Did you know there are 7,076 living languages?
This month we added a new feature that allows you to share what languages you prefer to communicate in, which can help clients find providers they can more easily connect with. During the initial research to ensure we had an appropriate list to select from, we learnt that according to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) there are 7,076 living languages! This includes spoken, written, and sign languages, all of which you can now add to your profile. In the few weeks it has been live we have already seen some cool things, like:
- More than 2,600 profiles have added 123 unique languages.
- American Sign Language (ASL) is in the top 10 languages added to profiles, with International (IS), British (BSL), Australian (Auslan), Portuguese (LGP), Swiss-Italian (SLF), and Nigerian (NSL) sign languages also making an appearance in the overall list. We’ve been really excited to see how many of y’all are signing!
- The top 5 languages so far are English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German.
Language is fundamental to how we communicate with each other, whether written, spoken, or signed, and we had a lot of discussions about how we could best populate this list. We knew from the start that we wanted to include sign languages, and we also knew it would be impossible to create a short list that fairly captured all the languages you all might use in your day to day lives. That’s why we chose to include the entire ISO list. You get to decide the languages you use, not us. We wanted to have as many available to you as possible. For example, did you know that English alone has 20 “official” variants? Such as;"Australian English", "Trinidadian Creole English", etc. If we only listed “English” we’d be forcing all of those groups into a single bucket even though there are substantial variations between them (like how we Aussies love to chuck o’s at the end of our words, i.e. servo, bottlo, etc).
One downside of using this database, as comprehensive as it is, is that all language names are available only in English and French. We think that sucks and is such a coloniser mindset from the ISO! We are hoping to be able to add the endonymic names for all languages in the future.
Other improvements this month
- iOS 18 changed to use a new, fancier, image format that we didn’t support. We made some updates to ensure that we can accept images taken on these devices!
- We’ve added a ‘Show More’ button to the Similar Profiles carousel. This helps clients see more providers they might not have seen who are similar to their searches. This also increases the chances each profile is seen at the right time by the right potential client.
- We made an upgrade to how tickets are submitted that you might not even notice, but it significantly improves the reliability of your request getting to us every time, even if the Internet is being a little flaky!
In the community
There's always a lot going on in our amazing community! Here are some of the latest events, news, and resources for workers.
Are you involved in an event? Do you have some news to share? Are you aware of an industry initiative that deserves a shout-out? Let us know!
- Petite Mort - Power to the Provocateurs - ends 21st Jan - make a tax deductible donation here
- Vixen - Grief Space - Wed 11 Dec, 6-8pm AEST, drop in anytime between those hours - Vixen, 5 Merrifield St, Brunswick VIC
- Soft Machine - Flesh Rituals & Siren Songs - Dec 20th, 7pm AEST at Stay Gold Brunswick - book tickets here
- Vixen - Xmas Feast - 18th Dec 4pm-7pm AEST - RSVP here.
- Cybertease - Online XXXmas - Thursday 12th December 2024 @ 8:30 PM - 11:00 PM GMT - book tickets here
- Sexquisite - BGWMC RETURN FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY! - Friday 13th December 2024 at 8:00 PM GMT - book tickets here
- Sexquisite - Christmas Bristol - Wednesday 11th December 2024 at 7:00 PM GMT - book tickets here
- A Body at Work - Midsumma Festival - 28th Jan - 1st Feb - book tickets here
- Kitty Obsidian - Gender Affirming Care Fundraiser - donate here
- Kitty Velour - Valentines Sacred Sluts Weekend - book workshop here
- Hey Weeirdo - digital custom artwork commissions open - apply here
Recommended reading from the Tryst Team
Listen: Andrea Werhuns Memoir "Modern Whore" audiobook
Read: Indie Porn - Zahra Stardust
Watch: Anora
In the media
See below for the latest industry news pieces and mentions in the media.
- ‘Belgium's sex workers get maternity leave and pensions under world-first law’ - Sofia Bettiza, for ‘BBC’
- ‘Pleasure politics: Zahra Stardust’s Indie Porn’ - Samantha Floreani, for ‘Overland’
- ‘NDIS participants and sex workers feel 'betrayed' by sexual services funding ban now being in effect’ - Isabella Ross, for ‘ABC News’
- ‘Sex worker allegedly assaulted in Sydney brothel as women strike for better pay’ - Daisy Dumas, for ‘Guardian’
- ‘Sex workers need the police to do better, not more’ - Jyoti Belur & Ella Cockbain, for ‘Open Democracy’
- ‘Man who killed two sex workers hours apart to serve seven more years’ - Erin Pearson, for ‘The Age’
- ‘Anora is a refreshing depiction of sex workers as part of the working class’ - Rachel Stewart, for ‘Ensemble’
- ‘NSW Sex Workers welcome Equality Bill’ - ‘Q News’
- ‘The Anora case: Are movies finally doing justice to sex workers?’ - Stefania Sarrubba, for ‘Screensphere’
- ‘Theater and Sex Work: VAMP’s Performance as Resistance’ - ‘Bernard Center for Research on Women’
- ‘Sex Workers Are Trying to Warn Us About Project 2025’ - Kim Kelly, for ‘The Nation’
- ‘What Dr Zahra Stardust Wants You To Know About Porn’ - Lydia Jupp, for ‘Star Observer’
Don’t forget to check back in a month’s time for our next update!
Are you a sex worker with a story, opinion, news, or tips to share? We'd love to hear from you!
We started the tryst.link sex worker blog to help amplify those who aren't handed the mic and bring attention to the issues ya'll care about the most. Got a tale to tell? 👇☂️✨
