Pascal made a bit of ink in the Daily Mail lately; unfortunately it wasn’t for his outstanding contributions in the field of female orgasms. Followers of this blog would be familiar with P’s fundraising work as part of the Porn Peddlars Cycling Club. The PPCC is made up of cycling enthusiasts which also happen to be sex workers. They’ve raised over £10,000 for HIV prevention and research while competing in matches governed by British Cycling.
Despite the Peddlar’s good work for a deserving cause, British Cycling abruptly canceled their membership once they discovered what “PPCC” stood for. Apparently they consider the Peddlars detrimental to their brand, even though their lead sponsor is HSBC, which is perhaps the most globally scandalous organization currently on earth.
Porn life isn’t always as glamorous as it looks. There’s a lot of stigma, discrimination and hypocrisy out there that we face as sex workers. When sex workers are denied visibility as citizens contributing to the common good as the Peddalrs are here, it only contributes to the negativity.
The story does have a happy ending though. The Peddlars managed to call attention to their slight through their social media followings, and raised a bit of hell for British Cycling. British Cycling’s stance is unfortunate and they’ll likely remain unmoved. But the tremendous outpouring of support from the industry, fans, and allies makes a huge difference to the sex workers that deal with this sort of discrimination every day.
If you helped out with this, PSS would like to thank you for your support. We urge you all to support sex workers. Whether its by speaking up on the issues, paying for your porn, or simply sending kind words to those affected by stigma and discrimination, your positive vibrations do make a difference!