The Dugout sits down with writer, educator, and organizer Nia Òla to unpack the radical politics of sex work, consent, and survival under capitalism. Nia guides listeners through the legal, historical, and emotional terrain of erotic labor — from the criminalization of sex work to the cultural obsession with controlling bodies. Together, we interrogate how consent, autonomy, and state violence intersect, and why collective liberation demands we center those pushed to society’s margins. Raw, reflective, and rich in political clarity, this episode is an urgent listen for anyone invested in abolitionist struggle and freedom dreams.
2:05 – What is sex work
4:06 – Consent as a principle
11:23 – Path for safer and liberation focused futures
14:43 – On legalization vs decriminalization models of sex work
19:33 – Traumas impact on accessible language and education
22:10 – The bio-essentialist narrative in sex work discourse
26:28 – The moral sex panic and its impacts on sexual education and safety
29:26 – Digital safety and security
30:44 -What happened to Tumblr case study on social media
35:35 – Addressing myth of degeneracy and client behavior & population
39:31 -Media literacy and monitoring children screen time
42:27 – How can folks get to know your work more?
Stay up to date with Nia
Substack – thatdeep.substack.com
Instagram – @shakingsheets
Tiktok @shakingsheets
