LOS ANGELES — Reigning XBIZ "Cam Model of the Year" GoAskAlex is the subject of a first-person essay for Newsweek titled, "I'm a Disabled Sex Worker."
The performer and "first-ever ostomate adult star," noted a rep, "details the highs and lows of her health issues."
"I was diagnosed at the age of 10 with ulcerative colitis, which is a bowel-specific autoimmune disease, so much of my early years were spent in the hospital in British Columbia, Canada, where I grew up," Alex wrote. “My mental and physical health were suffering. People with ulcerative colitis often go through cycles of flare-ups and remissions. I ended up losing [my] job and from there, despite odd bits of work in retail, I had to visit food banks and a local Sikh temple to get free meals."
She began camming in 2014, which afforded her a flexible schedule and higher salary, and yet her physical health was still impacting her daily work.
"(T)alking about your bowel health is awkward and embarrassing when the image you're trying to portray is one of being sexy. But over time, I started sharing my health issues with my chat room and fans," Alex said. "I had my entire colon removed, and my small intestine was re-routed out through my abdomen in July 2019... I returned to camming in September 2019 and I was received with a lot of love and compassion. I started mostly by wearing girdles or high-waisted underwear to hide my ostomy… but over time, there were a lot of instances where I was fully naked and my medical device was visible."
Alex has adopted a sanguine attitude about negative feedback.
"I do get negative comments sometimes. People say, ‘Why would I want to look at that?’ but those kinds of comments remind me that this work is still necessary," she said. "Disabled people consume pornography just like everyone else, so they deserve to be represented just like everyone else.”
She also delights in her advocacy work. "I am passionate about the representation of disabled bodies. I want people to know that being disabled and having a healthy sex life and being sexy are not mutually exclusive," said Alex.
Find the full article at Newsweek.com.
