Tim Barrus in the New York Times: Boys Who Do Sex Work
I teach boys called the Hard To Reach. More stigma. Most have done lots of sex work. Many have HIV.
Some have starred in porn where the age of consent is fluid, often fictional, and enhanced youth in post-production. My work is exhausting and most traditional teachers vividly do not get it. The school drop out rate is 95%.
We have washed our hands of them.
My classroom is silent. It can typically take ten months for any one of them to verbally communicate anything of even pseudo-significance. They are shut up tight. Some have learned in county detention that even as they are being raped by other dominate teenagers, you do not scream. Anything that attracts the attention of adults comes with a price. Rape itself can be interpreted in twisted ways that say their body is wanted.
The foster care system works against everything. The boys have learned to not invest. They cannot commit to a relationship because they are always burned. Nonverbal is the status quo.
Throw all of this out the window, and you will find they have a lot to say.
I have a secret weapon. Art.
The foundation I work with loans them cameras. Other teachers wag their fingers in my face telling me the boys will steal. Not a single one in fifteen years ever has.
We call this among ourselves: Show Me Your life. Why. It lends them a voice. Suicide is epidemic. They hate themselves, and what is done to their bodies by adult men. Their bodies are the enemy. To survive, they need a voice. It is life and death.