people, often BIPOC, in rural communities don't have access to major financial institutions and the challenges on something so simple as starting up a bank account. We discuss the hurdles that these groups of people go through (often street level-based sex workers) and the impacts it may have on them. The conversation gets even juicier when we zoom in on the topic of fintech: technology and innovation involved in the delivery of financial services. Services such as PayPal, Venmo, and Ca$happ are services that we as sex workers are likely very familiar with as we all use them - or have stopped using them - for a good reason. These services are very particular in who can use their services and guess what, sex workers are not included in that group. We also talk briefly about the rise of cryptocurrency in sex work as well as crowdsourcing platforms and areas that are just not safe for sex workers to use anymore. It's a jam-packed episode. Buckle up and listen in! @adrierising twitter.com/adrierising www.adrierose.link Don't forget to LIKE, RATE, SHARE, REVIEW, and SUBSCRIBE! @strippedbysia @siasteph www.stephsia.com twitter.com/strippedbysia https://www.patreon.com/Strippedbysia

25 Apr 20211h

Hi folks! Season 2 has officially ended and I will be taking a 1 week break before I debut Season 3 next week! Season 2 was filled with so many political angles, activism from around the world, and revealed the injustices that were happening right here in our community. I'm so excited to bring Season 3 to you but for now, I'll leave you with a fun bonus episode - my recording of my recent guest lecture in Dr. Tamara O'Doherty's criminology class from two weeks ago! It'll just be me speaking on this episode but I am so inspired by all of her engaged students who brought in so many excellent questions and points to the forefront. It is really encouraging to see a genuine interest in this topic that is the sex industry, which we work on. I hope I was able to provide a clear and competing perspective vs. what is taught to us since birth. I challenged these students to be critical thinkers and to deconstruct the intersecting layers present in sex work and to be future change makers. Thank you again, Dr. O Doherty, for inviting me to speak to your insightful class! If you haven't already listened to this genius of a woman, please listen to Episode 62 of the podcast. And stay tuned for Season 3...launching next week! Don't forget to LIKE, RATE, SHARE, REVIEW, and SUBSCRIBE! @strippedbysia @siasteph www.stephsia.com twitter.com/strippedbysia https://www.patreon.com/Strippedbysia

18 Apr 20211h 28min

Sex workers, have you done your taxes yet? If not, then you'll want to this listen closely to this episode! I catch up with Janet who is an exotic dancer based in Toronto, Canada and a financial consultant. Having a background in accounting, she wanted to share her knowledge on personal finance and managing money and assets with her peers. To further educate herself, she enrolled herself in to receive financial certification and began to take clients on. I recently attended one of her financial literacy workshops which was catered specifically to benefit and aid sex workers. Are you curious on where to park your money? What about saving your earnings? Protecting your earnings? How do you grow your money the smart way? Janet shares a wealth of knowledge with us on this week's episode which is super timely since it is tax season! She clarifies all of your burning questions - what can we claim and write off, what job category are dancers and sex workers classified under, and the benefits of filling our taxes. We also go deep into the nitty gritty about personal finance regarding different savings accounts, TFSAs, bonds, cryptocurrency, mutual funds, segregated funds and so on. Because Janet is based in Canada, a lot of these terms are in the Canadian context which have American equivalents so keep that in mind. It's an eye-opening episode to say the least so pay attention! ALSO, this is the Season 2 finale of Stripped by SIA! Thank you for an incredibly politically-charged season. 34 episodes of quality content, exceptional guests, and thoughtful conversation. Tune in April 25th for Season 3! To get in contact with Janet, please contact her at: jadekolu@gmail.com Don't forget to LIKE, RATE, SHARE, REVIEW and SUBSCRIBE! @strippedbysia @siasteph www.stephsia.com twitter.com/stephsia https://www.patreon.com/Strippedbysia

11 Apr 20211h 2min

A lot of the season has been politically-charged and an expression of anger and frustration so I thought I'd take a lighter and funner approach this week...but boy, was I wrong! I brought on Virgil Avery of Foxy Fitness and pole dancer manager for Snoop Dogg and a lot of pole dancer/stripper shows out there. Virgil used to work as a bouncer for many stripclubs in NYC and is based in NYC/NJ where he is the first Black and male pole dance studio owner in the world. I have personally trained out of his New York studio where, if you are also a pole dancer, will be familiar with some of the athletes he is pumping out of that studio. As you know, I am both a pole dancer and stripper so the first half of this episode is very pole dance (as a sport/hobby) heavy. But we get into it. The reason I brought Virgil onto the show was not only to highlight his amazing studio, but also to talk about how he is incorporating sex workers into the narrative. His studio is focused on the athletic-side; however, he is an ally and supports sex workers by employing them at his studio and booking them on tour. He is responsible for scouting out pole dancers (from the ones I know, they are all strippers, yay!) for when Snoop Dogg goes on tour and for the entertainment industry. The conversation gets heated at the 45-minute mark because as you know, there has been a surge in wokeness in bringing to light the appropriation of stripper culture, aesthetic and in movement. Perhaps it's an unpopular opinion or an exhaustive expression, but can't we all just be happy? Virgil makes some excellent points, not to ruffle feathers, but to see it from a positive, yet still inclusive, perspective. Can't we all just mutually exist and share? Listen in. @virgilavery @foxyfitnessandpole @foxyashleyfox @yumiko.harris www.foxyfitnessandpole.com Don't forget to LIKE, RATE, SHARE, REVIEW and SUBSCRIBE! @strippedbysia @siasteph www.stephsia.com twitter.com/strippedbysia https://www.patreon.com/Strippedbysia

4 Apr 20211h 29min

***TRIGGER WARNING*** The episode will be discussing the topic of rape. Feel free to skip the episode or stop around the 45:00 minute mark if this is a trigger for you. It has been a minute since we've had an escort onto the show so on the Karina Riviera's recommendation (Season 1, Episode 25), I invite her duo and bestie, Yana Petrova. This full service escort is based in Vancouver, Canada and we explore how she got into the industry, mistakes she made when she first started and what eventually led to her branching off on her own. I gush over her beautifully-made website (which she designed herself!), services and current offerings and how this sets her apart from other service providers. She's a self-described slut who loves her profession, including the fun duos and sessions she's had over the past two years. We also discuss the important topics of boundaries and consent - how to communicate this with your clients, improving how you filter through clients and better your security. A topic that we haven't discussed enough on the podcast is rape. Yana shares with me her intimate story of getting raped and reveals that this is the reality for many of us sex workers. As sex workers, we get raped. Full service sex workers are unfortunately, at a higher risk due to the nature of this profession. It's an impact episode and a conversation that we, as sex workers need to have with ourselves and our protected peers. Listen in. @yanapetrovv twitter.com/yanapetrovv www.yanapetrova.com Don't forget to LIKE, RATE, SHARE, RATE, REVIEW and SUBSCRIBE! @strippedbysia @siasteph www.stephsia.com twitter.com/strippedbysia https://www.patreon.com/Strippedbysia

28 Mars 20211h 3min

I have finally found the perfect guests to help articulate the world's most popular fetish: feet fetishes! It's been a LONG time since I've talked about this (and in a much broader scope at that) and I'm so excited to welcome Ennie and TopToes from the Oh Those Toes Podcast! We are diving deep into the wild world of foot fetishes and all its subgenres. Ever heard of trampling? Crush? Vore? Giantess? We go into it ALL of it. We can also break down the foot fetish down to its roots. Where does it come from, where does it originate, the psyche behind it and the allure. We also speak about what's popular and what works. Believe it or not, it's more than just taking a few pictures of your toes or selling a sock that you wore around the house for an hour. What about the curl, the scent, the toenail colour, the instep, and the nylons? Oh yes, nylon fetish is a big one! We also don't forget how SOSTA/FESTA is looped into all of this and and how the fetishization of feet and even the sexualization of inanimate objects is enough to boot one off of major social platforms. OH, and don't you think that we forgot to discuss foot jobs and foot sex! I'm telling you - this is a toe-curlingly good, jam-packed episode that you absolutely do not want to miss. Tune in! @ennie.cutie.toes @toptoesinhose onlyfans.com/enniestoes Twitter.com/toptoesinhose Oh Those Toes Podcast Oh Those Toes Virtual foot Party: March 27pm EST. Register now: http://ohthosetoes.teamtoptoes.com/footparty Don't forget to LIKE, RATE, SHARE, REVIEW and SUBSCRIBE! @strippedbysia @siasteph www.stephsia.com twitter.com/strippedbysia https://www.patreon.com/Strippedbysia

21 Mars 20211h 32min

As sex workers (and as womxn in general), we have the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with an exceptional amount of harassment. Whether it's unsolicited dick pics, countless DMs in your inbox or something as simple as cat calling when you're walking down the street, we are constantly subject to this. It's never fun. But sometimes these "harmless" things can take a turn and snowball into something even scarier: further harassment and stalking where you now have to get legal and the police involved. I invite The Hedanista onto the show today to speak about her experience. We talk about her line of sex work (erotic masseuse and domination) and review some screening processes and precautions that she takes to ensure her safety in her line of work. We also talk about how important setting your boundaries area and outlining cases where boundaries have been crossed and how to recover from it. In The Hedanista's case, she became romantically-involved with one of her former client's who, after the breakup, continued to harass her via text to her personal phone, the use of in-app text messages and calls, sending her threatening messages and contacting her work. She had to get legal aid involved which helped her get out of her situation. We also discuss next steps - how to reinvent yourself, your mindset, and rebuilding your network and client base from scratch in a safe way. Listen to entire episode to hear her incredibly story of resiliency and grit and to learn how she recovered from this entire ordeal. @the_hypnotic_hedanista_ Reddit: u/thehedonista Pivot Legal Society Don't forget to LIKE, RATE, SHARE, REVIEW and SUBSCRIBE! @strippedbysia @siasteph www.stephsia.com twitter.com/strippedbysia https://www.patreon.com/Strippedbysia

13 Mars 20211h 26min