Before
ever
stepping
into
a
courtroom,
Valentine
already
understood
the
power
of
presence.
After
all,
they’ve
shimmied
on
stages
as
a
burlesque
performer,
consulted
behind
the
scenes
for
creative
businesses
and
moved
through
the
adult
industry
not
just
as
an
advocate,
but
as
a
participant.
Today,
as
deputy
executive
director
of
the
Free
Speech
Coalition,
Valentine’s
work
bridges
legal
strategy,
protecting
members’
access
to
financial
services
and
working
to
shatter
stigma
through
visibility.
Because
of
the
stigma
that’s
thrust
upon
us,
we
have
to
fight
harder
to
earn
the
credibility
that
others
are
afforded
automatically.
It’s
a
job
that
demands
fluency
in
two
very
different
languages:
the
coded
language
of
institutions,
and
the
lived
reality
of
the
communities
those
institutions
often
fail
to
understand
or
acknowledge.
Fortunately,
Valentine
speaks
both.
“I’ve
always
felt
a
connection
with,
and
had
a
soft
spot
for,
the
adult
industry,”
they
explain.
“I’ve
had
a
fervor
about
protecting
rights
within
the
industry
and
in
the
broader
landscape
of
sex
work
as
well.”
Valentine’s
roots
in
sex
work
go
back
to
around
2007,
when
they
began
performing
burlesque
and
connected
with
circles
of
artists
and
sex
workers
who
became
their
community.
“My
undergraduate
degree
is
in
musical
theater
performance,”
they
share.
“After
years
of
performance
work,
I
started
doing
business
consulting
because
I
had
a
knack
for
the
business
end
of
things.
From
there,
I
ended
up
getting
a
master’s
in
arts
management,
which
is
kind
of
like
an
MBA
that’s
geared
toward
creative
industries.
That’s
where
I
discovered
I
was
interested
in
the
law.”
‘Exactly
what
I
had
been
waiting
for’
Valentine
enrolled
in
law
school
in
2021,
not
to
reinvent
themself
but
to
double
down
on
their
commitment
to
advocacy.
“I
was
very
out
about
sex
work
because
it
was
a
big
part
of
why
I
went
to
law
school
to
begin
with,”
they
affirm.
“As
an
older
student,
I
wasn’t
going
to
get
pressured
into
manufacturing
some
version
of
myself
that
isn’t
true,
just
so
I
can
get
a
job
that
I
hate.”
That
honesty
resonated
with
the
right
people.
At
a
conference,
Valentine
met
the
late
First
Amendment
attorney
and
FSC
executive
board
member
Reed
Lee,
who
became
a
mentor.
“Reed
took
an
interest
in
me
and
took
my
goals
seriously,
even
though
they
seemed
kind
of
weird
and
far-fetched,”
Valentine
recalls.
“I
wanted
to
help
sex
workers
and
artistic
communities
in
ways
that
weren’t
necessarily
on
a
clear
track,
like
tax
law
would
be.
Reed
was
wonderful.
He
got
me
involved
with
the
First
Amendment
Lawyers
Association
and
connected
me
with
the
Free
Speech
Coalition.”
Valentine
began
attending
FSC
legislative
and
legal
committee
meetings.
As
it
turned
out,
their
timing
couldn’t
have
been
better.
In
the
summer
of
2024,
while
prepping
for
the
bar
exam
and
facing
a
competitive
job
market,
they
spotted
a
LinkedIn
post
by
FSC
Executive
Director
Alison
Boden,
about
a
new
deputy
position.
“I
didn’t
know
it,
but
this
was
exactly
what
I
had
been
waiting
for,”
Valentine
says.
“I
reached
out
to
Alison
and
said,
‘I
want
you
to
know
I’m
genuinely
interested
in
this.
This
is
the
perfect
thing.’
It
just
felt
like
kismet.”
By
fall,
Valentine
was
on
staff.
Bridging
Worlds
During
their
first
year
with
FSC,
Valentine’s
work
has
been
dominated
by
one
massive
project:
building
a
credit
union
designed
to
serve
the
adult
industry.
“It’s
a
lot
of
meetings
and
paperwork,
but
also
a
lot
of
outreach
and
education,”
they
note.
“Like
explaining
what
a
credit
union
is
to
people
who
aren’t
credit
union
people,
and
explaining
what
the
adult
industry
is
to
people
who
aren’t
from
that
world.
My
job
is
to
bridge
those
worlds
a
little
bit.”
In
practice,
that
has
meant
advocacy
on
multiple
fronts:
with
financial
institutions,
policymakers
and
others
who
often
misunderstand
the
realities
of
the
adult
industry.
“A
lot
of
people
in
the
industry
experience
issues
with
accounts,
loans,
mortgages
—
even
when
they’re
financially
secure,”
Valentine
observes.
“You
might
be
making
a
lot
of
money,
but
it
comes
in
sporadically,
and
that
sets
off
flags
when
you’re
applying
for
something.
Or
your
account
gets
flagged
as
fraudulent
just
because
you
got
six
small
payments
in
a
row
from
a
platform.”
These
barriers,
Valentine
stresses,
are
ultimately
about
stigma.
“We
have
more
in
common
with
the
rest
of
the
world
than
we
don’t,”
they
point
out.
“But
because
of
the
stigma
that’s
thrust
upon
us,
we
have
to
fight
harder
to
earn
the
credibility
that
others
are
accorded
automatically.”
Relatability
and
Intersectionality
One
of
Valentine’s
strongest
assets
in
their
advocacy
role
is
their
personal
lived
experience.
As
both
a
performer
and
a
lawyer,
they
bridge
the
gap
between
policy
and
practice.
“My
background
in
the
arts
and
in
adult
performance
is
a
huge
part
of
why
I
can
connect
with
people
in
the
industry,”
they
explain.
“People
don’t
feel
like
they’re
talking
to
an
outsider.
I
understand
what
they’re
talking
about
when
they
refer
to
a
client
situation
because
I’ve
been
there.
That
gives
me
an
advantage
in
getting
to
know
people
and
building
trust.”
Meanwhile,
the
“legitimacy”
that
comes
with
Valentine’s
legal
advocacy
helps
them
expand
the
horizons
of
policymakers
and
members
of
the
public,
who
might
otherwise
default
to
stereotypes.
“I
think
people
don’t
see
our
humanity
unless
they
have
a
direct
connection
to
the
industry,”
says
Valentine.
“They
need
to
see
us
as
what
we
are:
unique
people
with
our
own
experiences,
perspectives,
goals
and
dreams.
“There’s
so
much
focus
spent
on
scrutinizing
sex
workers,
while
other
professions
with
issues
—
like
the
high
rate
of
addiction
among
lawyers
—
are
not
used
as
reasons
to
strip
rights
from
an
entire
group,”
they
add.
“There’s
a
lot
of
cognitive
dissonance,
on
both
the
left
and
right.”
Valentine’s
identity
also
shapes
their
approach
to
leadership
and
advocacy,
from
financial
inclusion
to
policy
fights
to
how
FSC
shows
up
for
its
members.
“I’m
Black,
I’m
queer,
I’m
nonbinary
and
I’m
disabled,”
they
share.
“There
are
so
many
people
in
the
industry
with
whom
I
share
some
part
of
my
identity.
So
I
see
the
ways
these
issues
are
compounded
for
people
who
are
marginalized
in
one
way
or
another.
That’s
a
huge
part
of
what
I
bring
to
my
job
and
how
I
show
up
for
work.”
Self-Careand
Balance
The
work
isn’t
easy.
Advocacy
can
be
emotionally
demanding,
and
Valentine
admits
they’re
still
learning
how
to
carve
out
enough
space
for
rest.
“I
do
a
lot
of
advocacy
work
outside
of
FSC
as
well,
like
with
Decrim
Illinois,
so
I
could
be
better
at
taking
breaks,”
they
admit.
“But
I’ve
been
going
to
a
lot
of
movies
lately.
Sometimes
I
go
with
a
partner,
but
I
also
like
going
by
myself.
Then
you
don’t
have
to
share
your
popcorn!”
They
also
relax
with
crossword
puzzles,
karaoke,
hanging
out
with
their
cats,
and
arts
events
like
live
music,
museums
and
burlesque.
Performing,
in
particular,
remains
an
important
outlet.
“It’s
wonderful
to
have
something
to
pour
energy
into
that
is
just
for
me
and
the
people
who
care
about
my
art,”
they
say
with
a
bright
smile.
A
Vision
of
Progress
As
Valentine
moves
into
their
second
year
with
FSC,
their
focus
remains
on
the
credit
union
project,
intellectual
property
initiatives
and
helping
steer
litigation
strategy
from
behind
the
scenes.
“I
never
want
to
be
the
person
tap
dancing
in
front
of
the
court,”
they
confide.
“But
I
love
helping
where
I
can
with
strategy
and
research.
A
lot
of
the
transactional
work
I
do
is
about
avoiding
litigation
later
on.”
For
Valentine,
the
work
is
both
personal
and
deeply
collective.
They
speak
often
of
their
gratitude
for
their
fellow
FSC
team
members
—
Alison
Boden,
Jeffrey
Douglas
and
others
—
who
have
built
a
supportive
environment.
“I
love
my
co-workers,”
Valentine
gushes.
“It’s
the
healthiest
work
environment
I’ve
ever
been
in,
by
far.
I
feel
fully
seen
when
I
show
up
to
work,
and
I
feel
like
I
can
come
to
them
with
anything.
I
know
how
rare
that
is,
and
I
feel
lucky
as
hell.
“We’ve
had
losses
and
we’ve
had
wins,
but
we’re
still
here
and
still
pushing,”
they
declare.
“The
goal
is
the
same
as
when
this
all
started.
The
practical,
focused
strategy
is
necessary,
but
the
bigger
fight
is
turning
the
tide
of
‘They’re
all
like
this,’
or
‘They’re
all
like
that.’”
That
combination
of
hard
strategy
and
lived
empathy
defines
Valentine’s
leadership.
They
are
a
lawyer
and
an
advocate,
but
also
a
performer,
a
community
member
—
and
a
human
being
who
refuses
to
be
reduced
to
a
single
dimension,
or
allow
the
same
to
happen
to
the
industry
stakeholders
for
whom
they
are
fighting.
“We’re
just
as
varied
and
diverse
as
any
other
group
of
people,”
they
conclude.
“That
can
be
hard
to
make
people
understand.
But
it’s
also
where
progress
really
lives.”