Workers: Margo St. James

Margo St. James (1937-2021) was a prominent advocate for the rights of sex workers. In 1962, she was wrongfully arrested on prostitution charges – an experience that inspired the rest of her life of activism. 

For Further Reading: 

• Margo St. James, Advocate for Sex Workers, Dies at 83 
• Economic Justice for Sex Workers 
• Quentin Melson interviews Margo St. James in 1978 

This month we’re talking about workers: Women who fought for labor rights and shaped the way we do business today. They advocated and innovated to make the “office” – wherever it is – a more equitable place.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This month, we're talking about workers, women who
fought for labor rights and shape the way we do
business today. They advocated and innovated to make the office
wherever it is, a more equitable place. Today, we're talking
about a woman who was wrongfully arrested for prostitution and

(00:22):
then spent the rest of her life advocating for the
rights of sex workers. Let's talk about Margo. Saint James
Margot was born in Bellingham, Washington, in nineteen thirty seven.
She was an energetic kid. To let off steam, she
ran around the hills of the dairy farm that she
grew up on. In high school, Margo channeled some of

(00:44):
that energy into watercolor painting. Her work ended up being
shown in Carnegie Hall. High School is also where Margo
met the man she ended up marrying. A month after graduation.
She gave birth to their son and settled into life
as a housewife. It didn't agree with her. In the
late nineteen fifties, just a few years after getting married,

(01:05):
Margo left. She moved to San Francisco to attend art
school without her husband and son. Margo arrived just in
time to experience the rise of hippie counterculture in San Francisco.
The hippies are capable of extremely hard work, even though
they tend to approach work as the rest of us
do sport. She and her friends were advocating for peace,

(01:27):
experimenting with drugs, and practicing free love, but the San
Francisco police didn't think the free love happening in Margo's
house was actually free. Finally, the police roll in with
paddy wagons and night stays. In nineteen sixty two, Margo
was arrested on prostitution charges. When she got to court,
she told the judge she quote had never turned a

(01:47):
trick in her life. The fact that Margo knew the
term trick was enough for the judge to decide that
she was, in fact a sex worker. Margo was convicted
and had to spend a short amount of time in jail.
Experience set Margo on a journey to learn more about
the law. She enrolled in law school and used what
she learned to appeal her conviction. But law school was

(02:08):
expensive and finding a job was hard with a criminal record,
so Margo, who had already been labeled a prostitute decided
to start working as one. Margo also began advocating for
the rights of other sex workers. In nineteen seventy three,
she founded COYOTE, which stood for call Off Your Old
Tired Ethics. Margo highlighted the fact that sex work was

(02:29):
a job, and just like all other workers, sex workers
were entitled to legal protections, accessible health care, and financial security.
Marco also helped popularize the term sex worker, which was
coined by Carol Lee in the late nineteen seventies. The
term was part of an effort to destigmatize the profession
and push back against prohibitionists. In a matter of years,

(02:52):
COYOTE had spread nationally. The organization had chapters across the
country and a newsletter that reported sex work news and
featured work by sex workers. They also held conventions and
threw an annual Hooker's Ball, an elaborate event to raise
funds for the organization. Margo was a natural showman. One year,

(03:12):
she entered the ball riding an elephant. The attendees included
local politicians, police officers, and even celebrities. Marco also advocated
for sex workers' rights in the halls of government. She
was instrumental in overturning discriminatory policies that targeted sex workers
in San Francisco. She spoke about the violent sex workers
space in front of state and international governments. As the

(03:35):
seventies drew to a close, there was a rising backlash
to sex positivity and the free love mindset of the sixties,
so Margo turned her attention outside of America. She moved
to France and advocated for sex workers worldwide. In nineteen
eighty five, she helped organize the first World Horrors Conference,
a coalition of women's rights activists that took place in Amsterdam.

(03:58):
By nineteen ninety six, Margo had move move back to
San Francisco. She ran for local office, and she kept
up her advocacy work. Margo encouraged abortion rights advocates to
stand in solidarity with sex workers and drew connections between
sex work and women's economic mobility. If prostitution were decriminalized,

(04:19):
Margo wrote in nineteen ninety nine, women would finally be
given control of their own bodies, control of their own destinies.
Near the end of her life, Margo moved back to
Washington State. She died in twenty twenty one, at eighty
three years old. Today, the work Margo started remains unfinished.

(04:40):
Sex work remains criminalized in all of the United States,
except for in certain counties in Nevada. All month for
talking about workers. For more information, find us on Facebook
and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan,
my favorite sister and co creator. As always, will be
taking a break for the weekend. Talk to you on Monday,

(05:06):
m