Mamie Majors, contemporary voices. A rose.

Mamie Majors legally know as Mary I. Jones Birth: 26 Dec 1868 Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana, USA Death: 23 Aug 1931 (aged 62) Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado, USA In a 1893 Pueblo newspaper article, Majors’s was outed with her real name Mary I. Jones [a.k.a Mamie Majors]. The article referred to Mamie/Mary as a “keeper and proprietor of one of the gilded halls of Front Street” in Pueblo. Jan MacKell. Brothels, Bordellos, and Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado, 1860-1930. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2007. https://wp.me/p3qqic-hy https://cl.cobar.org/departments/the-notorious-demimonde-of-colorado-city/ https://digitalcollections.ppld.org/nodes/browse/?meta=eyI5NCI6WyJNYW1pZSBNYWpvcnMiXSwiMTE1IjpbIk1hbWllIE1ham9ycyJdLCI1ODEiOlsiTWFtaWUgTWFqb3JzIl19 #SexWorkersHistory #OurHistoryOurPower #RadicalSexWorkersHistory #OurStoriesOurPower #SexWorkerRights

In a 1893 Pueblo newspaper article referred to Mamie/Mary as a “keeper and proprietor of one of the gilded halls of Front Street” in Pueblo.

#SexWorkersHistory #OurHistoryOurPower #RadicalSexWorkersHistory
#OurStoriesOurPower
#SexWorkerRights

Photo of Josephine Baker: Espionage & Resistance

Josephine Baker https://www.them.us/story/josephine-baker-activism-history https://www.biography.com/news/josephine-baker-bisexual first marriage was a short-lived union when she was 13 years old. A few years later, in 1921, she wed Willie Baker (and would hold onto his last name even after that relationship ended). https://www.history.com/news/josephine-baker-world-war-ii-spy “As war drums reverberated across Europe in 1939, the head of France’s military intelligence service recruited an unlikely spy: France’s most famous woman—Josephine Baker. Jacques Abtey had spent the early days of World War II recruiting spies to collect information on Nazi Germany and other Axis powers. Typically, the secret service chief sought out men who could travel incognito. Then again, nothing was typical when it came to the American-born dancer and singer.”

Josephine Baker

“As war drums reverberated across Europe in 1939, the head of France’s military intelligence service recruited an unlikely spy: France’s most famous woman—Josephine Baker
#SexWorkersHistory #OurHistoryOurPower #RadicalSexWorkersHistory
#OurStoriesOurPower
#SexWorkerRights

Madame Du Barry- pioneers of the past

Madame du Barry (1743-1793) Madame du Barry, born Jeanne Bécu, rose from poverty and prostitution to become the mistress of King Louis XV. Known for her beauty and charm, she captivated the king despite her scandalous past. Nobles at Versailles, including Marie Antoinette, disapproved of her common origins and role as the king’s maîtresse-en-titre, viewing her as a symbol of moral decline. After the French Revolution, she was guillotined in 1793 for allegedly conspiring with émigrés and aiding royalists.

Madame du Barry

Madame du Barry rose from poverty and prostitution to become the mistress of King Louis XV. Known for her beauty and charm, she captivated the king despite her scandalous past.

#SexWorkersHistory #OurHistoryOurPower #RadicalSexWorkersHistory
#OurStoriesOurPower
#SexWorkerRights

Alice Regnault

Alice Regnault, born Augustine-Alexandrine Toulet, was a French actress and courtesan known for her captivating presence on stage and in high society during the late 19th century. Initially gaining fame as a performer, she became equally renowned for her relationships with wealthy and influential men. Regnault’s most notable connection was with the writer Octave Mirbeau, whom she eventually married. Though her career in the theater waned, she remained a prominent social figure, navigating the intersection of art, scandal, and society with charm and resilience.

Alice Regnault, born Augustine-Alexandrine Toulet, was a French actress and courtesan known for her captivating presence on stage and in high society during the late 19th century…
#SexWorkersHistory #OurHistoryOurPower #RadicalSexWorkersHistory
#OurStoriesOurPower
#SexWorkerRights

Saartjie Baartman- pioneers of the past

Sara Baartmen Saartje (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈsɑːrki]), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoekhoe woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the name Hottentot Venus, a name that was later attributed to at least one other woman similarly exhibited. The women were exhibited for their steatopygic body type uncommon in Western Europe that was perceived as a curiosity at that time, and became subject of scientific interest as well as of erotic projection. #SexWorkersHistory #OurHistoryOurPower #RadicalSexWorkersHistory #OurStoriesOurPower #SexWorkerRights

Sara Baartmen
Saartje (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈsɑːrki]), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoekhoe woman

#SexWorkersHistory #OurHistoryOurPower #RadicalSexWorkersHistory
#OurStoriesOurPower
#SexWorkerRights

Maya Angelou Cultural Revolutionaries. Scrapbook style

Let’s celebrate Maya Angelous birthday! Maya Angelou a.k.a. Miss Calypso https://youtu.be/59cS6TO4IdQ “Pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” “Can’t Do is like Don’t Care. Neither of them have a home.” “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.” Maya Angelou; I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 2009 #SexWorkersHistory #OurHistoryOurPower #RadicalSexWorkersHistory #OurStoriesOurPower #SexWorkerRights

Maya Angelou a.k.a. Miss Calypso
youtu.be/59cS6TO4IdQ
“Pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”

#SexWorkersHistory #OurHistoryOurPower #RadicalSexWorkersHistory
#OurStoriesOurPower
#SexWorkerRights

A rose image titled Whore Stories: sex workers’ history and activism

The list of sex worker activists we are highlighting this month!

Sex workers have shaped history through resilience, activism, & artistry. From Maya Angelou to Josephine Baker, Mamie Majors to Sara Baartman; these figures defied oppression & left lasting legacies. Learn their stories & honor their impact.

#SexWorkersHistory