Kate Zen

SEXUALITY AS LABOR, TECHNOLOGY, SOCIAL POWER SYSTEM

SPEAKING &
PRESENTATIONS

Seeding Change: Activating Asian America (July 31, 2020)

SLIDES | Compiled Readings & Research

Lehman College, Guest lecture: Dr. Stuart Chen-Hayes (July 20, 2020)

Artistry of Activism Conference (June 6, 2020)

Columbia University, Guest lecture: Asian American History with Professor Mae Ngai
(February 12, 2020)

SLIDES: "Laws Built Off Our Backs: Sex Worker Organizing As Transnational Feminism"

Museum of Modern Art / PS1 (February 9, 2020) KinkOut & Hacking//Hustling panel with Leila Raven and SX Noir

Columbia Law School panel (December 2, 2019) "Asian Sex Worker Organizing Across Oceans" SLIDES

Hacking//Hustling at Harvard Law School (November 7, 2019)
SLIDES: "Building Techno-Surveillance Off the Backs of Sex Workers: Facial Recognition, Data Warehousing, and Legislation to Watch Out for in 2020"

NYU Law School (November 6, 2019) "Sex Work Decriminalization: Who, What, How"

ICRSE Stockholm, Sweden(September 30, 2019) International Conference on the 20th Year Anniversary of the "Swedish Model" of criminalizing the purchase of sex. Panel on migrant sex worker organizing in North America.

Chinese Feminist Collective
(August 25, 2019)
SLIDES: "Anti-Chinese Racism: Charitable Whorephobia & Xenophobic Police State"

MinKwon Community Center (August 7, 2019) SLIDES

Left Forum (June 30, 2019)
Panel with Senator Julia Salazar

Chinese Feminist Collective (June 9, 2019) SLIDES

York University Sex Work Research Symposium (September 30, 2016)
SLIDES: "Research, Knowledge Production, and New Technologies"

Desiree Alliance (July 2016, June 2013) SLIDES: "Migrant Sex Workers Can Defeat Anti-Trafficking Narrative" (2016)
(2013) Organized panel on history of U.S. sex worker advocacy with Carol Leigh, Melinda Chateauvert, Mireille Miller-Young.

COPE Local Union 343, Orellia Ontario (June 4, 2016)
SLIDES: "Organizing for Labour Rights in Informal Sectors: Global Case Studies and the Canadian Context"

Seeding Change (August 7, 2015)
SLIDES: "Roses Too: Why Asian Americans Have a Responsibility to Support Our Sex Worker Sisters in Asia, Harmed By American Policies" | Compiled Readings & Research

Migrant Sex Worker Justice Forum (Ryerson University, May 12, 2015) SLIDES: "U.S. Anti-Trafficking Laws & Carceral Politics"

Catalyst Con 2014 - Spoke on panel organized by Lori Adorable.

CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities (June 9, 2014) Presentation to youth activists about migrant massage parlor workers in Chinatown: CAAAV's early efforts, and current struggles with police violence & extortion. Immigrant labor rights and racial justice framework for sex worker rights advocacy.

Left Forum (2009) Organized panel about anti-trafficking legislation and sex worker justice, with Claire Garvey (Amnesty International) and Will Rockwell ($pread Magazine)

NYC Anarchist Bookfair (2008) Organized workshop on sex work and anarcho-feminism, historical and present-day. Presented my zine: "AnnaKissed ManiFiesta" in feminist distros (NYC & Montreal)

UPDATE: I am currently an Open City Fellow with the Asian American Writers Workshop, working towards my first book about sex work and immigration policy. I'm collaborating on a feature length documentary "Fly in Power", led by the incredible activist Yin Quan, the first version of which is shown at the Asian American Film Festival. I'm also working on building up Red Light Reader, a book club and independent publisher, serving as a platform for sex worker writing and art. In the past, I served as a community organizer for creative writing programs at the now defunct Red Umbrella Project, briefly helped edit Tits & Sass and directed the communications team at the Global Network of Sex Work Projects, reporting on sex worker organizing in various parts of the world. I also worked on graphic design and editing for the old $pread Magazine.

Below, you can find some of my writing on NBC, Mic, TruthOut, Plan A Magazine, and other publications.

NBC THINK

[october 4, 2019]

Constance Wu's real-life 'Hustlers' inspiration and the problem with model minority redemption narratives

[october 2, 2020]

Bella Thorne's OnlyFans controversy highlights ongoing challenges for sex workers

TruthOut

[june 3, 2019]

New York Activists Are Leading the Charge on Sex Work Decriminalization

[march 10, 2014]

On International Women’s Day, Show Your Support for the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights in Massachusetts

[december 24, 2013]

Canadian Supreme Court Ruling Affirms Human Rights of Sex Workers

Mic

[march 24, 2013]
Why Are Sex Workers Left Out of the Violence Against Women Conversation?

[july 24, 2012]
Prostitutes Are Heroes in the Fight Against HIV, But Sex Workers Are Banned from AIDS Conference, 2012

[july 6, 2012]
A Homeless Bill of Rights for New York City

[march 24, 2013]

Amina Tyler: Tunisian Girl Outrages Islamic Authorities with Nude Facebook Photos

Interviews

(Not a comprehensive list.)

Sex Worker Community Blogs

[Tits & Sass, aril 24, 2015]

The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act: Not Just Bad for Trafficking Victims

[Slixa, august 21, 2013]

MISERY to MINISTRY: Kathryn Griffin's Prostitution Rehab in Texas

[Tits & Sass, june 20, 2013]
Lonely Little Red Umbrella: Sex Workers’ Rights in the Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Pledge Hearing

[Tits & Sass, april 11, 2019 - written collaboratively]

The Massage Parlor Means Survival Here: Red Canary Song on Robert Kraft

[Tits & Sass, april 23, 2013]
The Merseyside Model, Part I: Can Sex Worker Activists Partner with the Police and a Conservative London Politician?

[Slixa, november 30, 2013]

BURLESQUE AS SEX WORKER FEMINISM: History, Theory, and Dialogue with Three Fierce Performers

[Slixa, october 22, 2013]

Movie Review: Joseph Gordon-Levitt's New Film "Don Jon"

Other Writing About Sex Work

[Medium, august 13, 2020]

Dear Esperanza

[Medium, august 2, 2019] - written collaboratively

RIGHTS, NOT RESCUE: A Response to AF3IRM in Defense of DSA Resolution #53

[Medium, june 25, 2019] - written collaboratively

Cabán Offers Community-Based Solutions to Protect Immigrant Communities of Color

[october 19, 2014]

Review: Sell/Buy Date

[NSWP, september 30, 2012]
Chinese Sex Worker Ye Haiyan, Detained By Police

[$pread Magazine: The Race Issue, 2011]

"For Every Victim, There is Also a Warrior": Interview with activist Mariko Passion

[april 3, 2012]

La Femme Qui N'Existe Pas: Pole Dancing in the Desert of the Real

[february 27, 2009]

Letter to the Columbia Aspasia

[2008, AnnaKissed ManiFiesta]

[New York Times, mar. 31, 2019]

Jesse McKinley: "Could Prostitution Be Next to Be Decriminalized?"

[WBAI - "A New Day" with Johanna Fernandez] July 13, 2020 - Sex Work Policing, Real Estate & Right-Wing Propoganda July 9, 2020 - Organizing against Pro-NYPD Protest in Flushing, Queens

[Next City, aug. 6, 2020]

Oscar Perry Abello: "Do Cities Have Room for Sex Workers to Ply Their Trade?"

[Lausan, aug. 6, 2020]

Opposing Chinese American Conservatism

[Vice News, aug. 4, 2020]

Ryan Songalia: "How Activists Brought Black Lives Matter to NYC’s Most Conservative Neighborhoods"

[Rewire News, july 24, 2020]

Tiffany Diane Tso: "Prison Abolition Requires Decriminalizing Sex Work"

[The Fire These Times, episode 39 / july 22, 2020]

Joey Ayoub: "Basebuilding, Sex Workers’ Rights and Mutual Aid with Kate Zen"

[Lausan, june 22, 2020]

Webinar: Sex Work Beyond Borders