The Pleasure, The Power, The Party
For International Whores’ Day, BAWS was really outside. We were so lucky to celebrate the full range of gifts this community brings. This year we witnessed creativity, resilience, joy, shared wisdom, care for each other, and quite frankly - a lot of hot empowered SWers all over SF. Read on to see some photos and precious memories from IWD 2026:
Our Stories
First things first, we hit the SF LGBTQ Center, where DecrimCA brought together sex worker organizations from across the state to unveil a stunning new floor-to-roofline mural, made in collaboration between California-based QTBIPOC SWers and local artist Tanya Wischerath.
While organizational leaders and members soaked in the new street art, BAWS was on the scene interviewing SWers about the moment, what it means, and what’s next.
After the unveiling, we gathered in community to share space, stories, and street-smarts. The collective wisdom, organizing power, and good vibes in the room will power us at least until next IWD.
Joining this incredible coalition and making our mark on Market Street was a highlight of our year so far. Thank you to DecrimCA and everyone who made it happen. We couldn’t imagine a better way to commemorate the past, present, and future of the SWer’s Rights movement in California.
Our Spaces
After the mural reception was over, the BAWS team scurried on over to The Stud in SOMA for our summer kickoff, Pleasure4Ever, and damn if we didn’t do it BIG.
This community went hard. We saw so many gorgeous and sweet faces, felt so much love, and there was so much hot shakin’ A$$!!! We blew our fundraising goal out of the water. We’re still riding the feeling from this night. The vendors did their thing, all the performers kept the vibes flowing, and you all made this night one for the books.
We really can’t say enough how much events like this mean. BAWS and orgs like us are critically underfunded by societal design, and this boost gives us more time to cultivate larger, more sustainable support from outside our immediate community and allies. We will always remember where it starts and ends though. Thank you all for showing up, bringing your energy, and celebrating Pleasure4Ever with us. Maybe we make it a tradition?
Our Gratitude
This was truly a beautiful IWD, made special by every one of you we saw out there in the streets. Thank you for all your support in the last few months, whether it was showing up to volunteer at an event, connecting us with important resources, or signal boosting our work online. BAWS is back from our post-event break and we’re excited for the rest of the year! Stay tuned for what’s next <3
In Solidarity - BAWS 👠