Host AM Davies welcomes Mari de Luna (she/they/ella), a sex worker, to discuss how stigma, criminalization, and deplatforming compound external and internal stressors for people in the industry and why community is vital for safety, mental health, and resource access—especially for those with intersecting identities such as immigrants and neurodivergent people. Mari shares her experience of family estrangement, lessons about mutual aid, and the importance of vetting support networks, including tools like pod mapping and safety planning. She describes her background with autism, CPTSD, ADHD, burnout, addiction, and four years of sober-ish living, and explains her work through Stilettos for Survival and neurosomatic intelligence, offering body-based practices for nervous system regulation. Mari previews collaborations on sober-ish eroticism and an upcoming workshop integrating somatics with anti-oppressive financial tools.
*This transcript was auto-generated and may contain minor errors.* *This transcript was auto-generated and may contain minor errors.* Begin transcript after opening credits.
Mari: [00:00:00] Like the stress from the environment, whether it’s lights, noise, I mean, the oppression that we’re under this industry, so criminalized, we’re getting de platformed every day, like all of this external stress. So all of these stressors compound external internal stressors. So the best that we can do is to learn tools to amplify our life force.
Welcome to YAS Podcast, where sex workers, artists, and advocates talk about the realities of the industry.
You’re listening to a show on YAS Network. A collection of podcasts created through YAS Work. Learn more at YASWork.org.
AM: Hey everyone, AMD here as your host today for YAS Podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in. You guys know by [00:01:00] now if you’re a regular listener, YAS Podcast is a branch podcast under the YAS Work umbrella, which is in the process of becoming a network. Um, right now we’re recording this episode in March, and so you’ll hear this in May.
Um, and we’ll probably be much further along than we are now. So it’s very exciting. Can’t wait to give you more details on that as it rolls out. Um, and just a reminder that YAS Work is a nonprofit dedicating to changing public perception through entertainment and media. And if you love this podcast and you’d like to support its further growth, please donate.
You can head to yaswork.org/donate. Thank you so much. Now a big thank you to our guest who it’s a long overdue episode that we’re having today. I have Mari de Luna in the room with me. Can you please say hello Mari?
Mari: Hey everyone. Happy to be here. [00:02:00]
AM: Hi, we’re so happy to have you here. Thank you. Can you please before we get into it, ’cause like we have so much to talk about, can you please tell everyone what your pronouns are and do you identify as a sex worker or not?
Mari: Yes. Thank you for asking. So yeah, my pronouns are she/they/ella and I do identify as a sex worker.
AM: Lovely. Thank you for sharing. Thanks. Thanks again for being here. I know we were going to do this before and we had to reschedule. I can’t remember why that happens all the time, by the way. And I just love that we always in this community, seem to figure it out and make it happen in the end, you know, so.
Thank you for that, you know, for coming back and trying again. So excited to have you here.
Mari: My pleasure.
AM: Thank you for having me. Yeah. So you’re, so I just kind of wanna give the audience a little background. Like, this isn’t like the first time we’ve met or anything, right?
Mari: No.
AM: Right. Like
Mari: we go back.
AM: We go back. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we met just to tell people like we met [00:03:00] through Strippers United, I was living in California at the time. You were living way clear across the country. And I will, I will always remember the first phone call we had. Do you remember that phone call?
Mari: I do. I was so curious to know how I could get involved and
i’m like, who can tell me? Who can guide me a little bit?
AM: Yeah.
Mari: And there was you.
AM: Yeah. I don’t know. I remember just feeling like you were a kindred spirit, like on that first call. You know, I remember feeling that way about you.
Mari: Yes. Yeah, likewise.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: Mm-hmm.
AM: And now I’m here. We’re closer. We’ve met in person, we’ve been around each other in person more than once. And I was just so grateful coming across the country and like.
Being able to have community like somebody, so that was really great.
Mari: Yes. Oh my God. Talk about community.
AM: Yeah,
Mari: we’re gonna, we’re gonna, I think we’re gonna dive deep into that. Oh
AM: yeah.
Mari: Because it’s really, really important.
AM: [00:04:00] Definitely agree. Speaking of community, I just, I really wanna kind of get right into things. I do want the audience to learn a little bit more about you, Mari, where you’re, where you come from as far as why you, how, why you are showing up the way you are today. Like, what has your journey been like?
And if you could just like kind of give us a little bit of information on you, that would be awesome.
Mari: Yeah. Oh my God. This need to be talking about forming community really is out of necessity. It truly is out of necessity. I, um. I am estranged from my family, and as you know, being a sex worker is so highly stigmatized and everything compounds when you’re in isolation.
Um, I’ve had unfortunate experiences where I’ve, you know, been in, um, alliance with other [00:05:00] organizations that unfortunately haven’t been aligned. And so this is now why pulling resources. I’m learning from people like you. I’ve heard you speak on podcasts about the importance to prepare ahead, prepare for cycles where, you know, work isn’t as active, or whether we have chronic illnesses, whether we have mental, um.
You know, mental disabilities, right? So it is so incredible vital for a sex worker. Did you hear me? Vital? It is vital that we have communities that support us.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: Um, because we are stigmatized, we are criminalized. And so I have been just pulling resources from everybody from wherever I can, and my hopes is that.
People who are coming new into the [00:06:00] industry will have better tools to create their communities and to lean into one another. I have never been exposed to what it means to be in mutual aid or receive mutual aid from another person who is not related to you. You know, it is not a family or blood related.
But the way I have seen how we show up for each other in our communities has transformed this idea for me. This is why I keep saying it is vital that we have communities that are allies and that understand the struggle that goes on in our industry.
AM: Yeah, definitely. And the struggles really, vary from person to person based on intersectionality, um, with also being a sex worker.
’cause there’s tons of, as you know, of [00:07:00] course there’s tons of marginalized groups of people that are also intersect with being a sex worker. And that’s something that you can speak on firsthand. Yeah. Do you, do you have anything that you’d wanna share that is also considered vital to understand and be aware of as we move forward doing this type of work?
Mari: Oh, yes. Uh, well, I represent, I’m part of, um, different identity groups, so I identify as an immigrant, as a neurodivergent person and as a sex worker. And all of these compound. Also having some financial issues in the past have put me in not so desirable, uh, situations. And when you look at, uh, when you look at it through a harm reduction lens, it goes back to safety planning, to [00:08:00] having networks that can be your foundation.
And yes, the more marginalized identities you have, then you know, that presents more of a vital foundation for you to have your communities to know, your rights, to know. You know, other ways that you can supplement income to have support groups where you can speak about your mental health.
AM: Mm-hmm.
Mari: Um, yeah, so this has all come through my community of sex workers.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: I have not been able to find any of the support in any other communities
AM: outside of the sex worker community, you mean?
Mari: Right? Yes.
AM: Do you think, do you have a theory? Do you have a, a working theory or understand why.
Mari: Well, I’m thinking it’s because people don’t, you know, this, the stigma that exists around sex workers.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: Um, I it’s, it’s, we are still against people’s biases, people’s images. [00:09:00] Mm-hmm.
AM: It just continues to confound me that even in marginalized spaces, that you don’t feel the comfort that you do in sex worker spaces.
Mari: Yes. Yes. And you know, I think once you put the label on it, that you navigate, you exist as a sex worker…
People have skewed ideas as to how they can help you. Um, there is, you know, I have been learning what it means to be in like how to be in power with, rather than power over or power under when it comes to being in community, when it comes to distributing resources distributing the wealth, right, wealth, whether it is knowledge that you have, um, or it’s actual cash.
And it, there’s so much to say [00:10:00] there because even for me, I’ve been working on my own- on my own privileges, right? And when it comes to, I ha I carry certain, certain privileges, but still with that, I want to be in community where we are empowered with each other. And so that means how, how do I stay empowered?
How do I stay rooted in who I am? And always inviting people to exercise their choice and their autonomy. Um, and I think it’s where, uh, some people get, they kind of slip up with their trying to save someone else when it comes to help. So that is a concept that, you know, it, it, I think it takes time to, to pick apart and to unpack what it means to be in community and to be in power with the other ones.
AM: Yeah. Sort of like, um, [00:11:00] rejection of hierarchy in general.
Mari: Yes.
AM: Regardless of the situation.
Mari: Exactly. Exactly.
AM: Yeah. I, I’m. Okay. I, there’s some synchronicities happening here.
Mari: I love it.
AM: Over the last couple of days that where my mind has been at, and what you are saying and what I’ve been questioning about myself recently, self-examining and I have this, um, I have this ability to sort of sort through bullshit.
Um mm-hmm. And I’ve learned recently that. Like that. That’s a skill that I have so that I can give that back to my immediate community, whatever that is. My friends, my family, like the sex worker community so that I can kind of like weed through the stuff. And it helped me realize that like each one of us has a unique [00:12:00] skill. I know we’ve heard this before, right? This is not a new concept, but it’s, I’m talking about a deeper inner working concept of how we energetically and spiritually show up. And so I’ve kind of had this aha moment about how I’ve been showing up and I’m like, oh, it’s not that so and so isn’t on my level.
’cause I’ll be real, like I have to break down my own hierarchy constructs that are within me from conditioning. It’s not that they’re not on my level, they’re just on this other level that, and I’m not on that level that they’re on. Does that make sense?
Mari: Yes.
AM: And so therefore, we are equal in the end because they have some secret superpower stuff that I don’t even know about or have.
But we need that person and that person, that person in community, even if they’re not like on the level of like being outside of conditioning or not being where I expect people to be, you know? Mm-hmm. And so I think like deconstructing that within yourself, like [00:13:00] as individuals, if we could all do that more, maybe we could find more ways to deconstruct hierarchy.
Mari: Yes.
AM: Which exists like almost everywhere we go.
Mari: Uh huh. Yes, it is. It, it is everywhere, as you said. It, it, it does take that personal work,
like, to get really curious as to, all right, yeah, we’re in here, we’re in the same or similar struggle or even to assume right, that we are in similar struggles.
Yeah, I think this is a dance for me that I will be in for a long time. Right. You know, understanding, well, hey, this is coming up for me. There’s something internally to look at and unpack. Um, but it’s part of growth and I welcome that. I think those are true signs of leadership.
AM: Yeah. Yeah.
Thanks for letting me get that all out. ’cause it’s, I haven’t really talked about it to anyone yet. It’s just been kind of rolling around up in my noggin [00:14:00] for the last 48 hours. And then what you’re saying is just like, oh my gosh, this is why I was thinking about it when I was thinking about it. That’s why-
That’s why I’m using the word synchronicity. Yeah. ’cause I’m just kind of on this kick right now of like really listening to messages from the universe, you know?
Mari: Mm-hmm. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. The intuition, um, it speaks to you in so many different ways, right?
AM: It really does.
Mari: How do you usually. Listen to the universe.
I’m curious.
AM: I think like the synchronicities, like what I’m saying now, like when things just like curiously seem to line up out of nowhere because I’m of the belief that there’s no such thing as a coincidence that things happen at that they’re supposed to happen the way that they happen, and it’s not- nothing as by accident.
And so if something is matching up like curiously, like. What I’ve been going through and what you, the words that were tumbling out of your mouth to me, [00:15:00] that’s like, oh, that’s a sign that I was thinking about these things at that time so that I could be prepared for this moment in this conversation.
Mari: Wow. I love that. I love that.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: I love that it came up so organically.
AM: Yeah. Yeah. Me too. And I yeah, I’m like, would love to have more conversations like this, like every day with like strangers, you know, be so great just to get deeper, you know?
Mari: Yeah.
AM: Yeah. But it’s so great. I, I think that’s why I love, you know, still doing this podcast.
This is, we’re in our sixth year right now because we get to have these types of conversations and archive these types of conversations, you know?
Mari: Okay. Can we take a moment here? Yeah. I’m just, yeah. Yes.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: Congrats.
AM: Yeah. Thanks. Yeah,
Mari: it’s beautiful
work.
AM: Yeah. We’ve been doing this for a while now, so, yeah, it’s really great and I just love that.
I don’t, I just feel like it keeps growing and having conversations like this is so moving, so [00:16:00] thank you.
Mari: Yeah. It’s like it, you know, showing the human, the other side of a person in the industry. And I think this is what the public, the general public needs more of to see the human side of us.
AM: And not just the human side, but like the emotionally intelligent, like the highly emotionally intelligent side, which I believe almost all sex workers have a high emotional intelligence level.
Mari: Yes. Thank you for saying that. I think that’s one of the requirements to be a sex worker. Right? Keeping in mind that, I mean, to me, the way I see it, this is intimacy work.
Which requires to be embodied, to be present in your body and attuned to somebody else in the room. And so definitely it requires to have this emotional [00:17:00] intelligence.
And to be able to connect with somebody else.
AM: Yeah. Yeah, like I just wish, like I have these fantasies of the sex worker conferences are no longer about having to protect our rights ’cause we already have them.
Right? This is a fantasy, right? Sex worker conferences are about, um, what does education look like? You know what I mean? Because like if sex workers could teach the world. If we could just, if we could vote on and decide and, and help create the way that we educate youth and and beyond, like I just see a totally different world.
I imagine a completely different environment.
Mari: Yes. I’m holding that vision for us. I really am.
AM: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. I just. I think it’s just all this stuff just takes, it’s gonna take forever. And I just, I [00:18:00] think so much I look back to our ancestors who’ve done this work and um, who are no longer with us and like, will we die the same way, with people behind us having to continue to carry the torch, you know, and highly likely. It’s highly likely,
Mari: yes.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: Yeah. So, and thank you for mentioning ancestors because I definitely lean into that you know, connecting to my ancestors.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: And I feel a sense of belonging. A strong sense of belonging, and it has been from communing with my ancestors, understanding my own lineages and histories has, given me more certainty and more.
Like a, a bit, a different way of navigating life as a sex worker. knowing that, hey, I have histories, I have lineages, I have legions of [00:19:00] people who came before me and are supporting my vision. And then I know that you are living- leaving a legacy behind by the work that you’re doing. Oh my God, this is like, yeah, I guess this beautiful circle moment of like ancestors in the making.
AM: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I guess I didn’t ever view myself as one of those people, but I guess the longer you do this work that eventually, you know, you put your stamp on it, so I just, yeah, it’s what a journey it is. Oh my gosh, Mari, I am just like brimming with joy right now.
Today was. Such a slow, quiet day and now it’s like my feathers are all puffed up in the best way.
Mari: Yes.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: I love that.
AM: Yeah. So we’re talking about I community a lot, but you know, some people don’t really feel like they’re in community and isolation is something that some people deal with in our industry, in [00:20:00] our line of work.
And I’m just wondering if we could talk about like how does, um, how does it limit not just social connections, but also safety and access to resources when, when people feel isolated, like, like they don’t just, they can’t just reach out and grab community.
Mari: Oh, yes. Um, you know, being a sex worker just has barriers to entry to all of the normal life of a vanilla person.
Um, and again, because why? Because it’s highly stigmatized, you know, and it limits access to healthcare. It limits just authenticity. There’s so much that we have to censor. And, um, and just being, doing basic things. So imagine right when you find the right person, the right community, the right group of individuals.
’cause we don’t only need one person, [00:21:00] we need a multitude of people who are allies, who are full conspirators, right? That I can, Hey, I had a bad date. Are you available to listen to me? To just. Be there on the phone with me and this is something we don’t- if you don’t have the right kind of person, then what happens?
We just feel more and more isolated and know all of these issues compound. They have a severe effect on mental health to feel alone. Yes. You, you like, I keep saying the same thing and it’s just so vital.
AM: Yeah. And what do we what, like what is the solution for someone who is feeling isolated? What would you say to someone who’s experiencing isolation?
Mari: Yeah, well, I would say start with communities, um, online that are very vocal about sex worker [00:22:00] rights. Vet them just as you would vet another community, another provider.
You need to vet the communities that you’re entering. And yeah, just. Slowly show it, show in, show up and integrate into, into what they have available for you, but also taking it upon yourself to to form communities locally to, um. Like there is a tool that is called a pod mapping, which means you start with one or two people and that they become the person, the people that you go to for, you know, uh, emotional support or will have you.
And then you start growing that circle. You start looking at maybe organizations. Institutions, and then that way you will slowly form a support [00:23:00] network, right? That they have, uh, resources available that you can benefit from.
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AM: what I wanna really get into too is like, what about your work?
Because your work would be, is considered a resource for people, right? Who are, who may be feeling this way. Before we do that, like I would like to, for the audience to understand like what’s your background as far as the studying that you’ve done to get to this point that you are now and, and what inspired you to go into that line of education and now [00:24:00] work?
Mari: Yeah. Thank you. Um, so I’ll start with. Saying that as a, I guess, late in life I found out that I am neuro spicy. I have different types of neuro divergencies or d under the umbrella of let’s say I have autism, uh, CPTSD and ADHD, and other neuro emergencies. So I didn’t know, I didn’t know, I just thought that this was.
Personal traits and whatnot. But I turned into, uh, cycles of burnout, chronic burnout that actually led me to addiction. And, um, so I am proud to say it’s been four years living a sober life or sober ish life. And what has helped me a lot has been [00:25:00] somatic practices. Um, I also study a modality that is called neuro somatic Intelligence, and it combines applied neurology and somatics together to bring a more customized practice for you, so it’s very individual to your nervous system.
And that has helped me tremendously when it comes to having a better relationship to myself. And so from that point on, I said, Hey, I need to let people know this exists. And battling from, uh, dissociation and trying to be embodied to trying to be more authentic is, diving into the somatic world, it’s all about the body.
It’s all about finding practices that work for you. And this is what I invite people into, like with curiosity to, um, [00:26:00] to start relating to the body in a different way. And I find it very rewarding. My relationship to my body is the best that it has been. And I also have, you know, I have a daughter who I talk to about my practices.
And so that is my message. That is my message. And I have, you know, my practice is for anyone who wants to get into a better relationship with themselves, um, I do support people in their sober ish journey. And I, I’m excited to bring more and more of this to the community.
AM: Can you explain what Somatic is to people who might not understand that?
Mari: Yes, thank you. Somatic means body-based, it’s body-based e xercises and practices. Um, so there is some query or self inquiry that I work with, but it’s [00:27:00] mainly body-based, so there is no need to talk about histories or to talk about trauma perhaps.
We leave that for the therapist and in practice with me, we just, uh, we experiment with different types of stimulus and see how your body’s reacting. Sometimes we’re overstimulated and what we need is some inhibition. Sometimes we are understimulated, so we would need more stimulus.
AM: Okay.
Mari: Yeah, it, it’s a, it’s really beautiful because it’s very customized, so what works for me may not work for the other person.
So that’s why is, and there is a, it’s a framework where you understand what your baseline is and then, you know, you are able to tell this stimulus is good for me, or I need more stimulus, or I need less stimulus. So I find that really, really effective.
AM: Is it tactile? Like is there [00:28:00] contact.
Mari: Can I show you one?
AM: Yes, please.
Mari: Yes. I, oh my God, you’re so, I’m so glad that you asked.
AM: Yeah, I’m so curious. Thank you.
Mari: Okay, so I have here essential oils, this is an essential oil, and this is lavender.
So what I do, I already know that I, my body reacts really well. For example, if I’m feeling a little bit agitated or there is something that- for example, I want to feel a little bit more present in the moment. I can grab this and I’ll bring it to my nose. I know that the right nostril reacts better than the left nostril, and this is because I’ve tested it many, many times. So what I do, I just bring it closer to me. I take a nice big whiff of it,
I let my system take it in. Take the stimulus, we’re stimulating the olfactory, um [00:29:00] system. The olfactory system, which is cranial nerve one. I know this is a lot of- we don’t need to know this, but these are systems that are in our nervous system. and so by doing that, I already feel a shift.
I already feel my voice kind of got a little bit lower. And I can slow down. Maybe there is a little bit more sense of grounding. I can feel my feet on the floor. So it was just a very short stimulus that I brought to my body and I’m able to see the shift inside.
AM: I love that.
Mari: Yeah. And that’s just, you know, one example where there are tons and tons of different.
AM: Yeah. I love that. That’s so interesting. Yeah. So you’re, you do events around this type of practice?
Mari: Yes.
AM: Right. You have, you, you’ve done some already and you have one coming up, right?
Mari: [00:30:00] Yes. Yes. Mm-hmm.
AM: Yeah. Please tell us about all of them. The past and the. Future. Yeah, yeah.
Mari: Um, I, I love doing it in collaborations with others.
There’s just, for me to be in collaboration with another person, I feel it is such a beautiful way to display different skills, as you were saying, right? Like, we all bring different skills. We all bring not only our lived experience, but we have other hobbies, other experiences that. We know other people can benefit from.
So in the past, I have linked with there was a sex educator that I linked with and we did something around the erotic in in a sober ish living. So what does it mean to be in your erotic state without using substances or having a different. Different relationship to [00:31:00] substances. And so that was really personal to me because, um, when I was stripping, I had to drink, I had to drink alcohol to feel, to get into the mood.
And I mean, no shade, no shade, no shade at all.
But I had, um, you know, I, I didn’t have a good relationship with alcohol at the time. So it got, it got to the point where. By learning these practices, now I can have intention around the substances I use. So that was that workshop. It, it was really beautiful in, in the sense that people came really curious about what does it mean to be to be curious or to explore the idea of dropping into your erotic being without having to, um, you know, to having to resort to other substances. So that was one workshop. Then there was another one. Um, oh, so [00:32:00] the one that is coming up on the 11th is um, joining forces with a financial expert who is also a therapist. They’re in a network where they provide services to sex workers.
Um, so this person is culturally fluent in what was, what goes in sex work and, um, they’re expert in financial freedom. They have anti-oppressive, uh, financial, uh, tools, which I think is amazing. And so, yeah, we’re going to be talking about creating community that is aligned. These resources that are towards financial freedom and safety planning, and then I’ll come in with my somatic framework.
So just teaching people a few set of tools so they can go home and they have these tools in their back pocket for when, you know, like who [00:33:00] I, I need these tools when before I sit down to do my numbers, to pay my bills, or to even budget, or to look at anything that has to do with numbers. I have to regulate my nervous system.
Before, during, and after.
AM: Okay.
Mari: Yes.
AM: I need to do that with social media.
Mari: Yes.
AM: Before, during, and after.
Mari: Yes. Right. Visibility. Yeah. I had to do it before coming to this podcast.
AM: Okay.
Mari: Lots of regulation.
AM: Yeah, I am. I am noticing, and I don’t know if it’s ’cause. I’m older and so I notice it’s harder to, it’s like I, I can’t ignore that I need the regulation. Does that make sense? Mm-hmm. Like for instance, when I was in my twenties, I could ignore how bad it felt when I was coming down from cocaine. ’cause I was still young enough, right?
Mari: Yes.
AM: But [00:34:00] now, but, and I could ignore what I was feeling, my nervous system, because I was young enough.
And now that I am older or wiser, using air quotes, if all you’re doing is listening and, um, and also hormones, like perimenopause and so like, I have no room for di dysregulation of my nervous system.
Mari: Yes.
AM: And I’m moving slower and I am, and when I notice that I’m dysregulated, I’m like. Like, I actually notice it now.
Mm-hmm. I don’t just put it in a little box and store it somewhere.
Mari: Yes, I hear you. Um, and it all compounds this, this stress, right? Like the stress from the environment, whether it’s lights, noise, I mean, the oppression that we’re under this industry, so criminalized, we’re getting de platformed every day, like all [00:35:00] of this external stress.
Then we have internal stressors like. Maybe we didn’t sleep well. You you’re talking about hormones. I’m aging as well, like perimenopause is a huge change, systemic change. So all of these stressors compound external internal stressors. So the best that we can do is to learn tools to amplify our life force.
INTRO GOES HERE THEN NETWORK BLURB I see it is. Is our first line of defense between us and the oppression, right? The more we can plump our vitality, the better we can resist. Yeah.
AM: Yeah. Sorry, I’m just writing down what you said, which it will be the title of this episode,
Incredible. Yeah. It’s just this [00:36:00] conversation is so timely for, for me, and I hope for others because we all, I think our nervous systems are just getting fried with the constant news. And then, and not only the news, because I think we all predicted the sex workers, like predicted what’s happening.
Like we kind of knew and saw this coming. But also the fact that like. We’ve, it’s so far and we weren’t listened to, and it’s like so disappointing.
Mari: Yeah.
AM: I hate
using that word. I really don’t like that word, but it is so, okay. Frustrating. Let’s use that because I don’t think we ever expected anything.
I really don’t think we had expectations, but frustration, you know, and I feel like that’s kind of reverberating through the community right now, very specifically through the black and brown community, um, who have been, saying these things for a long time. And, and now here we are in this huge quagmire and like, what would you say to our community?
People out there [00:37:00] who are, you know what we’re experiencing ’cause you’re one of us. So like what is a framework for like these current events, right? Of what we’re going through. Like that could be helpful to others.
Mari: Yeah. Well, I’m, I’m finding for myself is mm-hmm. Really taking care of my body.
Really taking care of my mental health.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: Again, the community thing is, is just vital. Really is. It’s, it is front and center
AM: Yeah.
Mari: For us to stay alive, really. Um, know your rights. Know your rights, and. Yeah, like prepare for, for slow cycles. Prepare for times where you are not able to work as much.
Or for example, I’m, I’m, I’m actually shifting a lot of the work I do because I’m aging, because of my chronic illnesses, because it [00:38:00] is time to diversify my sources. And so I think that is the best way that I would, I would tell people,
AM: yeah. Yeah, I’m, I’m also curious about, ’cause you have so much powerful messaging and like the work you’re doing is, is so necessary. You know, it’s like brain medicine, having this conversation with you. For me anyway. I know that English is your second language.
Mari: Yes.
AM: How often- Do you-, are you in a, in spaces where you feel like you can speak Spanish to your, your Spanish speaking community members? ’cause there’s so many out there and, you know, I’m in a bubble personally.
I’m in America. I speak English. I, I target English speaking, but I think about our other comrades out there that speak different languages all the time. And I’m just wondering, can you share with us [00:39:00] w hat that’s like and, and are you talking to them and do you have insight on that?
Mari: Yeah. Um, I recently joined a NJRUA, I’m sure.
Yes. You met them.
AM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of them. Yeah.
Mari: So I am in community with them. I literally joined them last week. So I am hoping to expand. On the ground, they have beautiful projects of outreach projects, which I’m super excited. They have a project around peer support. They will be going to the CSW next week in New York.
I don’t know if you know about it.
AM: CSW?
I’ll look it up real quick.
Mari: Okay.
AM: Sex worker conference. I’m guessing
Mari: it is something about women’s rights.
Commission status of women. That
AM: That’s it. Yeah.
Mari: That’s the one.
AM: Yeah. Is that their. Oh yeah, they have the Annual Commission, [00:40:00] United Nations Commission. Status of women in New York. Yeah. Yes. It’s the United Nations event. Yeah. Got it. Yes.
Mari: Mm-hmm. And so there will be going there, um, to network, to speak about, you know, our, our cause.
Yeah. And we’ll be going there to network with them. So.
AM: Amazing.
Mari: My, yeah. My, my whole purpose is to expand the network. Hmm, to spread the word about what we’re doing here and to be connected.
AM: Does it make any sense on this platform to share a message with our Spanish speaking comrades from you to them?
Does that make sense? To, to send them something? I mean, I know that we’re an English speaking show, but I’m just trying to I would like to be inclusive.
Yeah. It’s like right now, you mean?
Yeah.
Mari: Yeah. Let’s do
AM: it. Feel okay?
Mari: Yeah.
AM: Yeah. Okay.
Mari: Let’s do
AM: it. Checking in. Okay. Yeah. What would you say [00:41:00] to our Spanish speaking comrades in Spanish?
You know, just about the work that you’re doing and, and what they mean to you and what community means, like the things that we’ve been talking about here a little bit, if you could. Mm-hmm. Synapse that in a, if you could summarize what, what would you say to them? And please speak in Spanish.
Yeah.
Mari: Speaking in [00:42:00] Spanish
So
Instagram and and. For survival.
Thank you. I am,
AM: thank you so much. That was beautiful. I caught little pieces of it, but I’m still learning. I just wanna go over- you keep talking about the vitality and the important, you know, how vital it is for us to be in community with each other.
Can you just be frank with us and tell us why you think that?
Mari: Oh gosh. I have been in so many situations where I really wish there was somebody to listen and, [00:43:00] AM you have been one of them. I have reached out to you with, with things that it’s not easy to share. So you know how important it is to have somebody who is on your, in your corner.
And I just want to encourage it. I just keep talking about the community because it’s, it’s just really important, especially for someone who doesn’t have access to their blood family or to other resources. Someone who is perhaps alone in this country even, or. Uh, there’s just so many layers that, you know, I encourage everybody to to vet their communities, to reach out, to lean into your communities.
AM: Yeah. Yeah. It really is so important because everything is changing so quickly and, as we talked about earlier with the intersectionalities [00:44:00] of marginalization it compounds, you used that word compounding, you know, and so I think that, I think this might be, this is a very scary time to be in our line of work.
Yeah, it’s very scary and we’re go definitely going through a transition and I am seeing more civilians talk about sex workers in the light that we’ve been begging them to do for so, so long, and they’re just now doing it in 2026. But but it is still very precarious and I think that may be, that’s why for me, I see your work as so important to continuing to encourage community and I really appreciate the note about vetting as well. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah, because you never know.
Mari: Yeah.
AM: There’s a lot of community out there. And I do want us to make sure that we cover about Stilettos for Survival. What exactly, like what is the [00:45:00] main mission goals of Stilettos for Survival? I just wanna close out on that, how people can find it.
Find you and when are the times that they should be reaching out to you? Things like that.
Mari: Mm-hmm. Great. Thank you.
AM: Yeah.
Mari: So Stilettos for Survival exists to bring resources to sex workers and people who are in the adult industry doing this work. Consensually, I also offer one-on-one coaching for those of you who want to find somatic practices.
So again, body-based practices to bring relief, to break cycles of burnout, to there are vitality resources there. When should they reach out? Really, when, whenever there is curiosity. I am involved in different communities. I could point people to explore the different communities that are out [00:46:00] there.
Um, I am on Instagram, so feel free to DM me. Um, you could also send an email directly to me at mari@marideluna.com.
AM: Nice. Thank you so much. Is there, do you feel like we covered everything? Is there anything you feel like that’s missing that you’d like to mention before we say goodbye to the audience?
Mari: No, I think we did cover everything.
Okay, great. I’m very, very pleased. Yes.
AM: Awesome. Thank you. Thank you so much. It’s been such a meaningful, like in depth conversation. I really appreciate it. It’s been awesome having you. Thank you.
Mari: Yes, thank you. AM really, you’re welcome.
AM: Yeah. Thanks everyone for listening. Tune in next time. Bye.
Mari: Thank you.
YAS Podcast began as Yes, a Stripper Podcast. With original hosts AM Davies, Onyx Sachi, GiGi Holliday and Daisy Ducati. Visit yaspodcast.com [00:47:00] to learn about our hosts, our story, and comb through our archives of transcripts. You’ll also find episodes as far back as 2020. That’s YASPodcast.com YAS Podcast is a part of YAS Network, a collection of podcasts created through YAS Work.