Sex Work Activism & Carol Leigh

Front page of COYOTE HOWLS, vol. 5, no. 1, spring 1978.

Poster for the 2nd International Hookers Film Festival. This week-long film festival culminated with a Queen of Hearts ball (fantasy costume required).

S.T.A.R.

Sex workers’ activism is intertwined with the struggle for queer liberation. Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, founders of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), supported the operations of the New York City-based collective—which, in addition to its political actions, housed, clothed, and fed “transvestites and gay street people”, particularly youth who had left or been kicked out of their homes—through funds generated with sex work.

“We got a building at 213 East 2nd Street. Marsha and I just decided it was time to help each other and help our other kids. We fed people and clothed people. We kept the building going. We went out and hustled the streets. We paid the rent.” (Sylvia Riviera, interviewed by Lesie Feinberg in 1998)

COYOTE

In 1970, the San Francisco-based sex worker’s rights organization COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) was founded by sex-positive feminist, lawyer, and former sex worker Margo St. James. COYOTE, which is still active as of 2025, has offered legal services to sex workers navigating the criminal justice system and raised funds for bail by throwing annual Hookers’ Balls from 1973 to 1979 and other events.

Carol Leigh embracing the audience at the 2012 International Aids Conference’s StarWhores Performance.

Inventing Sex Work: Carol Leigh’s life and legacy

Carol Leigh (1951-2022) is best known for her foundational sex work activism; in particular, for coining the term “sex work”. She wrote and performed as Scarlot Harlot, a character originating in the one-woman play The Adventures of Scarlot Harlot, developed with the intention of demystifying and destigmatizing the profession.

Leigh’s interest in reconciling feminist theory with the lived experience of sex workers began in the mid-1970s. After attending graduate school for creative writing at Boston University, she founded a women’s writing workshop and became intrigued with the ongoing debate (and affair) between two of its members: Marcia Womongold, an anti-porn author, and Hinda Paquett, a stripper-poet.

Leigh moved from Boston to San Francisco in 1978 and took a job at a massage parlour, officially entering the sex trade. Her experience of a violent sexual assault at work—which occurred after her boss declined her request that they hire a security guard, and which she was unable to report to the police without endangering her colleagues' livelihoods—solidified her commitment to fighting for sex workers' rights. Soon after, Carol Leigh joined COYOTE.

Cover of Unrepentant Whore: Collected Works of Scarlot Harlot by Carol Leigh.

“As feminism had been a revelation to me, so was prostitution politics … Feminist analysis of prostitution as the ultimate state of women’s oppression didn’t fit the strength and attitudes expressed by the diverse women I met.” (Carol Leigh, Inventing Sex Work, 1997)

Still grappling with the tension between mainstream feminism and prostitution politics, Leigh considered how the words for sex work/ers have historically been derived from euphemisms, enforcing social shame through avoidance. She eventually coined the term “sex work” in a quiet ‘eureka’ moment. At a Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media conference in 1979 or 1980, she arrived at a workshop with the phrase “Sex Use Industry” in the title.

"How could I sit amid other women as a political equal when I was being objectified like that, described only as something used, obscuring my role as an actor and agent in this transaction? At the beginning of the workshop I suggested that the title of the workshop should be changed to the "Sex Work Industry," because that described what women did.” (Carol Leigh, Inventing Sex Work, 1997)

The term “sex work” entered the mainstream lexicon following the publication of the book Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry in 1988. Since then—and alongside continued dedicated work from activists—public discourse around sex work/ers has begun to shift. 

“This  usage  of  the  term "sex work"  marks  the  beginning of a movement. It acknowledges the work we do rather than defines us by our status. After many years of  activism as a prostitute, struggling with increasing stigma and ostracism from within the mainstream feminist movement, I remember the term "sex work," and how powerful it felt to, at last, have a word for this work that is not  a euphemism. "Sex work" has no shame, and neither do I.” (Carol Leigh, Inventing Sex Work, 1997)

Notice for Carol Leigh’s celebration of life memorial, 2023

Celebrating the life of Carol Leigh

Beyond the invention of “sex work”, Leigh was an active member of the sex workers’ rights movement, founding BAYSWAN (Bay Area Sex Worker Advocacy Network) in 1990 and the San Francisco Bay Area Sex Worker Film & Arts Festival in 1999. She was also an integral member of the community; fostering friendships and mentorships of diverse ages, including with Jelena Vermilion. 

Leigh supported SWAP Hamilton’s vision and operations, attending the online Sex Workers Take Back the Night event in 2020 and naming the organization as a beneficiary in her will, before passing away from cancer in 2022.

Vermilion was invited to the 12th biennial San Francisco Bay Area Sex Worker Film & Arts Festival and attended the memorial to celebrate Carol Leigh’s life. When invited onstage to share a few words, Vermilion expressed her aspiration to bring the Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival to Canada and was met with applause from other attendees, lifelong friends and colleagues of Carol, including sex educator and performance artist Annie Sprinkle. The outpouring of support from the community strengthened Vermilion's resolve to continue Carol Leigh’s legacy.

“To be a transsexual woman who has done sex work, it can be easy to internalize bad messages about ourselves. When I met Carol she had this energy to her which I can only describe as intense love and friendship…the way she was a role model for me cannot be understated. Being in relationship with Carol genuinely helped me tackle some self esteem issues I had.” (Jelena Vermilion, emailed correspondence, 2025)