Nichi Hodgson’s real-life account of becoming a professional dominatrix, Bound to Love, is reviewed over at the F-word. It attempts to provide a realistic picture of BDSM to accompany the fictional account, Fifty Shades of Grey. It also challenges blanket conceptions of sex work as degrading and destructive to women’s autonomy. Nichi, acknowledging her relatively priviledged status when becoming a sex worker, describes how she negotiated acceptable terms of work that ensured her safety just as in other industries. She also explains how sex work helped pay for her living expenses while she was pursuing internships in the media.
Nichi is now a journalist. Earlier this year she wrote about the significant case of r v Peacock, where Myles Jackman, Backlash’s legal adviser, contributed to the defence.