Articles
No, My Child Does Not Have to Hug You: Why I’m Raising my Toddler to Understand Consent
Each year around Christmas, millions of Americans spend time with loved ones. We cook and drink and laugh and argue and drive to gather in the warm homes of folks that we call “Friends and Family.” Kids play and fight over toys and video-games. Adults cook and drink and argue politics in the kitchen and… Read More
Articles
Expert Advice on Libidos, Clearing Your Mind, and Banging Your Ex’s Best Friend
How do you handle a relationship where your partner has a way higher sex drive than you? Before I address the question, I’d like to state that “sex drives” are not set in stone, but rather, can vary widely throughout a person’s life. Stress, living conditions, age, and, health are just a few factors that… Read More
Blog, Interviews
Jacq the Stripper – Interview
Like so many beautiful, strange, unattainable women, I found her on Instagram. Unlike so many women, “Jacq the Stripper” is a pole dancing, customer-hustling, writer, comedian, artist and all-around smart ass, and I liked her immediately. Her doodles of brief customer or coworker quotes, named, “100 Days Of Pleasantries” caught me with its impressive ability… Read More
Articles
Things Nobody Tells You Before You Start Having Sex
Originally published 10/27/2015 on Thrillist.com Ah, if only I had a time machine. I’d go back and warn Americans about the impending financial collapse, various environmental disasters, and the Kardashians. I’d also give my younger self some advice that I never learned in high school sex ed. These are the things nobody tells you before… Read More
Articles
Slutwalk Portland 2015
Oh, the things I saw at Slutwalk, Portland. It is September 20th, 2015. It is noon on Sunday, and I’ve loaded up the vehicles of friends with the PA system that my daughter’s father has donated for the event. One of the men who I had fucked and befriended because of Tinder is… Read More
Articles
How Communication Gets You the Great Sex You Deserve
By Elle Stanger Originally published 10/6/2015 on Thrillist.com I was nervous. My boyfriend of six months was staring me squarely in the face, chewing his lip. He looked terrified. He said he had something important to tell me. My heart sunk. What could it be? Did he have a family? A terminal illness? Was he… Read More
Articles
The Fact and Fiction of Open Relationships – Thrillist.com
You’ve heard it before. The words and phrases have probably escaped your lips: “happily ever after,” “together forever,” “the one,” “soulmate.” Our culture raises people to expect a state of perpetually romantic monogamy from their partner. Maybe blame Disney. With slight, and very recent, exceptions, the tales always center on a conflict between a… Read More
Updates
Portland Sex Worker Activist Wins World Sexual Health Day Writing Award – HuffPost
This year’s winner of the World Sexual Health Day Writing Competition, with its theme of “Sexual Health for a Fairer Society,” is Elle Stanger, a Portland-based stripper, sex work activist and author. The winning piece, “Sex Work, Civilian Life, and Harassment”, was intended to raise awareness for Portland’s SlutWalk, which will take place at 1:00… Read More
Blog, Education, Interviews
“A” is for Activist – Interview with Innosanto Nagara
As a parent in Portland, Oregon, I’m constantly astounded at how many clever ways that children’s food, clothing and events can be marketed to hipster parents. There are baby boutiques like Treehouse or BeanSprout, children’s musicians like Mr. Ben and Talullah’s Daddy, kid’s coffeeshops like POA or Cafe Au Play. And have you seen some… Read More
Interviews
A stripper’s crusade to improve dancers’ working conditions – Salon.com
New efforts by a coalition of strippers, social workers and professional lobbyists aim to change all that, though, through the unprecedented move of lobbying the state legislature directly. Their ultimate goal is to improve safety standards for Oregon’s live entertainers, a task that could turn out to be tougher than it seems in the face… Read More
