Book Sample: “Brace for Impact” Module Contents and Disclaimer

Posted on by Persephone van der Waard

“Brace for Impact” is blog-style book promotion, originally inspired by Harmony Corrupted—i.e., written, illustrated and invigilated by me for my upcoming Monster Volume, aka Volume Two of my Sex Positivity (2023) book series. “Brace for Impact” has since become a full, published book module in said series: Volume Two, part one, aka the Poetry Module. This promo post includes the entire module’s table of contents (and hyperlinks to each post), followed by the book disclaimer.

Further Reading: Volume Two actually divides into three modules/sub-volumes, each with its own promotion and release. “Brace for Impact” is the first (re: Volume Two, part one), but there are also promotions for Volume Two, part two’s twin Monster Modules, The Undead and Demons: “Searching for Secrets” and “Deal with the Devil“!

New chapters (v1.2, 6/14/2024): I attached several chapters from Volume Two, part two onto the end of the Poetry Module (v1.2 onwards). I have updated the promo series pages to reflect this change.

Volume Two, part one (the Poetry Module) is out (5/1/2024)! I wrote a preface for the module along with its debut announcement. Give that a look; then, go to my book’s 1-page promo to download the latest version of the PDF (which will contain additions/corrections these posts will not have)!

Permissions: Any publicly available images are exhibited for purposes of education, transformation and critique, thus fall under Fair Use; private nude material and collabs with models are specifically shared with permission from the original model(s). For more details about artist permissions, refer to the book disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Concerning Buggy Images: Sometimes the images on my site don’t always load and you get a little white-and-green placeholder symbol, instead. Sometimes I use a plugin for loading multiple images in one spot, called Envira Gallery, and not all of the images will load (resulting in blank white squares you can still right-click on). I‘ve optimized most of the images on my site, so I think it’s a server issue? Not sure. You should still be able to access the unloaded image by clicking on the placeholder/right-clicking on the white square (sometimes you have to delete the “?ssl=1” bit at the end of the url). Barring that, completed volumes will always contain all of the images, whose PDFs you can always download on my 1-page promo.

(artist: Harmony Corrupted)

Contents (for Volume Two, part one) 

“Brace for Impact” divides into multiple blog posts. Some are posted on my old blog (meant for any audience); some feature explicit, pornographic nudity* and will post exclusively here on my website.

*My website is 18+ and contains full uncensored images of everything being discussed and exhibited. To that, “Angry Mothers,” “Solving Riddles,” “The Medieval” and “Facing Death” will all contain a variety of erotic nude images discussing psychosexual trauma. The purpose of their inclusion is art criticism, transformation and education regarding erotic Gothic media.

Summary

Now that the module is published, I can summarize it more completely and concretely. Rather than a smaller part of Volume Two, the sample has become part one of that volume, the Poetry Module. It includes most of the module (excluding some paratextual documents).

Whereas the Monster Modules focus on the history of Gothic poetics—i.e., as something to learn from when poetically articulating our own pedagogy of the oppressed—the Poetry Module focuses on Gothic poetics as a historical-material process whose history we contribute towards. Its emphasis lies in teaching with Gothic poetic devices by applying them, the module explaining said devices while going over them, one-by-one; i.e., in a series of poetry-themed sections: “Time,” “Teaching,” “Medicine,” and “the Medieval.” Last but not least, the module includes a sizeable extension that goes over different ways to play with the imaginary past; i.e., per ludo-Gothic BDSM and rape play.

Module Posts

  • 0. “The Poetry Module Is Out! A Preface Written Afterwards” (opening): Explores how our struggle—to hug the Medusa as something to teach, to reclaim our bodies (our asses) as Aegis-like and disguise-worthy—sits inside a dangerous hall of mirrors. Per my usual style, this section was written last (and after the module was already live) and put first in the table of contents. Opening Length: ~1 page.
    • Preface: Inside the Hall of Mirrors (feat. Jordan Peele’s Us and Natalie Wynn): A preface I wrote after the initial volume released, to comment on the mirror like nature of trauma; i.e., as something to communicate differently by pro-state and pro-worker forces with a shared aesthetic on the same surfaces, but from different sides of the cryptonymic equation (revolutionary vs complicit). Uses Jordan Peele’s Us (2019) as a reference point; critiques Natalie Wynn (aka Contrapoints). Length ~28 Pages.
  • 1. “Psychosexual Martyrdom” (sample essay—on my old blog): This post samples from Volume Two, specifically the first half of its opening, “Concerning Martyrs, from Demons to the Undead: Learning from the Monstrous Past” (2024). Volume Two is the upcoming Humanities primer/monster volume for my book project, Sex Positivity (2023); its opening asks the reader to humanize the oppressed through reclaimed monsters by learning from the monstrous past as something to recreate ourselves. Length: ~14 pages.
  • 2. “Haunting the Chapel: A Cum Tribute to Harmony Corrupted” (dedication): Dedicates to my friend and muse, Harmony Corrupted, who inspired me to write the entire “Brace for Impact” module. Length: ~2 pages.
  • 3. “Hugging the Alien” (module opening—on my old blog): Introduces a concept of reunion with nature as alien and fetishized, requiring us to “hug Medusa” (the monstrous-feminine) as the classic punching bag of Cartesian forces. Length: ~6 pages.
  • 4. “Time” (“Prep, part zero”—on my old blog): Thinks about the Humanities—and the humanization of those perceived or identifying as monsters under capitalistic hegemony as invariably decaying towards fascism—less as pure fiction and more as something to cultivate using Gothic poetics in relation to space and time as relayed through fiction and reality during an ongoing relationship: dialectical and historical materialism. Length: ~7 pages.
  • 5. “Teaching” (“Prep, part one”) : Focuses on the duality of monstrous language when employed in either direction, but generally in opposition, during dialectical materialism; i.e., as a means of introducing children to fear and dogma (to serve the state) or as a profoundly playful and performative means of worker liberation: getting children to learn as early as possible about their world (and the language that composes it)—to learn from the imaginary past as monstrous-feminine. In other words, “Teaching” explores how learning happens when playing with trauma, confronting and voicing it in symbolic terms whose duality must, in turn, be repeatedly puzzled over through incessant examination and application; i.e., theatrical/Gothically poetic metaphors the likes of which often involve animals-as-monstrous. “Teaching” thoroughly invokes Medusa through “the caterpillar and the wasp” refrain, but will branch out to adjacent forms of monstrous-feminine expression to explore teaching more broadly as a powerful Gothic-Communist device.

Due to its size and multiple topics, I’ve divided “Teaching” into three total pieces:

      • 5a. “‘My Quest Began with a Riddle’: the Caterpillar and the Wasp” (chapter opening—on my old blog): Introduces the chapter goal (learning from the past as monstrous-feminine to liberate it from Capitalist Realism) and outlines the poetic, educational refrain: the caterpillar and the wasp. Opening Length: ~6 pages.
      • 5b. “Angry Mothers; or, Learning from Our Monstrous-Feminine Past“: Establishes the monstrous-feminine as something whose ancient past is forever in development—for the state or for workers. I consider this idea through Alien, but also my own work as inspired by Alien and the cuties that I work with. In short, it asks how I learned from Scott’s “ancient” past (and similar stories) to touch on post-scarcity in my own work. Length: ~26 pages.
      • 5c. “Solving Riddles; or, Following in Medusa’s Footsteps“ (subchapter opening): Considers the monstrous-feminine as something to learn from in a variety of multimedia forms; i.e., starting with a broader relationship between our bodies and minds as interconnected with themselves and media at large, then narrowing down to conflict, mothers-in-conflict, and liberation. Opening Length: ~1 page.
        • 5c1. “Solving Riddles”; “Spilling Tea” and “Meeting Medusa” (included with subchapter opening): Articulates how we can encounter “Medusa” in everyday life—a touch of the extraordinary lurking in those we meet as normally policed or controlled by the state. This classically falls under a male/female binary, which I will try to hyphenate based on my own experiences and expertise (scholarly synthesis). Length: ~36 pages.
        • 5c2. “Teaching between Media and our Bodies, and a Bit of Coaching“: Shifts focus, expanding on the monstrous-feminine as something to consider (and teach) through a) the space between multiple forms of media and our bodies, and b) is something to materialize and grasp at through coaching behaviors (of which I shall demonstrate). Length: ~20 pages.
        • 5c3. “Conflict, Mothers-in Conflict, and Liberation“: Concludes the chapter by concentrating on themes of conflict that double as praxial struggles insofar as language hermeneutically functions; i.e., always in conflict in a variety of ways. I consider that variety unto itself, then regard it in relation to mothers (and the monstrous-feminine) as trapped, fighting for liberation. Length: ~33 pages.
  • 6. “Medicine” (“Prep, part two”—on my old blog): Reflects on the synthesizing of good praxis from a medical standpoint; i.e., to pace ourselves and look after ourselves/monitor our vitals while engaging in subversive Gothic poetics as poets, sex workers, and rock stars, etc, generally do—actively and boldly. Length: ~8 pages.

(artists: Cuwu and Persephone van der Waard)

  • 7. “The Medieval” (“Prep, part three”): Reflects on the Humanities through the poetic lens of monsters, magic and myth; i.e., an object lesson on how to think about, and engage creatively with, Gothic poetics the way a Gothic poet would, thus better synthesize praxis to foster Gothic Communism as an artistic movement.
    • I have divided it further into many pieces—“Monsters, Magic and Myth”—which cover the some of the messiest (and most exquisite) aspects to what Volume Two is about and which we’ve touched upon, but here I really want to go over as thoroughly as possible: as things to sell to others not as commodities, but propositions; i.e., for them to buy as a social-sexual exchange between cuties.
      • 7a. Opening to “The Medieval,” and “Castles in the Flesh; or, a Personalized Example of Derelicts”: Provides a personalized anecdote from my life regarding how Gothic derelicts (castles or castle-like bodies; i.e., suits of armor) are expressed in more literal human forms: those we relate to with using Gothic media. Opening Length: ~3 pages; “Castles” Length: ~11 pages.
      • 7b. “Green Eggs and Ha(r)m; or, ‘Fucking’s Fun, Try it!’“: Partway on the road. Considers the Gothic as something its critics turn their noses up at like green eggs and harm, conflating capitalist forms with our iconoclastic doubles (making them bad critics); this subchapter outlines Gothic castles and draconian occupants in their half-real, dialectical-material totality (ours vs theirs). Length: ~15 pages.
      • 7c. “The Eyeball Zone; or, Relating to the Gothic as Commies Do“: Still en route! A more autobiographical subchapter, one that explores interpersonal relationships in the broader context of ludo-Gothic BDSM during class and culture war—how we can relieve stress and address praxial concerns that we leave behind; i.e., to be consulted when we become overstimulated (or don’t exist anymore) relative to our own web of relationships: a buffer when our walls go up, a glorious “eyehole” to peep through and engage with while the blinders are still on. Length: ~37 pages.
      • 7d. “Knocking on Heaven’s Door; or, Prepare for Entry!“: Arrives and waits for the door to open. Goes over some Marxist signposts and liberatory sex work exhibits, which seek to underline how the Gothic (and Communism) transcend mediums to speak across them in everyday relationships that help put out fires while not starting new ones (a complex spectrum of social-sexual exchanges, whose material factors and aesthetic elements of unequal power and trauma hyphenate to address systemic abuse). Length: ~10 pages.
      • 7e. “‘Heaven in a Wild Flower’; or, Exhibiting the Monstrous-Feminine Ourselves“: Greeted in the antechamber, and given pamphlets. Supplies a gender-studies hermeneutic, regarding the monstrous-feminine in relation to everything discussed so far in the book; i.e., there is always an aspect of the Medusa (war-like, morphologically diverse, and rebellious) to any monster that isn’t—figuratively or literally, in part or all together—a white, Anglo-American, cis-het, Christian male. Length: ~12 pages.
      • 7f. “Medieval Expression; or, ‘Welcome to the Fun Palace!’” (subchapter opening): Enters the palace. Explores the idea of the Gothic as a liminal, holistic dialog that transcends mediums, precluding harm through a confusion of the senses, jouissance, magic assembly of old dead things, and other medieval devices tied to magic and myth as a dark, sexual affair (often an operatic one linked to popular controlled substances—metal when reclaimed by fags camping the canon with sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll as synonymous with each other and iconoclastic learning and expression). In other words, “Medieval Expression” explores the dialectic of the alien as generally expressed through monsters, magic and myths, mainly paradoxes and oxymorons that blend all of these things; i.e., how they hook up and interact, once conjoined. Opening Length: ~6 pages.
        • 7f1. Part one, “A Song Written in Decay”: (included with subchapter opening) Outlines all of these points, and gives an example of mise-en-abyme through a disintegrating Song of Infinity exemplified by Lewis and his spiritual, academic-prone descendants—namely Hannah-Freya Blake and myself as coming from a lengthier Galatean, gallows-humor tradition not entirely foreign to Gothic academia. Length: ~28 pages.
        • 7f2. Part two, “‘Red Scare’; or Out in the World“: Seeks out further examples in between my friends and I for this project specifically—namely the relationship between past media orbiting Red Scare (from Star Wars‘ rebellious allegory to American Liberalism and subversive potential in The Abyss to Chernobyl, and more) as also including non-academic sex worker friends’ old photographs and warlike, often-red symbols that contain Communist potential whose Gothic maturity can be built upon during our day-to-day relations. Length: ~37 pages.
        • 7f3. Part three, “‘With a Little Help from My Friends’; or, Out of this World” (sub-subchapter opening): Explores an-Com rebellion (the dismantling of the state) as actively expressed between current sex workers using ludo-Gothic BDSM to inspire and invigilate a more recent (and actionable) portrait of rebellion; also inspects the classics—from The Wizard of Oz to Big Trouble in Little China—as things to learn from with our current friends as sharing a similar love for the imaginary past as rebellious for monstrous-feminine rights. Opening Length: ~3 pages.
          • 7f3a. Part one, “What Are Rebellion, Rebels, and Why (feat. Amazons and Witches)?”: (included with sub-subchapter opening) Articulates what rebellion is, followed by what a rebel is and why they do what they do—then takes a break to discuss modules and criminality (with several performative examples: Samus Aran, but also the Wicked Witch of the West) Length: ~45 pages.
          • 7f3b. Part two, “Meeting Rebels; i.e., What Inspires Us to Meet and All of It Carrying On and On (feat. Harmony Corrupted, Jack Burton, and Blxxd Bunny)“: Explores how to meet rebels, followed by what inspired us to meet them (hint: them, but also their sexy costumes), and what carries on as all of this repeats, repeats, repeats. Length: ~45 pages.
      • 7g. “Monsters, Magic and Myth”: Modularity and Class (feat. Jeremy Parish and Sorcha Ní Fhlainn)“: Packs up to leave (carnival prizes underarm, balloons in tow). Considers the purpose of this volume’s pointedly medieval voicings through a signature lack of restrictions and its thoroughly iconoclastic nature, as well as its dialectical-material function, modular devices and monster classes separately and then together. Also criticizes a former academic superior and Metroidvania research inspiration of mine (Ní Fhlainn and Parish, respectively). Length: ~54 pages.
  • 8. “Facing Death: What I Learned Mastering Metroidvania, thus the Abject ’90s (feat. Kirby, Marilyn Manson and Maynard James Keenan)” (module conclusion): Concludes the “Brace for Impact” module by reflecting on how the Gothic is queer and has been since day one; i.e., my revisiting and reflecting on this dark odyssey as it exists for me—the smaller journey I’ve been on while writing “Brace for Impact,” but also my entire life pursuant to my Metroidvania work. Length: ~33 pages.
  • 9. “Halfway There: Between Modules; or, Facing the Past to Move Forward“: Discusses transitioning from a poetic understanding of the imaginary past with historical elements to a historical understanding of these poetic elements. Length: ~3 pages.
  • 10. “‘That Ass Is a Higher Truth’: Leaving the Castle; or, Bookending Harmony Corrupted“: Bookends my appreciation for Harmony Corrupted as a muse and friend, and supplies a backside to their frontside (during the initial dedication)—to say once more (unto the breach) how much I value her friendship and respect her work. ~10 pages.

(artist: Harmony Corrupted)

Extension

After releasing Volume Two, part one (originally on 5/1/2024), I wrote several follow-up chapters to cover topics that would come up during Volume Two, part two: tokenization and rape play. Originally I planned on releasing them with Volume Two, part two’s promo series, “Searching for Secrets” (and eventual publication). However, given their flavor concerned the application of Gothic poetics more than the history of Gothic poetics, I decided to attach both chapters to v1.2a of the published Poetry Module, instead (on 6/14/2024).

  • 11. “Another Castle, Another Princess: Two in-between Chapters about Tokenization and Rape Play” (extension opening): Summarizes both chapters and gives some editor’s notes to keep in mind (due to the transplant). Opening Length: ~2 pages.
    • 11a. “‘In Search of the Secret Spell’: Digging Our Own Graves; or, Playing with Dead Things (the Imaginary Past) as Verboten and Carte-Blanche (feat. Samus Aran)” (chapter opening): “Sets the table” by transitioning from what Volume Two, part one outlined (using Gothic poetics to make new histories/a sex-positive Wisdom of the Ancients) to focus on the imaginary historical aspect of Gothic ancestry we’re always inheriting, playing with and subsequently learning from as a self-defining exercise. Using Samus Aran “as a white Indian,” this chapter outlines the riddle of exploring said past as “half-real,” commonly as a member of the privileged group (the Anglo-American middle class) whose various privileges intersect with various axes of oppression (similarity amid difference) that allow us to play with the past and heal from its older rapes by putting “rape” in quotes; i.e., to cultivate a pedagogy of the oppressed that acknowledges power abuse (which is what rape is) dressed up as ludo-Gothic BDSM: a complicated, xenophilic, multimedia and transgenerational means of liminal expression that can serve workers or the state, but for us is a potent means of interrogating trauma to prevent it again in the future.  Opening Length: ~18 pages.
      • 11a1. “Splendide Mendax: the Rise and Fall of ‘Rome’ as Built-in(to Us)” (subchapter opening): Considers nature vs nurture relative to Gothic poetics, insofar as this can be used to code humans to war against/rape nature; i.e., how for humans under Capitalism, nurture is currently tied to giant linguo-material structures called “capital” that weaponize the imaginary past’s splendid lies against workers and nature: Capitalist Realism dipping the hero into the river Styx to “gift” him with the aura of invulnerability as haunted by narcissistic echoes of other Roman fools having fallen on the same proverbial sword. Opening Length: ~5 pages.
        • 11a1a. “‘Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’!’: From Herbos to Himbos, part one (feat. Dragon Ball Z and Big Trouble in Little China; Wonder Woman)” (included with subchapter opening): Outlines the idea of history as toy-like through Gothic action figures: the herbo and himbo (aka the Amazon and the knight). Length: ~35 pages.
        • 11a1b. “‘Death by Snu-Snu!’: From Herbos to Himbos, part two (feat. Ayla, Weaponlord and Savage Land Rogue; Autumn Ivy and Claire Max)“: Explores further examples of the herbo as pro-state or pro-workers, and gives two real-life examples. Length: ~46 pages.
        • 11a2. “Into the Toy Chest: Gothic History as Toy-like Amongst Ourselves” (sub-subchapter opening): Considers the monstrous-feminine as a ludo-Gothic BDSM historical device that operates in relation to ourselves and its effect on us; i.e., rape play (aka consent-non-consent). Opening Length: ~1 page.
          • 11a2a. “Into the Toy Chest, part zero: A Note about Rape” (included with sub-subchapter opening): Outlines rape and the Destroyer persona as something to camp per our definition of it previously introduced during “Psychosexual Martyrdom” (2024). Length: ~5 pages.
          • 11a2b. “Into the Toy Chest, part one—the Nuts and Bolts of Rape Play” (included with sub-subchapter opening): Covers the nuts and bolts of Gothic history as toy-like through its parasocial exchanges. Length: ~38 pages.
          • 11a2c. “Into the Toy Chest, part two—My Experiences“: Observes the nuts and bolts of sex-positive rape fantasies when reflecting on my interpersonal exchanges; i.e., between exes and current partners. Length: ~37 pages.
    • 12. “Back to the Necropolis: Reflections on Mastery as Backwards; i.e., When Camping Myself as More and More Gay (feat. Black Nazis and Castlevania)!“: A reflection on my growth as a person since originally writing the Monster Modules (before Volume Zero). Applies the idea of modularity and monsters to a more advanced synthesis of my work vis-à-vis Afrocentrism, token queer black Nazis in Castlevania: Nocturne (2023). Length: ~54 pages.

(disclaimer exhibit: Artist: Harmony Corrupted, who provided me with various materials from her Fansly account to use [with her permission] in my book, including cum photos. For those of legal age who enjoy Harmony’s work and want to see more than this website provides, consider subscribing to her Fansly account and then ordering a custom/tipping through her Ko-Fi. You won’t be disappointed!)

Disclaimer

“If it was not good, it was true; if it was not artistic, it was sincere; if it was in bad taste, it was on the side of life.”

—Henry Miller, on criticism and the Supreme-Court-level lawsuit he received for writing The Tropic of Cancer (1934)

Regarding This Book’s Artistic/Pornographic Nudity and Sexual Content: Sex Positivity thoroughly discusses sexuality in popular media, including fetishes, kinks, BDSM, Gothic material, and general sex work; the illustrations it contains have been carefully curated and designed to demonstrate my arguments. It also considers pornography to be art, examining the ways that sex-positive art makes iconoclastic statements against the state. As such, Sex Positivity contains visual examples of sex-positive/sex-coercive artistic nudity borrowed from publicly available sources to make its educational/critical arguments. Said nudity has been left entirely uncensored for those purposes. While explicitly criminal sexual acts, taboos and obscenities are discussed herein, no explicit illustrations thereof are shown, nor anything criminal; i.e., no snuff porn, child porn or revenge porn. It does examine things generally thought of as porn that are unironically violent. Examples of uncensored, erotic artwork and sex work are present, albeit inside exhibits that critique the obscene potential (from a legal standpoint) of their sexual content: “ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, masturbation, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of the genitals, or sado-masochistic sexual abuse” (source: Justice.gov). For instance, there is an illustrated example of uncensored semen—a “breeding kink” exhibit with zombie unicorns and werewolves (exhibit 87a)—that I’ve included to illustrate a particular point, but its purposes are ultimately educational in nature.

The point of this book isn’t to be obscene for its own sake, but to educate the broader public (including teenagers*) about sex-positive artwork and labor historically treated as obscene by the state. For the material herein to be legally considered obscene it would have to simultaneously qualify in three distinct ways (aka the “Miller” test):

  • appeal to prurient interests (i.e., an erotic, lascivious, abnormal, unhealthy, degrading, shameful, or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion)
  • attempt to depict or describe sexual conduct in a patently offensive way (i.e., ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, masturbation, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of the genitals, or sado-masochistic sexual abuse)
  • lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

Taken as a whole, this book discusses debatably prurient material in an academic manner, depicting and describing sexual conduct in a non-offensive way for the express purpose of education vis-à-vis literary-artistic-political enrichment.

*While this book was written for adults—provided to them through my age-gated website—I don’t think it should be denied from curious teenagers through a supervising adult. The primary reason I say this (apart from the trauma-writing sections, which are suitably intense and grave) is that the academic material can only be simplified so far and teenagers probably won’t understand it entirely (which is fine; plenty of books are like that—take years to understand more completely). As for sexually-developing readers younger than 16 (ages 10-15), I honestly think there are far more accessible books that tackle the same basic subject matter more quickly at their reading level. All in all, this book examines erotic art and sex positivity as an alternative to the sex education currently taught (or deliberately not taught) in curricular/extracurricular spheres. It does so in the hopes of improving upon canonical tutelage through artistic, dialectical-material analysis. 

Fair Use: This book is non-profit, and its artwork is meant for education, transformation and critique. For those reasons, the borrowed materials contained herein fall under Fair Use. All sources come from popular media: movies, fantasy artist portfolios, cosplayer shoots, candid photographs, and sex worker catalogs intended for public viewing. Private material has only been used with a collaborating artist’s permission (for this book—e.g., Blxxd Bunny‘s OF material or custom shoots; or as featured in a review of their sex work on my website with their consent already given from having done past work together—e.g., Miss Misery).

Concerning the Exhibit Numbers and Parenthetical Dates: I originally wrote this book as one text, not four volumes. Normally I provide a publication year per primary text once per text—e.g., “Alien (1979)”—but this would mean having to redate various texts in Volumes One, Two and Three after Volume Zero. I have opted out of doing this. Likewise, the exhibit numbers are sequential for the entire book, not per volume; references to a given exhibit code [exhibit 11b2 or 87a] will often refer to exhibits not present in the current volume. I have not addressed this in the first edition of my book, but might assemble a future annotated list in a second edition down the road.

Concerning Hyperlinks: Those that make the source obvious or are preceded by the source author/title will simply be supplied “as is.” This includes artist or book names being links to themselves, but also mere statements of fact, basic events, or word definitions where the hyperlink is the word being defined. Links to sources where the title is not supplied in advance or whose content is otherwise not spelled out will be supplied next to the link in parentheses (excluding Wikipedia, save when directly quoting from the site). One, this will be especially common with YouTube essayists I cite to credit them for their work (though sometimes I will supply just the author’s name; or their name, the title of the essay and its creation year). Two, concerning YouTube links and the odds of videos being taken down, these are ultimately provided for supplementary purposes and do not actually need to be viewed to understand my basic arguments; I generally summarize their own content into a single sentence, but recommend you give any of the videos themselves a watch if you’re curious about the creators’ unique styles and perspectives about a given topic.

Concerning (the PDF) Exhibit Image Quality: This book contains over 1,000 different images, which—combined with the fact that Microsoft Word appears to compress images twice (first, in-document images and second, when converting to PDFs) along with the additional hassle that is WordPress’ limitations on accepting uploaded PDFs (which requires me to compress the PDF again—has resulted in sub-par image quality for the exhibit images themselves. To compensate, all of the hyperlinks link to the original sources where the source images can be found. Sometimes, it links to the individual images, other times to the entire collage, and I try to offer current working links; however, the ephemeral, aliased nature of sex work means that branded images do not always stay online, so some links (especially those to Twitter/X accounts) won’t always lead to a source if the original post is removed.

Concerning Aliases: Sex workers survive through the use of online aliases and the discussion of their trauma requires a degree of anonymity to protect victims from their actual/potential abusers. This book also contains trauma/sexual anecdotes from my own life; it discusses my friends, including sex workers and the alter egos/secret identities they adopt to survive “in the wild.” Keeping with that, all of the names in this book are code names (except for mine, my late Uncle Dave’s and his ex-wife Erica’s—who are only mentioned briefly by their first names). Models/artists desiring a further degree of anonymity (having since quit the business, for example) have been given a codename other than their former branded identity sans hyperlinks (e.g., Jericho).

Extended, Book-Wide Trigger Warning: This entire book thoroughly discusses xenophobia, harmful xenophilia (necrophilia, pedophilia, zoophilia, etc), homophobia, transphobia, enbyphobia, sexism, racism, race-/LGBTQ-related hate crimes/murder and domestic abuse; child abuse, spousal abuse, animal abuse, misogyny and sexual abuse towards all of these groups; power abuse, rape (date, marital, prison, etc), discrimination, war crimes, genocide, religious/secular indoctrination and persecution, conversion therapy, manmade ecological disasters, and fascism.

(artist: Harmony Corrupted)