Marc,

Thank you so much for this post. It has been a lot easier for me to doll myself up and try to be charming on these cocktail waitressing interviews knowing what a large community there is that supports me -- not just my personal friends and family, but people who I've never met. We as a community obviously are proving doubters wrong. Really the whole argument reminds me of the general attacks against Obama that suggested he himself was all talk, and no action. While his term isn't over yet, I think the similarity makes it clear that this is an issue of human rights, in addition to women's rights. Transgendered people, racial, ethnic, or religious minorities, people with disability, people abroad in economically struggling countries, and people from working-class families all face the same kind of issues that I am facing right now, and worse, every day.

This is why I've decided that, in the event that the donations I receive exceed the initial down payment, I will donate the proceeds to GEMS. Girls Educational and Mentoring Services was founded by Rachel Lloyd, an acquaintance of mine and a former sex worker herself. Her program, which has now grown to have international recognition, began when she gave a safe haven to girls out of her own home, is doing amazing work with young girls in NYC who have been forced into sexual exploitation. Sometimes girls who have been forced into sexual exploitation -- and are not legally old enough to consent to sex -- are nonetheless prosecuted as adults, for "solicitation of prostitution." GEMS offers them a chance to find meaningful work, finish school, and get back on their feet. 

Given the resistance we are seeing to Roman Polanski's arrest, I think this is obviously a very pressing issue that is not being taken seriously enough. I hope we can turn this act of kindness on all of your parts into an event that is about something much greater than just my personal health issues.

Best,

Alexandria Brown

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