During our time at Freedom Fest in South Dakota, we had the honor of speaking with Mitzi Perdue about her work to reduce exploitation globally. Mitzi is a smart and charming woman who has written several books about building family businesses. Combining the experiences of long-time family businesses, Mitzi Purdue shares her journey to help others while still making an impact in the world through entrepreneurship. And yes - she is an heiress to two international brands as well as a debutante - but she is so much more than that. She is compassionate and funny and wise. Her innate empathetic nature and active and sincere listening skills are what drew us together.
Any time you bring trafficking and sex work into a room together, there is bound to be conflict. Freedom Fest was a fairly welcoming space for sex workers but there was plenty of fodder for those that claim to fight fr victims. Mitzi and I were deep into an intense and nuanced conversation about incarcerated sex workers and survivors of violence when we were interrupted by one of her deeply devoted fans. Some alarming anti trafficking rhetoric began and she must have felt my internal fear start to bubble up. The interloper continued to chatter and I felt her hand just barely touch my arm as if to soothe my spirit. I will never forget that kindness from what was essentially a stranger.
Mitzis natural curiosity, her access to an excellent education and an intuitive commitment to lifelong learning, Mitzi became an entrepreneur in her own right and a student of agricultural economics, farming and land development.
Whats the best part about Mitzi? Mitzi loves new ideas. And we got a chance to speak extensively about how sex workers who advocate for the full decriminalization of sex work can reduce exploitation and violence. Mitzi writes a weekly article for Psychology Today and she was anxious to speak with Savannah Sly about her work as a FemDom. The article was published on Sunday and we hope you take this opportunity to read it!
And be sure to share it!