Reply All: Courts, Protests, and Power

Miss Mei

I've been a sex worker for 14 years. I've seen a lot of shit rise and fall. I'm tired because everybody uses sex workers as a token. Oh, come here. And, you know, we'll utilize your body to promote this because we're fighting for our rights. We're on the. We're, you know, America's on the last line of defense, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm tired of the bullshit, to be honest with you. You're telling me 7 million people can show up at the no Kings protest, but 7 million people can't show? Trey Reid.

Mattie Bynum

Hello and welcome to Power Beyond Pride, a weekly queer change making podcast bringing you voices and ideas across our fierce and fabulous spectrum to transform our world. I am Mattie Bynum, the hostess with the mostest and typically the loudest person in the room. Whether it's laughing, talking, or just standing still, my presence alone is heard by. And I am here today with my amazing co host.

Shawn Aaron

Hi. And I am Sean Eri. He. Him.

Miss Mei

His.

Shawn Aaron

And I am a nonprofit leader and also a podcaster. We are your co hosts on today's Queercast journey. And we are delighted to have. Ms. May. Welcome, Ms. May.

Miss Mei

Hello.

Mattie Bynum

Hello.

Miss Mei

Um, I'm Ms. May. Um, I use they, them pronouns. And I am the co founder and executive director of Decrim305, servicing the community in more ways than one.

Mattie Bynum

Well, that is wonderful. Thank you so much for having, uh, for being here, not having. We have you. So I want to say thank you for allowing us to have you on the show today. So you actually brought up the first thing I wanted to talk to you about was, um, decrim 305. So can you give us more information about the organization, tell our viewers how it got started?

Miss Mei

Yeah. Um, so we started in, In December of 2020, um, with our very first slut walk. Myself and my co founder, Jonny, uh, Quest, uh, very active during the George Floyd protests, um, during the Black Lives Matter, um, movement. My co founder is a gay black man, and so he was at the forefront of everything in Miami. Um, if you Google him, his face is everywhere. Him and I were both escorts, and, um, we were chatting and we were kind of like, you know, sex work. Everybody seems to be on this sort of intersection conversation.

Mattie Bynum

Uh.

Miss Mei

Everybody'S talking about, you know, um, how this issue touches so many other things. Um, maybe this is the time to talk about sex work and how we can bring it to the forefront. And so we brought it to the group that we were organizing with at the time, and we kind of got overall apathy was m. The sentiment, um, that we received. It was kind of like, oh, yeah, not the time, not the place. You know, not right now. Um, and we were sort of like, you know, well, then, when is it the time? When is it? When is it the place? You know? Um, because that's what. That's what every other marginalized group had to hear. So, um. And, you know, black sex workers are at the forefront of this movement. You know, we, you know, like, my sisters are pulling cash. My black trans sisters are pulling cash out of their pockets, bailing people out. And you're telling them it's not the time or the place. M. Okay. So we were like, fuck it. We're gonna have our own Slut Walk, and we're gonna push it to the front because everybody's telling us that it's not the time and it's not the place, so we're gonna make it the time and the. Um. So we did. We threw our own slot walk in December of 2020. Nobody had a job. You know, nobody had anywhere to be. There was no Art Basel. There was nothing going on. So everybody came to the slut walk. It was on. And popping the very first one, um, to my surprise, um, I didn't know how it was going to be. I didn't know how the reception was going to be. And we just. We kind of, like, we were like, well, now we gotta keep this momentum going. So clearly, there's a need in the community in. In Miami specifically. You know, this city runs on hoes and drugs. So.

Mattie Bynum

Okay, another Las Vegas. I hear y' all over there.

Miss Mei

So we were like, you know, we started doing outreach. Um, after that, we were like, let's. How can we. You know, how can we continue to build? So we started doing outreach. We, um, you know, bringing, uh, Narcan and condoms and, um. Um, you know, uh, other resources to the community. Um, and it just sort of grew from there. And then other sex workers started coming into the organization. Like, how can I help? Um, you know, and different from different groups, um, full service workers, online workers, strippers, like, you know, all kinds of sex workers started finding out about what we were doing. And they were just kind of like, hey, I'm in Miami. I want to do more. Um, and it just kind of grew from there. And, you know, this year is going to be six years that we've been doing it.

Mattie Bynum

Congratulations. Congratulations.

Miss Mei

Yeah, thank you. Yeah.

Shawn Aaron

Six years is wonderful. That's. That's a good. That's a good start. Uh, a good standing, actually. Six years is a long time. You're almost there to 10. So. Yeah, yeah, almost at 10. So hopefully have a huge celebration for 10.

Miss Mei

Yeah, that's. That's the goal.

Shawn Aaron

Yeah. So it, it has been said that art is an integral part of your impact for Journey, Ms. May. And so your skillfully fuse advocacy with creativity, offering a distinct and competitive perspective that deeply resonates. Where do you draw this influence of art, and why do you feel that it is such an impact not just on your journey, but. But as a tool of activism?

Miss Mei

Um, well, I myself, as a sex worker, have always used art on my journey. And I would argue sex work is an art. Um, you have to have. You have to be an artist to finesse this money. But also, I think art has always been an integral tool for activism, for spreading a message of progress. Um, Josephine Baker, one of the most famous sex workers of our time, she was one of. She was an artist and she was using her art to, During World, uh, War two, to use invisible ink on her. On her sheet music.

Mattie Bynum

A lot of people don't realize, like, when they think of.

Miss Mei

They don't.

Mattie Bynum

Josephine Baker or they think of sex work in general, they have a misconception. So I just want you to say that people in the back.

Miss Mei

Absolutely, yeah. Josephine Baker was a sex worker. And a lot of people don't know that. They actually. And I think that's actually. And I. And I think that's actually like something that. That happens a lot when somebody is a sex worker and then they. They exit out of it and they become something else, um, or they become known for something else. A lot of people dismiss that part of their history because we actually do see that with, um, Marsha P. Johnson. A lot of people dismiss that part of her history, but it was actually she was a sex worker until the day she died. So, you know, a lot of people go, marsha P. Johnson was a drag queen. She was a drag queen, but she was a sex worker as well. And she used the money from her sex to help, uh, you know, pay for the organization that she started to get trans youth off the street. And I feel like that's so important, you know. And Josephine Baker certainly used her skills as a sex worker to finesse, um, getting information from the Fourth Reich so that she could help the Americans, um, and the French Resistance specifically, um, to, uh, to defeat the Nazis. She was in France. She was. She was in France. She was, ah, I think she was exiled, I believe, from, uh, from, um, the Americas, I think. Uh, don't quote me um, you know, she was right. She. She was exiled and she was helping. She was living in Paris, and she was helping specifically the French Resistance to defeat the Nazis. She was meeting at the piano bar where she was working. The Nazis were coming into. German soldiers were coming into the place where she worked, and they were spilling mad secrets. And she was writing those secrets on her arms, on her legs, and on invisible ink in her sheet music. And because of that, they was getting secrets. The French Resistance was getting secrets. And that helped the movement, and it was because of a sex worker. And a lot of people don't know that well. Yeah.

Mattie Bynum

And that also goes back to speak upon the whole thing of what it takes to get a man to talk. It's very easy. Like, it don't take a lot to get. It doesn't take a lot men to spill secrets. But it's amazing how she could use sex work in a way to free so many people, like most of us do, and most of the people who are sex workers. And it's interesting how we criminalize it. So I guess the question would be to you is to. How does that decriminalization start to look in that process?

Miss Mei

Yeah, I, I think, um, and, and I think, like, New York is a really good example because they're really on their way to full decriminalization. Um, you know, they're. They're really pushing for Cecilia's act to be introduced right now. They have like, what's called a Nordic model where they criminalize the johns. Um, which isn't ideal either because it, you know, it removes access, uh, financial access to the sex workers. You know, you can't. How are the sex workers supplied to make money if you criminalize how they make money? Um, but they're on their way to full decriminalization. Um, and I think it's a good question because when we say decriminalization, a lot of people automatically think legalization. Right? Um, they're like, oh, decriminalization means that we want to legalize it, which isn't. Is not necessarily the case. Um, our community often refers to legalization as backdoor criminalization. So what do I mean by that? So take Onlyfans, for example. I'm, um, a porn star. I've also done escorting. I do multiple forms of sex work. I've done multiple forms of sex work in my life. Ah. As a porn star, I have to comply with the multiple forms of, uh, age verification laws that exist. Right. So I have to upload my id, I have to provide, um, consent Paperwork for myself, for my co stars, um, things like that. But that also means that it is a highly regulated industry. So for example, onlyfans can decide what type of content is extreme. What is extreme to me may not be extreme to you. It's highly subjective. So when we're talking about regulating an industry in which we're utilizing services that are from our bodies, that's not an industry that should be regulated. It's not the same as regulating drugs. Right. Like oxycodone needs to be regulated. That's a highly, That's a, that's a highly. Uh, uh, um, that's a drug that can kill you if you take too much of it. Correct. So it needs to be regulated because you need to have a certain amount of it that's safe to take. Now if you see, uh, somebody being fisted on, in a video, that's not going to hurt you, you know what I'm saying? We could argue the mental effects, blah, blah, blah, blah, that there is no data that exists that supports the addiction to pornography. Pornography addiction does not exist. That's not a thing. Um, and so it's like these age verification laws, these regulatory laws that exist where we're regulating content, regulating how it's made, regulating how it's uploaded, these things, how we're able to label it. These things are being done under the guise of protecting children. But children aren't even being taught sex like, like proper sexual education in their own schools.

Mattie Bynum

Mhm.

Miss Mei

So, you know, so it doesn't even make sense to be regulating the industry in this way. So decriminalization, all decriminalization does is say, hey, it's not a crime to be a sex worker. We can't arrest you simply for being a prostitute. We can't arrest you simply for doing your job. Oh, you have, you're a prostitute and there's condoms in your purse. We can't arrest you for that because condoms would normally be used as, uh, evidence. Right.

Mattie Bynum

Really?

Miss Mei

And then that. Absolutely. And that's how they, and that's how they discourage you from using them on the job. And that's how sti spread.

Mattie Bynum

Wow. You know, I never looked at it from that perspective, but I mean, I understand exactly what you're saying. I just, just, I never thought about it because in my mind I would think it doesn't matter. But you know, I could see that M. That's interesting.

Miss Mei

They use it as evidence and to say, oh, you're, you're on your way. Even if you're, even if they don't catch you in the act of prostitution, they'll say you have condoms on you. So you're about to do it.

Mattie Bynum

Well, I guess I must be a prostitute cause I carry condoms in my pocketbook all the time. Yeah, I'm just going same. It's a hard element. You know, make sure you got your boo, um, your bible, your toothbrush, a condom and clean pair of drawers. Like that's just, you know, I assume that I would put eagle in my pocketbook. But we do have to take a quick break real quick to pay the bills and keep the lights on and keep the show running. But please stay tuned, people. Come back and join us on Power beyond podcast. We're having a very intensive conversation about decriminalization, sex work with Ms. May. And as we go on to the next segment, we're going to break it down even more for you. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Power Beyond Pride. I am, um, your host, Mattie Bynum, here with my beautiful, amazing co host. As he has been told before, the epitome of late nights voices or talk radio or R B storm after hours, but with his mellow sound, he is helping me today to always interview beautiful people. So Sean, the next question I think is yours.

Miss Mei

Yeah.

Shawn Aaron

So Ms. May, I want to ask you. So the, the slut you talked about earlier about the Slut Walk. And so the Slut Walk Miami is to be held on December 13th and it was found, uh, five years ago as an annual educational and awareness event surrounding sex workers rights. Are you all set for this year's walk?

Miss Mei

We are. I mean, we're still, um, you know, we're still putting the little pieces together and everything, you know, everything always comes together at the last second. You know how it is with, with event, uh, planning. But, um, you know, where we always, uh, we're, we're going to come, we're going to come together. You know, we're ready for you. December 13th is, uh, is upon us and I am more than excited. Um, we have our march, we have our after party. Nothing better than the after party. Um, so we have our after party at palace every year. Um, it's a drag bar actually, so there's gonna be tons of entertainment. This is what I will say is make sure to go to the ATM before you go to the march. You know, get your dollars out, be ready to drop them dol. Uh, Slut Walk is not just about raising awareness, but it's also about supporting the community. So we need to make sure that we, uh, drop those Dollars on the drag queens. Because as we know, a lot of drag queens, you know, they're in the community, if you know what I mean. Um, so we need to help them.

Mattie Bynum

Out there in those hills and to be able to perform. Some people, it's the same as your bartenders, please tip your performers, please hit.

Miss Mei

Your performers, make it rain.

Mattie Bynum

Well, that's a different conversation. But, yes, honey, we can always. Well, actually, let's not go outside together. We can make it rain on some people. You know what I'm saying? Throw some. Hey.

Miss Mei

Yeah.

Mattie Bynum

Oh, definitely.

Miss Mei

It's about spreading the love and speaking about love.

Mattie Bynum

So, you know, we talk a lot about loving and supporting our own community and loving and supporting all communities. And a lot of times we forget that excludes, like, we have, uh, what I like to call conditional love. We'll conditionally love you and support you as long as you are adhering to our guidelines. We will love and support you as long as you are promoting the image we want you to promote. Why do you feel like in that conversation of loving and supporting our community, that decriminalization of sex work is always left out? Why do you think that people shy away from that conversation?

Miss Mei

Well, I always go back to something that I heard my, um, sister Camille say. She works at the, uh, McKenzie project. Um, she's a wonderful individual. She led an HIV course a few years ago, and something she said in that course really stayed with me, which was, uh, in order to help me, you have to first see me as a human being. You have to first diagnose me as a human being. And I think with sex work, that couldn't be more true. Because the thing about sex workers is that they don't see us as human beings. Point blank period. They don't see us as human beings when we're alive, and they don't see us as human beings when we're dead. So there's something called nhi. No human involved. Then a lot of people don't know about this. Um, when a sex worker is involved in a crime where she is killed, um, whether or not she was, uh, murdered, you know, what have you, whatever the case may be, um, that sex worker is labeled no human involved. There is no human being involved in this crime.

Mattie Bynum

Wow.

Miss Mei

And I think that that sentiment is reiterated time and time again when the sex worker is alive. So take, for example, um, you know, I was just talking about age verification laws. Those. Those same age verification laws are affecting how we interact with social media these days. So, for example, social media nowadays is so Restrictive. At this point, anything can be mistaken as sexual, uh, activity, right? Absolutely. Anything. This year alone, I have lost four social media accounts, and I lost them all in the same day. It was like they came for my Facebook, my personal Facebook account that I've had since I was 16 years old that has nothing to do with sex work. I don't even use it anymore. It just sits. Sits there for memories, you know, for pictures and like. And they, they somehow correlated my phone number, which isn't even my working phone number, okay, to that account. Um, and they, they accused me of violating their community guidelines on human exploitation. And I can't get it back. They took my Facebook account because. Face. Because Meta owns Facebook and Instagram and they also own WhatsApp. I lost access to my WhatsApp account. I can no longer access WhatsApp account. Guess what? Decrem305 has a WhatsApp community. I no longer am the owner of my own community. On Decrym 305, somebody else in my own organization was given the community ownership. Oh, wow. After I lost access, I got access to WhatsApp again because I had to use my husband's phone number. What we've done is created a world in which we dehumanize sex workers over and over and over again because we tell them you shouldn't exist. Anything you do is considered human trafficking or human exploitation. Anything you do is considered this or that is considered illegal activity. And on top of that, because we are connecting your activity to your real life phone number and your real life activity now you have to rely on people close to you. And because you have to rely on people close to you. Now this is creating a world in which we are making it easier and easier for intimate partner violence to happen. Because imagine, you know, if my husband and I didn't have a good relationship, um, um, and. And I. And I had to rely on him, and I had no escape. M. Now I don't have my own WhatsApp. I don't have my own Facebook. I don't have my own Instagram. So we have created, because of this to save the children bullshit, okay? Which starts at the bottom. And what's crazy is like, I'm just, I'm just at the. I'm. I'm just hitting the tip of the iceberg, people. This shit is so interconnected like we have created. The dehumanization is so interconnected at this point that the sex worker cannot escape being a sex worker at any point in her life because, let's say she leaves um, and, you know, sex workers are, you know, of many genders. But I'm using. I'm, um, you know, using this terminology for the purpose of this story. Um, let's say this. Let's say she leaves sex work. Now. All this information is tied to her. So she becomes a nurse or what have you. That phone number, that Facebook, that. Da da da. That's all still tied to her. So at some point in her life, that's gonna come back to her. So there's never a point in your life where you become a sex worker and you never not get to be that, like, sex worker. You never get to escape it, even if you wanted to.

Mattie Bynum

Yeah. And then that's not just on. Um. And I agree what you're saying, but even with the public opinion, period. Like, it's like people. People will never let you forget your past, period, whatever it is that you're doing. People will never let you forget your past. And I think that's. Yeah, that's crazy.

Miss Mei

It's absolutely insane. Like, we have. And then we tell. And then we tell the sex worker. You shouldn't be a sex worker. Be something else. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps. Da da da da da. So she be. So she works. She works her ass off at the club. She. And then they find out that she used to be a stripper, and then she gets fired. Like, this is crazy.

Mattie Bynum

I always think about. And I know this is probably a bad reference. I always think about Big Daddy with Adam Sandler. No matter what the girl did, his. His, um, best friend's fiance, she was always going to be the Hooters girl. Like, no matter how many degrees she got, how many things she did, she was always the Hooters girl. And I think that's crazy. I think that the. Because the thing about it is. And I hate to make this a man or a woman thing, but I am going for two seconds. If a man chose to be a stripper to put himself through law school, do people still go back and refer to him after he becomes an attorney general? Well, you know, he was a stripper. He was a male escort. You know, he put his way through school. No, we don't do that. So why do we do that with women in other marginalized communities? You know what I'm saying? Because if it was a white cisgender man, we got a whole president sitting in the White House who has been not accused but proven to be sexually harassing people. But nobody discusses that. Nobody wants to talk about it.

Miss Mei

I would like to go back to Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, actually. Because what bothers me about, about their entire situation is the fact that we quote them on a constant basis, you know, every pride, every LGBT holiday. Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Marsha B. Johnson. Uh, but they both died homeless. M. And they both died as sex workers. And what bothers me is not only do y', all, not y', all, The other y', alls, the other y', alls, the, the, the, the, the, the community, okay? They love to quote it. They love to quote it. They love to, to tokenize it. Okay? They love to tokenize it. But they, they, they don't, they don't fight for what they were fighting for. That's my shit is like, okay, but what was Marcia and Sylvia fighting for, though? Because they were fighting for sex workers. They were fighting for sex workers rights. They were fighting for trans youth not to have to be sex workers in the street. And there's nothing wrong with sex worker sex work. You know what I'm saying? There's no, I'm not saying that. But time and time again, what I hear from other black trans women, right, is I, this is my only option as a black trans woman. That's what I hear. Because the media and, um, and jobs are denying me every which way to be a black trans woman. That the only option I have is to go to the street, right? That's because that's what Marsha P. Johnson had to do. That's what Sylvia Rivera had to do. That's what a lot of black trans women have to do. That's what a lot of trans women have to do is go to the street. Because we have made it. So just like I explained, for sex workers, right? We have made it as a society to, for it is impossible for trans women to have fucking options, right? And we say, protect the dolls, protect the dolls. But the dolls don't got fucking options. And here we are denying again and again what Marsha P. Johnson fought for.

Mattie Bynum

Mhm.

Miss Mei

We say, oh, she was a drag queen. Oh, she was. Oh, da, da, da. We tokenized and talking. Oh, Marsh B. Johnson said this, said that, but again, she died in the streets, homeless, as a sex worker. Um, so what? So when are we going to stop quoting her and actually fighting for what she fought for? That's my shit. When are we going to stop quoting her and tokenizing her and actually, and actually fight for what she did? Because I'm out there twice a month in the streets giving out Resources. And it's not enough. It's not enough. It's a band Aid. And I'm not saying that because I'm like a good person. I'm not. It's a band Aid. It's not enough. And the resources that we have are not enough. These shelters, these, that they're not doing shit. They're not uh, they're not doing shit. Like it's performative at this point. You know what I'm saying? And I'm um. And personally I've been at this like the organization has existed for six years. I've been an activist for 14 calls. I've been a sex worker for 14 years. I've seen a lot of shit rise and fall. I'm tired because everybody uses sex workers as a token. Oh, come here. Shake ass at this event. Oh, come here. And uh, you know, we'll utilize your body to promote this because we're fighting for our rights. We're on the, we're, you know, America's on the last line of defense, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm tired of the bullshit, to be honest with you. You're tell 7 million people can show up at the no Kings protest, but 7 million people can't show up for Trey Reid.

Mattie Bynum

No, because then they have to actually admit it. They have to admit that people are real, people exist. They have to admit that you are no human. Like there is a human involved. They have to admit. Even when you made the comment, I hear um, a sound bite coming from that. What, are we going to stop memorializing these people and actually fight for these people that were memorialized. Mhm.

Miss Mei

Yeah.

Shawn Aaron

And it goes back to no human involved. If you have to mention these issues, you have to admit that these people are human beings. Right. And it makes people uncomfortable and people aren't willing to have uncomfortable conversations. And so, and I know you say you tired and you, you left some thoughts for people to think about. About when are we gonna start. Stop memorializing, start fighting. And so with that, we're going to take a break. Welcome back to Power Beyond Pride where we are talking with Ms. May. I am Shawn Aaron. He, him, his. I am here with my co host Mattie. And Mattie, go ahead, take it away.

Mattie Bynum

So I definitely wanted to uh, make sure that we understand that there is a distinct difference. Can you explain to people why sex trafficking is so different than sex work and so people can understand why we're asking to decriminalize sex work, not sex trafficking?

Miss Mei

Yeah. Um, so it's very, it's, it's an important distinction. One is consensual and one is not. Right. Sex work implies the work being consensual. Um, trafficking is not consensual. Now what I do want to say is that. But, um, I think it's important to note that as sex workers, when we make that distinction, it's not to say, not my baby, not my problem. Because a lot of times when sex workers are criminalized, um, ah, not a lot of times. Every time sex workers are criminalized, trafficking victims are criminalized in the same way. So when we are tackling legislation that affects sex workers, I absolutely, uh, or. And our communities do believe that trafficking victims and sex workers should be working in tandem together. Um, so when. So for example, there was a sting in Polk county recently, and if you ever hear of a sting in Florida is probably in Polk County. Polk county is the worst when it comes to sex workers. Um, they did a, they did a really huge thing recently, and about 45 of those, uh, those sex workers were migrant sex workers actually. And a lot of them were actually Asian women. Um, we have a really low Asian population in Florida, but the, the Asian migrants that are here are highly targeted. Um, as a Chinese, Cuban myself, I have experienced this. Um, and so Asians are really highly targeted down here because there are so few of us. They're very easy to spot. So the spas are. They're targeted specifically. So in Polk county, they did this thing. And what happens is they'll do a sting and say, we're arresting the jobs, Johns. We're just here to arrest the johns, the people who did the trafficking, the harm, you know, whatever. But they, what happens is they arrest the johns and the sex workers or a, or the victims. And those victims that they, that they think are, you know, being forced into prostitution, um, are arrested. And a lot of times because victims are forced into. The victims who are forced into prostitution. Right. Victims who are forced into this type of labor don't want to go against their abuser for obvious reasons. They will get slapped with a prostitution charge. So there's a tick tock that I made, uh, not too long ago where this woman was giving testimony about how she was, uh, arrested in the sting and she was given, uh, a felony charge. She has a two year felony charge on her record and she was never able to get it expunged. Um, and she was arrested during the sting and she was never given resources. And, um, to this day she's still trying to get away from her trafficker and even somebody on my board. It was Formerly trafficked and is a current sex worker and um, has a felony charge. So like, the fact of the matter is the law does not care to protect victims and it never has. Um, and this applies to people who are raped, you know, sexually assaulted. Like we, you know, our fucking president is a rapist.

Mattie Bynum

Yes.

Miss Mei

You know what I mean? Like we, we as a society, we have. The law is meant to reinforce predators. It's meant to protect and reinforce predators. It's not meant to protect and reinforce victims. And that's the fact. So, so, um, decriminalization would make it so that not only sex workers wouldn't be arrested, but if crimes happen to them, let's say a John, um, uh, assaults, uh, them on the job, they could report that crime. Like I was assaulted in 2021. I have never been able to seek justice or recourse because if I go to the police and I tell them a John raped me, they're going to be like, you're a prostitute, we're arresting you. And decriminalization, uh, would allow me to report that crime. And then if, let's say I was a trafficking victim, I could actually go to the police and say, hey, I'm being trafficked.

Mattie Bynum

Right.

Miss Mei

You know what I mean? And then also the resources, the resources that are being used to criminalize prostitutes currently or sex workers would be diverted, uh, to actually stopping trafficking because we are no longer using resources, taxpayer dollars, your PACs, your taxpayer dollars to arrest people who are just trying to pay their bills.

Mattie Bynum

Mhm.

Miss Mei

Now we can use that money to actually go after the quote unquote, bad guys that you, that the politicians are interested in. That they say, oh, I write these bills because I'm just interested in getting the bad guys. Okay, well let's, you know, let's put those resources where it matters.

Mattie Bynum

But basically what we saying, babies, is start calling it out. Like if you see it, call uh, it out. Point blank, period. That we have to bring awareness to this topic because it's not so much as about whether it's criminal or not criminal. It's about the safety of our community. It's about to be able to have the choice to do whatever you choose and not just be considered. Uh, what was the um acronym again? No human.

Miss Mei

No human involved. Nhi.

Mattie Bynum

No human involved. Like that's not who we are. Come on people. That's not us. All right, so Ms. May, we are headed into our speed round type of questions. Are you ready to get jiggy with it, girl?

Miss Mei

I'm ready.

Mattie Bynum

All right, well these Questions. Don't think too hard. Just say the first. Well, I typically tell people to say the first thing that comes off the top of your head, but if you like me.

Miss Mei

Penis. Oh, we're not doing it yet.

Mattie Bynum

Exactly. All right. It's gonna be fun. The first people question.

Shawn Aaron

And, And I think you just answered it without even knowing the question. So the first question is. So the first question is, are you spontaneous or are you a planner?

Miss Mei

I'm definitely a planner.

Shawn Aaron

Okay.

Miss Mei

Really? I'd love to plan. I love to plan. Um, unless I'm having like a little menti.

Mattie Bynum

Be.

Miss Mei

Then, you know, we're. Then we're spontaneous. Okay. Okay.

Mattie Bynum

So what's a funny or embarrassing moment you don't mind sharing?

Miss Mei

Oof. An embarrassing moment. Funny or embarrassing? Hmm.

Mattie Bynum

Hmm.

Miss Mei

Which one? That's the problem. I have too many to choose from.

Mattie Bynum

You sound about like my light hug. Um, which is the, ah, funniest. Let's do it that way.

Miss Mei

Too. Too met. Too. Too many to choose from. Um, let's see. Okay, so recently, Recently I was on, uh, I was on a, I was on a, On a call with a, With a young. With Southern gentleman. Okay. I was on an escort call with the Southern gentleman. And I was trying to act, you know, like I knew things because I wasn't used to. I'm, you know, I'm a, I'm not a high end esc. I, I, I work. I'm a, I'm a working girl. And, uh, yeah, I was trying to act like I knew what. You know, I've heard of things, but I don't. You know, I, I use after pay. You know what I mean? I use Klarna. Like, you know what I mean? So he goes, he's like, hey, are you hungry? I'm gonna order Uber Eats. I'm like, sure, I could eat. Yeah. And he's like, what do you. What are you in the mood for? I'm like, uh, I don't know. You know, I like, whatever you like, baby. And he's like, he's like, you know. Yeah, I'm thinking about ordering Nobu. And I'm like, oh, yeah, sure, yeah, Nobu. No big deal. Yeah. So then he order. He puts it on his phone, and then he gives me the phone and he's like, order what you want. So then I pull up my. I order. I start scrolling through the phone. I'm like, m. Huh. Uh-huh. M. Yeah, this looks great. Have you eaten? And he, he's like, yeah, I've eaten here before. You looking for Some recommendations. I'm like, yeah, yeah, I could use some recommendations. I like, whatever you like. He's like, okay, yeah, I'm gonna order the wagyu. I'm gonna order this, I'm gonna order that. I'm like, yeah, baby, that sounds great. Whatever. Ever. Because I don't know what the. Because I grew up in Hia. We eat. You know. You know what that is? Like, I'm like, you know. You know what I had this morning? I had ramen and a fried egg. Like, are you talking about Nobu? I was like, what are you saying to me, sir, uh, passing me the phone? Like, I know what this is. Like, I. A hamachi. And it's like, well, was it good? I was like. And it was delicious. But I was sitting there, like, I was like, Don't know what the. This is. Just trying to. Like, Everybody was like, you played that off. Well, I don't know if that was embarrassing, but I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed. I was, like, sitting here trying not to look like a dumb hoe. I just, like, I. That notebook before.

Mattie Bynum

But just be careful what you confirm and what you agree to, because I've been in a position, too, where I'm m. Like, wait a minute. Not what I thought it was, you.

Miss Mei

Know, like, having the food, like, you know, like. And I was. It was funny because I was texting. Either. Uh, not texting.

Mattie Bynum

I was.

Miss Mei

I was the. I was in New Orleans, um, with one of my. With one of my activist homegirls. And. And we were, like, in an Uber driving off, and we're like, yeah, one of these days, you know, we're gonna. We're gonna eat at Nobu. You know, we're just gonna. We're gonna be able to afford it. Like, you know. And then I texted her and I said, I Uber eats Nobu last night. Hey.

Shawn Aaron

Well, now next time if somebody asks you if you had it, you could say, yeah.

Miss Mei

And it on UberEats. On Uber Eats.

Shawn Aaron

So the next question is, what is one thing you would like to achieve in the next five years?

Miss Mei

Money. Riches. Um. Um, another, you know, actually eating at Nobu inside. Um.

Mattie Bynum

Um.

Shawn Aaron

Now you're really into it.

Miss Mei

Yeah. No, I said no. Yeah, I'll go inside this time. No. What I really want. This is what I really want. What I really, really, really want is to have, um. For decrem. To have its own rec. Uh, center. Like, I want to have my own, like, community center. And, um. Don't nobody steal my idea now.

Mattie Bynum

Ready? Don't take it.

Miss Mei

It's either I'm either putting this out into the universe that it's going to. Someone's going to steal my idea. Let's take a risk. Um, so yeah, no, I want to have my own community center. Um, my goal is hopefully there's a big funder on here, um, some other sugar daddy who's listening and is like, yeah, miss me? I want to invest in that. Um, I want to be able to have a space where sex workers can be housed, where they can have, um, job resources, where they can have exit services. So if they're like, um, you know, I'm tired of being a hoe, I don't want to do this shit no more. Um, but I don't know what I can do. I want to be able to have options for them to be able to have like, you know, we would have um, like in the premises, we would have like job resources. So it's like you can be a, learn how to be a barista, you can learn how to bartend, you can um, build your resume, you can learn how to be a social media manager if that's what you want to do. Like, you know, we have options. Um, I want to be able to like have um, childcare on the premises and like, you know, I just wanted to be like fully equipped for sex workers needs so that they can come there, um, and just get on their feet because it's so hard to get on their feet. And then I also don't want it to be this thing where it's like, like, you know, everybody has to have like, you know, certain rules or whatever stipulations because things have to be a certain way. But I also don't want it to be this, this thing where it's so um, confining to sex workers. Because one of the things that's so important, the number one thing that's important to a sex worker is flexibility. You know, flexibility in your schedule is like king to a sex worker. So I just, you know, know I really, that's like, my goal would be.

Mattie Bynum

A king qualification in that because that's.

Miss Mei

Like the hardest thing for a sex worker acclimating to a normal job is the fact that these normal jobs can't accommodate flexibility. Yeah, you know.

Mattie Bynum

All right, well that is a beautiful goal. So any backers, any sugar daddy? Anybody out there that want sugar daddy?

Miss Mei

If you want.

Mattie Bynum

So two more questions. Do you have a spot to watch the sunrise and sunset or a favorite spot?

Miss Mei

Well, I'm not up that early or I don't stay up that late. I'm kind of an old lady inside. Um, always have been. 85 years old inside. I go to bed by 11 o' clock at night. You know, uh, you know, I got very, I've been very lucky in, in, in my youth where, you know, everybody wants to see me at like 7:00am, 8:00am so like the earliest I get up is 6. So I don't. I haven't seen a sunrise in years, if I'm being perfectly honest. What's that like?

Mattie Bynum

Well, it is honestly one of the most. I, uh, would say for me, it's one of the most common things, but you never know. Hey, what's that?

Miss Mei

Like? Maybe I'll find out one of these days.

Shawn Aaron

I've never seen one either because I'm a late riser. I get up at 10am so I'll never see a sunrise. So that's. I'm with you with that. Um, I want to ask you the last question is, what does power beyond pride meaning to you?

Miss Mei

I think it means for me actually seeing the M needle move. Like one thing. I don't like to, I don't like to hear what I want to hear. I like to see what I want to see. You know, Like, I don't, I don't like pandering. You know, I don't like, I don't just want a seat at the table. I don't even want a mic either. I want to see the action. I like movement. Like, I'm not a bullshit kind of person. I can tell like somebody's bullshitting me right away. I'm a very vibes person. Like, I don't know if y' all believe in magic and none of that, but I do, you know, Like, I, you know, I believe in my ancestors are, are whispering to me all the time. And, you know, uh, when I meet somebody, right off the bat, I can tell if, if they're just saying what I want to hear or if they're actually going to help me or if they're actually going to move the needle. You know what I mean? And so that's what it means to me is like, power beyond pride means we're actually, are we doing this or what? You know, when someone's like, I'm in my 30s, I don't have time to be hooking up. Are we doing this or what? That's, that's how I feel about activism. I'm like, are we doing.

Mattie Bynum

I'm.

Miss Mei

I'm not getting any younger. Okay. Are we doing this or what? I'm not doing this. Or what? Because I know that, like, somebody I'm in community with. Um, her name is Terry. She's in her 60s, and she has a trans child, and she doesn't fuck around. I love Terri. She's like, I'm not fucking around. I'm in my 60s. I have a trans child. I'm not getting any younger. I'm fighting for them. Them. She's like, I'm fighting for them. I'm not fucking around. And that's. That's where I'm at. And I'm not even in my 60s. Okay.

Mattie Bynum

Well, I think the power being fraud would be a action statement. So I don't like how you look at that. It's more about. You see the action in it, not so much as the words. But can your Walt Mancho talk is what you're saying. I get it.

Miss Mei

Yes.

Mattie Bynum

Sounds good. Sounds good. Well, Ms. May, I want to thank you. I do apologize. We're out of time today, so that means you got to come back so we can keep having these wonderful conversations. Because I think there's so much more for us to talk about and to relate to.

Miss Mei

I'm just gonna have to come back. Oh, no, ma'. Am.

Mattie Bynum

You have an open anytime to come sit with us and join us. But, um, real quick as we are, um, finishing up the conversation, where can people find your socials at? Where can people support you in the movement?

Miss Mei

Yes. Um, well, you can support. You can find and support Decrem305 on any platform. Decrim. 305. That's D E C R I M M 305. Like decriminalize, but for short, 305. Um, we're on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, all that good stuff. Um, you know, we take. We take cash, app, ebt, Snap, uh, all that.

Mattie Bynum

All the forms of donation, all the.

Miss Mei

Forms of payment, you know. Um, and then you can find me Multiverse, um, first of May, everywhere. Um, that's life. You've seen the, uh, Marvel stuff. I'm very into Marvel. Uh, so that's, uh, the multiverse, uh, of Mei m. So, um, Multiverse of Mei m. E I everywhere on, uh, except Facebook. I don't do Facebook, obviously. They took my shit. Um, but I'm on Instagram, X, all that stuff. Um, and, you know, and, you know, I'm on pornhub and all that stuff if you feel like taking a look. I do get royalties, so you are supporting me for free, but I do make a dime off those ad revenues.

Mattie Bynum

All right, well, that's wonderful. That's Wonderful. Well I am your host for this afternoon, Mattie Bynum. Um I am a comedian actress and always like throughout the loudest one in the room and you can follow me at Instagram. My socials are going to be maddysimone737 and then on Facebook is Mattie Byno. Um and I did mention on one other episode that I have a TikTok. I don't typically use it but if you want to go look at the five videos that are posted by all means go look at the five videos that are posted on my TikTok. Yeah and ah Sean and I'm your.

Shawn Aaron

Co host Shawn Aaron. He him his and you can find me on uh most of socials as Them Boys Inc. And also my personal page Shawn Aaron 81 and remember to.

Mattie Bynum

Subscribe and get all your friends and family to subscribe to Power Beyond Pride on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. And check out our site, Power Beyond Pride.

Shawn Aaron

Power Beyond Pride is a project from a great idea, a queer owned design and content agency. Learn more about them at a great.

Mattie Bynum

Idea.Com and this episode was produced by our wonderful Shane Lukas and I, Mattie Byam and the project developer. Our editor is the amazing Jared Redding and he is always supported by the utmost wonderful person that you'll ever meet which is Ian Wilson.

Shawn Aaron

Yes and we are both part of this podcast awesome host team and we invite you to send in your questions and comments at Power Beyond Pro.

Mattie Bynum

Check out our new episodes each week and we look forward to Queer Change making with you next time. Thank you once again from all of us here at Call Around Pride. Have a great day.

Transcribed automatically and lightly checked. If something is wrong — a name especially — tell us and we will fix it.