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Joel Michael Anderson bears all in his debut film ‘Doxy’
While Joel Michael Anderson may be known for exposing his skin, he recently exposed his sordid past with his directorial debut 'Doxy.'
While Joel Michael Anderson may be known for exposing his skin on screen, he recently took a risk by exposing his sordid past with his directorial debut Doxy.
Mining his first-hand experience as a sex worker, this mockumentary short film follows Johnny Ford (Anderson, using his real-life nom-de-porn) as he hustles over the span of a single evening. His exploits serve as a cautionary tale, exploring substance abuse, exploitation, and other issues plaguing this illicit industry.
To better understand the darker side of gay sex work, we spoke with Anderson about Doxy, his experiences, and the benefits of legalizing sex work. Here’s what he had to say…
QUEERTY: What motivated you to make Doxy?
ANDERSON: A few things. I know the subject matter, escorting, especially the meth part of it. I wanted to help people. I see people repeating the same mistakes that I’ve actually made. Kind of spreading warnings and revelations about this kind of nightlife activities. But also, I wanted to show a more authentic, realistic view of certain parts of queer culture. A Pulp Fiction view of nightlife. We don’t get a lot of that from authentic sources. Everybody has questions about the behind-the-scenes of escorting like this. People want to see this side of queer culture.
Why do you think it’s so important that you share this kind of story with the queer community?
A lot more people are trying sex work than I think we realize. I wanted to enlighten how it’s more common, but also, we can talk about sex work more openly and help out people who are attempting this kind of work. I think our inability to talk openly about sex work leaves a lot of sex workers in the dark for risks, or for resources that could help them with STIs. There are organizations that specifically deal with mental health for sex workers, like Pineapple Support. If we can be open about that, it helps out everyone get those resources.
Now, I want to touch on the meth part of Doxy. Have you done it before?
I haven’t done it that I know of. There’s been cases at an afterparty, I thought people were smoking weed and then they started to try to blow clouds of smoke at me. As soon as I could tell that doesn’t smell like weed, I hold my breath. There were other times where a bump of blow or K, the recreational stuff that people pass around, seems to hit extra hard. And I start to wonder if there was other stuff in it. So I think it’s pretty likely I’ve been exposed to it. But I’ve never intentionally tried to smoke it just because I’m scared, like anyone, that one use can be enough.
The movie gets pretty intense. Have you ever had anything like that, where you felt that you were in danger?
Gosh, yeah. Here’s a real story. After go-go dancing, a couple wanted to pay me to come back and just hang out with them. And they gave me a $100 bill to kind of say, like, the money is real. So I took that, and they were smoking [meth], I can tell. And I was just trying to avoid it. And they got out this envelope from the closet, a bank envelope, full of hundreds. And they would say, “All right, now give me a lap dance,” and he’d give me 100. Then he’d try to blow smoke me, but I’m resisting. Then he’s like, “Hey, let me try these restraints on your hands. It’d be fun,” and they’d give me a couple hundreds. And I said, “No, I’m not going to be restrained.” He kept baiting me into this whole sexual situation. And that’s when I was kind of getting scared. I was trying to wrap it up, and then they’d try giving more hundreds and be like, “No, no, no, it’s just a little longer.” So there’s a moment where I went to go to the bathroom and then disappeared. You gotta just cut your losses at some point. Luckily I was able to slip out.
Over the last couple of years, there was been a discussion of decriminalizing sex work. Why do you feel that that would make it safer for sex workers?
It’s important because sex workers can’t do anything to prosecute an abusive client without revealing themselves as doing illegal activity. So that would be one very big thing. It’s so much harder for a sex worker to even talk to their doctor and say, “Hey, this is my job.” There are things doctors can do. There’s now DoxyPEP, a preventative for STDs, besides just regular PrEP for HIV. I would ask my doctor for Doxy anytime I want, because I am open about doing adult work with my doctors, because I live in WeHo, an LGBT area. But I know a lot of sex workers who’re afraid to even bring it up because they’re worried about the doctor calling the police. Which is supposed to, like, doctors can’t do that. Yeah. I’ve heard conservative doctors who talk people out of getting on PrEP, because they just don’t want to help gay men have sex. Sex workers can’t come forward to do things to protect themselves more because they’re afraid of getting in trouble.
Last question, say there’s a gay man who’s just getting into sex work himself. What’s the best advice you could give him?
I run into this a lot. First, I say protect your physical health and your mental health. So like, PrEP, checkups, don’t PnP. But also, for mental health, I like to tell them having sex for money, it surprisingly drains you. You start to value your body with money. Pamela Anderson said that Hugh Hefner told her, “When he’s when you model for Playboy, the money isn’t the value of your body.” Sex workers need to remember that they are doing a service for money. That’s it. It’s not telling them how much the body actually is worth. It’s really easy to lose self-esteem. Love yourself!
Check out Doxy here.
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