LOS ANGELES — Performer and disability advocate and educator GoAskAlex is the featured guest on a recent epiode of “On the Whorizon" with hosts Jessie Sage and MelRose Michaels.
Alex and the hosts discussed the limitations of conventional jobs and how sex work offers flexibility and financial means to those with disabilities or those who are caretakers. Alex was already an established and successful performer for six years prior to her 2019 ileostomy surgery, which involved the removal of her large bowel and implementing a stoma, requiring the use of a pouch attached to her abdomen.
"My passion is speaking about and working to promote the representation of underrepresented bodies in pornography,” Alex said. “There are so many sex workers with disabilities, chronic illness, mental health —our industry is saturated with people who have these conditions, and their representation is very low in comparison to how many people are living with these things. People with disabilities still have sex, still have pleasure and can still be sexy."
She noted that discussions between doctors and patients post-surgery "generally don’t include the topics of sex and intimacy."
"The way our hospitals are set up, you’re really in and out, and the focus is on efficiency rather than having that patient care. I don’t think the doctors really wanted to have that conversation. I don’t think anybody was really volunteering to have an awkward conversation about sexuality," she said.
"It's still really hard performing and getting naked; I still have a lot of insecurity and I don’t think that’s ever going to go away," she shared. "I look at the way my body used to look and I feel envy for that; when I’m performing, I try to find underwear and lingerie… that makes me feel more comfortable."
Find an audio version of her 74-minute "On the Whorizon" episode here and on Apple Podcasts; find the video version on Twitter.
Follow GoAskAlex on Twitter and access her premium social media links here.
