--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hesitate talking about a program for…" description: "\"I hesitate talking about a program for change because we're in this moment where no one is listening to sex workers about how things should change. So ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/melissa-gira-grant-15196_activist_i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-c_1888489.jpg" --- # I hesitate talking about a program for change because… ![“I hesitate talking about a program for change because we're in this moment where no one is listening to sex workers about how things should change. So I'm even speaking less as a former sex worker and more as a person trying to see the bigger picture that might be hard to see when you're doing sex…” quote by Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/melissa-gira-grant-15196_activist_i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-c_1888489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/melissa-gira-grant-15196_activist_i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-c_1888489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/melissa-gira-grant-15196_activist_i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-c_1888489.jpg) > “I hesitate talking about a program for change because we're in this moment where no one is listening to sex workers about how things should change. So I'm even speaking less as a former sex worker and more as a person trying to see the bigger picture that might be hard to see when you're doing sex work full-time, or running a social service organization, or doing all the things that a lot of sex worker activists are doing. It's hard work, and they don't necessarily get the time to step back and see the whole picture.” [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocacy for marginalized groups often lacks space for strategic reflection, leading to burnout and narrow focus. **In simple terms:** Advocates need time to see the bigger picture. Key Takeaway Create safe spaces for reflective dialogue among activists. Themes advocacy mental health intersectionality strategy Mood thoughtful urgent Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - sex worker rights meetings - policy workshops - community retreats Key Concepts activism self‑care systemic change Questions to Reflect On - What structures support reflective practice? - How can allies amplify marginalized voices without speaking over them? A Different Perspective Balancing immediate needs with long‑term planning is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activist/) [Bigger picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigger-picture/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Prostitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prostitution/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Sex work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-work/) [Social service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-service/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I think sex work gets over-mystified and overcomplicated because it's about sexuality, and women's sexuality in general. What strikes me when I look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-think-sex-work-gets-over-mystified-and-overcomplicated-because-it-s/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [What shocked me was three different anti-prostitution feminists asking me to justify that I had been a sex worker, to prove it. That either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/what-shocked-me-was-three-different-anti-prostitution-feminists/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [The biggest difference in what's going on in New Zealand versus the rest of the world, aside from the decriminalization of sex work, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/the-biggest-difference-in-what-s-going-on-in-new-zealand-versus-the/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [I've moved away from writing about and describing actual experiences of sex work, whether mine or anybody else's, because the culture is obsessed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-ve-moved-away-from-writing-about-and-describing-actual-experiences/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [Once when I told sex workers about my own sex work, it ended up building inappropriate trust with some people. But there have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/once-when-i-told-sex-workers-about-my-own-sex-work-it-ended-up/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [Most of the time, people are not actually concerned with prostitution and sex work. They're concerned about seeing people who they think are prostitutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/most-of-the-time-people-are-not-actually-concerned-with-prostitution/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [“A sex worker deserves a billion times more respect, than the mystical fraudsters of the society, such as astrologers, psychics and tarot card readers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/a-sex-worker-deserves-a-billion-times-more-respect-than-the-mystical/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I advocate for people who believe sex work is work. But women have so many avenues open. In the same way, a trans woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laxmi-narayan-tripathi/i-advocate-for-people-who-believe-sex-work-is-work-but-women-have-so/) [Laxmi Narayan Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laxmi-narayan-tripathi/) > [It makes me so angry when people say, "We never hear from people who are happy doing sex work." Well, that's because they're working.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/it-makes-me-so-angry-when-people-say-we-never-hear-from-people-who/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [Where do people get off telling people what to do? It's their bodies. If you legalized sex work and legally protected the sex workers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/where-do-people-get-off-telling-people-what-to-do-it-s-their-bodies/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Say you're a sex worker and your partner knows you're a sex worker, but you're not out to your family. That could be very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/say-you-re-a-sex-worker-and-your-partner-knows-you-re-a-sex-worker/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [In New Zealand, sex workers are regarded as workers, as people who are members of the community, people who have a stake in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/in-new-zealand-sex-workers-are-regarded-as-workers-as-people-who-are/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [In the current situation with criminalization, we've created situations where sex workers have very little power and control over their lives. Increasing one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/in-the-current-situation-with-criminalization-we-ve-created/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [It's actually not much of a risk to say, "I don't think we should put sex workers in jail." That's a decent, normal thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/it-s-actually-not-much-of-a-risk-to-say-i-don-t-think-we-should-put/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [We hear from sex workers who have through their own volition become media figures, or have despite their own wishes become media figures. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/we-hear-from-sex-workers-who-have-through-their-own-volition-become/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) ## More by Melissa Gira Grant > [I went to college in Amherst and lived in Northampton for many years and we had our quaint little feminist sex toy shop that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-went-to-college-in-amherst-and-lived-in-northampton-for-many-years/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [We hear from sex workers who have through their own volition become media figures, or have despite their own wishes become media figures. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/we-hear-from-sex-workers-who-have-through-their-own-volition-become/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [One person was basically saying that feminists aren't interested in criminalizing prostitutes, that they don't want to do that. I responded that whether or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/one-person-was-basically-saying-that-feminists-aren-t-interested-in/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [Our feelings alone don't change what happens with the police, what happens in jail, what happens when someone tries to go to the welfare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/our-feelings-alone-don-t-change-what-happens-with-the-police-what/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [It's actually not much of a risk to say, "I don't think we should put sex workers in jail." That's a decent, normal thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/it-s-actually-not-much-of-a-risk-to-say-i-don-t-think-we-should-put/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [In the current situation with criminalization, we've created situations where sex workers have very little power and control over their lives. Increasing one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/in-the-current-situation-with-criminalization-we-ve-created/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [Almost everything I've learned about journalism has been from other friends who are journalists, taking advantage of the money I hope they don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/almost-everything-i-ve-learned-about-journalism-has-been-from-other/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [I remember being in high school in the '90s, and even then somehow hearing about the the Canadian Supreme Court's Butler decision which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-remember-being-in-high-school-in-the-90s-and-even-then-somehow/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [Kristin Gwynne has been writing some great stuff about the sexually violent element of "stop-and-frisk." This isn't just "turn out your pockets." This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/kristin-gwynne-has-been-writing-some-great-stuff-about-the-sexually/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [In New Zealand, sex workers are regarded as workers, as people who are members of the community, people who have a stake in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/in-new-zealand-sex-workers-are-regarded-as-workers-as-people-who-are/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [Even at legal brothels, sex workers have very little power and control over their workplace. They might have power with their customers on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/even-at-legal-brothels-sex-workers-have-very-little-power-and-control/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [I've moved away from writing about and describing actual experiences of sex work, whether mine or anybody else's, because the culture is obsessed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-ve-moved-away-from-writing-about-and-describing-actual-experiences/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [I have to do this all the time - choosing what to print based on how it might come back to harm people from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-have-to-do-this-all-the-time-choosing-what-to-print-based-on-how-it/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [When I interviewed the evangelical Christian youth group who were protesting the Village Voice, I wanted them to feel they could freely tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/when-i-interviewed-the-evangelical-christian-youth-group-who-were/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [Say you're a sex worker and your partner knows you're a sex worker, but you're not out to your family. That could be very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/say-you-re-a-sex-worker-and-your-partner-knows-you-re-a-sex-worker/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) [Explore all 44 Melissa Gira Grant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) ## More Activist quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices - it amplifies our messages as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-media-is-not-just-another-way-to-connect-feminist-and-activist/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/we-must-always-refill-and-ensure-there-is-a-critical-mass-of-leaders/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [I have never been an activist for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-parsons/i-have-never-been-an-activist-for-anything/) [Jim Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-parsons/) > [When we criticize in Iran the actions of the government, the fundamentalists say that we and the Bush Administration are in the same camp.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/when-we-criticize-in-iran-the-actions-of-the-government-the/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [I've been an activist in the LGBT community for a long time. I think nothing's changed, I'm just a little bit more focused on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-bono/i-ve-been-an-activist-in-the-lgbt-community-for-a-long-time-i-think/) [Chaz Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-bono/) > [I've been an activist since I was a teenager. I was always curious about what we would now call social justice. I remember just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/i-ve-been-an-activist-since-i-was-a-teenager-i-was-always-curious/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [I think that compared to other politicians who have been put in jail in the past, compared to the human-rights activists in history who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-think-that-compared-to-other-politicians-who-have-been-put-in-jail/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Some kinds of activists are more willing to try stuff out, see if works and think on their feet, but some of the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-green/some-kinds-of-activists-are-more-willing-to-try-stuff-out-see-if/) [Duncan Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-green/) > [Black gay activists should try to build coalitions of people for the elimination of all injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-rustin/black-gay-activists-should-try-to-build-coalitions-of-people-for-the/) [Bayard Rustin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-rustin/) > [You do what you know is good, because it's good, and then you have a certain peace of mind, saying, you've been an activist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-mcgovern/you-do-what-you-know-is-good-because-it-s-good-and-then-you-have-a/) [Ray McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-mcgovern/) > [Obviously the transgender movement has not progressed in the way that the gay and lesbian movement has. But Im an activist - thats just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-bono/obviously-the-transgender-movement-has-not-progressed-in-the-way-that/) [Chaz Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-bono/) > [“If you teach your children how to bully, or do nothing to stop them, teach them also how to die for their cause.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darnell-lamont-walker/if-you-teach-your-children-how-to-bully-or-do-nothing-to-stop-them/) [Darnell Lamont Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darnell-lamont-walker/) [Browse all 773 Activist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I hesitate talking about a program for change because we're in this moment where no one is listening to sex workers about how things should change. So I'm even speaking less as a former sex worker and more as a person trying to see the bigger picture that might be hard to see when you're doing sex work full-time, or running a social service organization, or doing all the things that a lot of sex worker activists are doing. It's hard work, and they don't necessarily get the time to step back and see the whole picture.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Melissa Gira Grant" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-change-because-we-re-in-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-change-because-we-re-in-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/melissa-gira-grant-15196_activist_i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-c_1888489.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/melissa-gira-grant-15196_activist_i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-c_1888489.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/melissa-gira-grant-15196_activist_i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-c_1888489.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I hesitate talking about a program for change because we're in this moment where no one is listening to sex…” — Melissa Gira Grant", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Melissa Gira Grant", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I hesitate talking about a program...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-change-because-we-re-in-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-hesitate-talking-about-a-program-for-change-because-we-re-in-this/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```