In this episode of the Bigger Sister Channel Community Podcast, Tilly chats with Nova Hawthorn, a trailblazer in the sex industry and the owner of Australia's first cam studio. Nova shares her inspiring journey from the isolating and ‘learn-as-you-go’ beginnings in the industry to achieving remarkable success.

We dive deep into the challenges and triumphs she has faced, exploring how she navigated the complexities of the industry to become a powerful entrepreneur. Nova opens up about the isolation often experienced by sex workers and the resilience required to build a thriving business in a stigmatized field.

In this episode Bigger Sister Channel explore the possibility of sex worker cooperatives with Mama B and our managing director Estelle Lucas. We explore the idea of alternative, innovative business model of co-operatives within the sex work industry, now made available with the decriminalisation of sex work.
Discussions range from ‘finding your niche’ within a heavily saturated industry, to challenging capitalism as a system through the formation of sex worker co-ops. Mama B shares her insights into this rarely discussed business model, and we imagine the possibilities of combining forces for mutual benefit. In an already isolating industry co-ops could solve a number of problems sex workers face; including safety, financial stability and loneliness.

Welcome back to another episode of the Bigger Sister Channel community podcast. Today’s episode features our host Tilly interviewing Naarm (Melbourne) based worker Chloe Dixon. Chloe shares her journey in the sex industry and financial attitudes, revealing her alignment with "chaotic Katie" and her challenges in managing fast money. They discuss financial empowerment, industry stigma, and navigating relationships with differing financial attitudes. Chloe shares her lessons and steps, including using the envelope method for budgeting and increasing super contributions. Key advice includes prioritizing financial transparency, setting up manual systems like the envelope method, and prioritizing long-term financial stability like super contributions, especially in industries like sex work with irregular income.

Welcome to the first episode of 2024! Today’s episode is a conversation with our host Tilly, and Bigger Sister Channel’s newest staff member Zara Harlow!

Zara shares her experience in the sex industry; working across different roles in a number of different (criminal) contexts. Zara also discusses how she’s been able to transfer her skills developed through sex work into her new role as the People and Culture manager here at BSC.

She also shares her hot financial tip for other workers in this industry!

You can find Zara on X (Twitter), Instagram and TikTok @thezaraharlow

Still feeling confused as to who Bigger Sister Channel is, why we exist, what we’re doing, or how we’re going to do it?! Then this is the episode for you! Join our researcher Tilly (Whoretopia) as she explains the what, why, who and how of the Bigger Sister Channel project. She goes through all these key details and more, expanding on the importance of skillsharing within such a marginalised community.
As this is our community podcast, we can’t do this without you. Listen along as Tilly also outlines how you can get involved in this project, as both sex workers and non sex workers!

In this episode, Estelle is joined by BSC Community Manager, Lex Leigh, to discuss financial attitudes & how they can manifest and appear in everyday life.

Lex gives some insight into her upbringing & her relationship with money & how that has impacted her over the years. Being a ‘Risky Misty’ or risk taker with her approach towards her finances, Lex & Estelle discuss how this particular attitude has affected their personal relationships & life experiences & what has been done since joining the Bigger Sister Channel team in order to implement positive changes.

If you're curious to know what your financial attitude is, you can take our quiz here and discover what character you are! Be sure to follow us on our other platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, TikTok, our mailing list and newletter on our website or blog posts through Substack.

Following on from last weeks episode, Tilly explains what economic empowerment means for sex workers and proposes a solution to break out of the cycle of economic disempowerment.

To achieve economic empowerment, four things are required: skills and knowledge, and tools and practice. Bigger Sister Channel plans to improve the financial wellbeing of sex workers by identifying common financial stresses, sharing financial literacy, diagnosing the financial health of real sex workers, and leveraging the current system to sex workers advantage.

The first method (the knowledge) is through weekly Youtube videos to share and improve financial literacy. Tilly and Estelle work collaboratively to research and share knowledge with a sex worker lens to make this information accessible and relevant.

The second method is Bigger Sister Channel's Community Podcast (the skills), where peers can share their financial stories, concerns and status, and Estelle will troubleshoot their situation or gather wisdom from their experience. The Community Podcast will include interviews with experts to assist in complex problems and share the results to help the sex worker community.

The third method (the practice) is that Bigger Sister Channel will facilitate skill-sharing spaces once a month to put these systems in place and reflect with like-minded peers. Check out when our next ones are on our social media!

The fourth method (the tools) involves identifying sex worker-friendly tools, businesses, services, and products, to recommend, review and rate them. Sex workers must has safe, accessible and available options to interact with current financial frameworks to be economically empowered.

The final challenge is getting this blueprint into the hands of those who need it. Tilly emphasises that disrupting the system requires a community. To achieve economic empowerment, the sex worker community needs to come together and support each other.

If you share a vision where sex workers deserve to be economically empowered, please interact with this episode and our content on TikTok, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, Substack or sign up to our monthly newsletter at biggersisterchannel.com.au

In this episode, Matilda Gold (researcher at Bigger Sister Channel) breaks down the cycle of economic disempowerment for sex workers and explains how systemic barriers prevent sex workers from achieving financial wellness. Referring to Estelle Lucas' research and data, Tilly highlights the need for an economic empowerment educational program specifically designed for sex workers, as this directly relates to how a sex worker experiences safety in the workplace.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in understanding the economic realities of sex workers and the need for greater economic participation from the sex working community. Join us as we take the first step towards economic empowerment and financial inclusion for sex workers.