“ Unfortunately, she knew exactly where it had come from. Three weeks prior, after an argument with an ex-military client, the man had started stalking her. He’d been harassing her with intimidating phone calls for weeks, and the knife was a terrifying escalation. “I was like, all right, I need to do something about this immediately,” she said. “I was telling my friends that if anything happens to me, this is the person who did it… I don’t know what he’s going to do, so I need to be prepared.”
That night, she signed up for her first concealed carry class. A month later, she was a registered gun owner. It was not a decision she made lightly…
“It’s a lot of power when you have firearms, so that’s why it’s very important to be highly educated on what you’re dealing with,” Hibbler explained.
It shouldn’t be surprising that sex workers around the country are boning up on firearms education. There’s a long tradition of both armed self-defense and general firearms enthusiasm across the political spectrum, particularly within communities that have historically been targeted for violence and oppression. Organizations like the Socialist Rifle Association, the Sylvia Rivera Gun Club, Yellow Peril Tactical, the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, the Pink Pistols, and Black Girls Shoot! take the activist maxim “we protect us” seriously, and offer their communities tools to do so in a world that doesn’t expect them to fight back. In that regard, Hibbler and the other sex workers she’s hoping to educate fit right in.
Hibbler’s position on the board of the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) Chicago chapter and role as its director of media and communication have come in handy for her mission. In May, she and her instructor, former probation officer Javondlynn Dunagan of JMD Defense, announced their first Intro to Concealed Carry course specifically for sex workers. All 40 spots filled up immediately, and Hibbler’s voice swelled with pride when she said that every single attendee had aced their test. “They all got a perfect score when they went to certify for their license!” she said.
Further north, SWOP’s Minneapolis branch is on a similar wavelength. Co-directors Andi Snow and Athena Papagiannopoulos have been organizing together for over a decade; they met while working at BJ’s Liquor Lounge (an historic and now-closed Twin Cities strip club) and both are seasoned gun owners. Papagiannopoulos was introduced to firearms through her social circle, while for Snow, arming up was a matter of practicality. “You’re leaving [the club] with a bunch of cash on you at 4am, you’re possibly intoxicated, your personal protection has to step up,” she explained. “I always used to carry a knife, then start carrying a gun.” The duo had already formed an informal gun club with Atlas Defense instructor Manuel Manchea, a former Marine-turned-community defense activist, but in January 2026, Snow and Papagiannopoulos decided it was time to up the ante. The Trump Administration had just flooded the Twin Cities with 3,000 ICE agents in Operation Metro Surge, and SWOP Minneapolis became heavily involved in the protests, ICE watches, and neighborhood patrols that still make up the daily fabric of life in their city.
> “You’re leaving [the club] with a bunch of cash on you at 4am, you’re possibly intoxicated, your personal protection has to step up,” she explained. “I always used to carry a knife, then start carrying a gun.”
Wait, they're seriously advocating carrying a firearm to make up for their intoxication? Maybe don't drink in that line of work.
Nah that's just an extra detail. You're leaving the club with a bunch of cash on you at 4am. You're a target, intoxicated or not. Having a gun while intoxicated doesn't sound like a great idea either though. But if the business could take the cash and send them a deposit somehow, that could solve a lot.. Many countries have fee-less e-transfers these days.
I’m guessing that they are expected to partake with clients or they dislike the line of work so much it’s the only way to get through the night/day. There’s a reason American drink.
The firearm isn’t for their intoxication, the firearm is for people who think that they can assault other people, even though it’s illegal and immoral. Given the their increased risk of violence due to the of their proximity to criminal activities such as drug trade and human trafficking I’d carry a gun also - intoxicated or not. If you would want to remain sober and be a victim, then you should do you.
And as I commented elsewhere, maybe we should focus on doing something about the people who feel that they can assault, murder, and traffic other people simply because they consider them somehow “less” than they are. That way, nobody would feel the need to carry a gun for protection.
You mentioned digital work. There is a reason that has become popular amongst sex workers. It’s far safer. And in that we agree, but I think it misses the larger point.
It still does not address the societal problem of - primarily men - who think they can murder and assault other people with impunity. If sex workers and other people has mentioned in the article weren’t afraid that they would be harmed simply because of who they are they probably wouldn’t be forming gun clubs.
I don’t think you have any idea how any of them grew up or rather, you are referencing a myth. Have you ever actually interviewed any? And I sincerely doubt that they care about their clients or men who think they can assault them and murder them. That seems a little far-fetched.
> I don’t think you have any idea how any of them grew up or rather, you are referencing a myth.
The myth of verifiable statistics?
Do you think these people were just born with the "abuser gene" or something and need to be culled? Clearly they're a product of their environment, and psychologists agree the earliest years (which parents have the most control over) are most fundamental to healthy social development.
edit in response to your comment below: I never said anything about the sexworkers' childhoods.
I never said anything about the nurture/nature controversy. I never said anything about anybody being culled. That’s kind of random.
I specifically said that you personally do not personally have any idea what the majority of murderers or sex workers childhoods were like. Reading statistics and interacting IRL are generally separate things. And I say that having volunteered in the court system.
If you want to suggest that most people need to have healthy childhood, I’m with you. The problem is, they are being raised by humans. And they are being raised by humans under all kinds of conditions by people who themselves grow up under all kinds of different conditions.
At least your suggestion is a better solution than just simply saying “don’t drink and use gun” like that solves everything.
> I specifically said that you personally do not personally have any idea what the majority of murderers or sex workers childhoods were like
No you didn't. you mentioned men, then /u/simpleisideal said those people and you responded with some bullshit because you failed to realize you had changed the subject of the pronouns and didn't use any nouns of your own. when you aren't using nouns you aren't specifically saying anything. id rather simpleisadeal had stating their subject clearly rather than those people but at least they clarified a bit in their next response.
> maybe we should focus on doing something about the people who feel that they can assault, murder, and traffic other people simply because they consider them somehow “less” than they are.
Yes, why don't we simply get rid of crime. No one has ever thought of that.
That depends entirely on someones tolerance to alcohol. And plenty of people have engaged in successful shootouts on alcohol or worse. The main concern is how it can make someone overreact to someone and use easy readily available means of violence in a situation not requiring it
You should see how much some militaries drink while armed. I stayed sober on the zero line in Ukraine
> That depends entirely on someones tolerance to alcohol.
Functional alcoholism isn't a valid excuse in the eyes of the law, which for vehicles/guns/etc is based on statistical human limits of alcohol tolerance.
If someone is in this situation they are already a criminal by being a hooker… I dont think they would care about this law either. Thats how criminals work
We all agree that crazy people should not have guns.
We also agree that alcohol and drugs cause diminished capacity, reactions and decision making. Also you can be made temporarily insane by anger or depression.
Handing out guns to people who work in bars and are expected to drink for professional reasons is going to cause bunches of suicides and 2nd degree murders.
Maybe go work at a legal brothel with a sober bouncer? Only fans?
You do have part of that right. The increase in suicides by gun among all women has skyrocketed in the last decade. It’s more efficient than sleeping pills because it can’t be walked back.
And as the article says, they aren’t the only ones arming themselves.
Maybe we should complain instead about men who believed that they can sex traffic, murder, and assault people they consider somehow inaccurately consider “lesser” than they are. victim blaming won’t solve that one.
It is a significant percentage. If you take out suicide, it is much lower, but still notable.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6637963/
Unfortunately "Homicide" doesn't get more granular than that, so we can't distinguish between assaults and robberies and gang related violence, which would be interesting data to have.
>In 2016, children and adolescents (1 to 19 years of age)
Dude, 17 to 19 year olds arent kids. Like that is such a misleading statement. I sthis an america specific kid? If you are 17 and older where I am, you are an adult.
> We all agree that crazy people should not have guns.
Oh, I wish everyone agreed with that. Or should I say, I wish the gun lovers would agree to do any single thing to try and keep crazy people from having guns, but they throw a fit every single time.
The problem is who gets to decide what's too "crazy" to own a gun? It wasn't very long ago that homosexuality was considered a mental illness. Beyond that, mental illness can generally only be diagnosed after a person actively seeks out treatment. If there's a risk of losing your ability to own guns, that's going to discourage a lot of people from seeking treatment.
>We also agree that alcohol and drugs cause diminished capacity, reactions and decision making. Also you can be made temporarily insane by anger or depression.
Should we start revoking the right to vote based on these things?
“Should we start revoking the right to vote based on these things?”
That said I’m assuming that you are joking. I can’t imagine any other reason for suggesting that anger and depression should be a reason to call for a revocation of voting rights.
While I'm not a fan of American post-Heller gun culture and think it dangerously delusional (people buying actual killing tools with hypothetical situations in mind), I can be persuaded that it's ok for women.
They don't get into nearly as much trouble as men do with guns, and they are at a disadvantage in violent conflict. Arm the ladies.
The politics on this were decided some years ago. Guns aren't going anywhere, and their political preservation is rock-solid.
My personal disappointment in listening to my gun-owning friends talk about their guns is the level of abstraction they retreat to. "Safety" in your example. "Self-defense." "Protection." Even "peace of mind."
These are all terms that can be covered by things that aren't guns. Guns, IIU ownership correctly, are things you point at things you intend to kill. So talking about guns should be talking about your parameters for killing.
We had no problems pre-Heller discussing the animals we'd kill. Post-Heller we speak in abstract, vague terms about tools with very specific purposes, instead of "This is for killing intruders inside." "This is for killing trespassers outside." "This is for killing kidnappers or rapists who bring violence to me as a woman."
Again, the laws are settled, a portion of the nation will remain highly armed and my opinion doesn't matter, politically. It's personal - I feel a sighing disappointment when a friend or acquaintance talks about their personal protection gun as some kind of burglar deterrent system instead of a burglar killing tool. They sound to me like someone who's brought home something momentous - heroin, an alligator, dynamite - and isn't really owning that choice.
I think a lot of gun sales are made that way, too - with soft language about vague things, to sell a very hard tool with a very specific purpose.
And that's all without looking at the ethics of putting yourself in charge of the lives of others. I have little confidence in the Solomonic ethical wisdom of those who feel comfortable judging life and death in chaotic moments by virtue of a consumer purchase and some trips to the range.
horseradishstalker | 16 hours ago
“ Unfortunately, she knew exactly where it had come from. Three weeks prior, after an argument with an ex-military client, the man had started stalking her. He’d been harassing her with intimidating phone calls for weeks, and the knife was a terrifying escalation. “I was like, all right, I need to do something about this immediately,” she said. “I was telling my friends that if anything happens to me, this is the person who did it… I don’t know what he’s going to do, so I need to be prepared.”
That night, she signed up for her first concealed carry class. A month later, she was a registered gun owner. It was not a decision she made lightly… “It’s a lot of power when you have firearms, so that’s why it’s very important to be highly educated on what you’re dealing with,” Hibbler explained.
[OP] playboy | 20 hours ago
It shouldn’t be surprising that sex workers around the country are boning up on firearms education. There’s a long tradition of both armed self-defense and general firearms enthusiasm across the political spectrum, particularly within communities that have historically been targeted for violence and oppression. Organizations like the Socialist Rifle Association, the Sylvia Rivera Gun Club, Yellow Peril Tactical, the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, the Pink Pistols, and Black Girls Shoot! take the activist maxim “we protect us” seriously, and offer their communities tools to do so in a world that doesn’t expect them to fight back. In that regard, Hibbler and the other sex workers she’s hoping to educate fit right in.
Hibbler’s position on the board of the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) Chicago chapter and role as its director of media and communication have come in handy for her mission. In May, she and her instructor, former probation officer Javondlynn Dunagan of JMD Defense, announced their first Intro to Concealed Carry course specifically for sex workers. All 40 spots filled up immediately, and Hibbler’s voice swelled with pride when she said that every single attendee had aced their test. “They all got a perfect score when they went to certify for their license!” she said.
Further north, SWOP’s Minneapolis branch is on a similar wavelength. Co-directors Andi Snow and Athena Papagiannopoulos have been organizing together for over a decade; they met while working at BJ’s Liquor Lounge (an historic and now-closed Twin Cities strip club) and both are seasoned gun owners. Papagiannopoulos was introduced to firearms through her social circle, while for Snow, arming up was a matter of practicality. “You’re leaving [the club] with a bunch of cash on you at 4am, you’re possibly intoxicated, your personal protection has to step up,” she explained. “I always used to carry a knife, then start carrying a gun.” The duo had already formed an informal gun club with Atlas Defense instructor Manuel Manchea, a former Marine-turned-community defense activist, but in January 2026, Snow and Papagiannopoulos decided it was time to up the ante. The Trump Administration had just flooded the Twin Cities with 3,000 ICE agents in Operation Metro Surge, and SWOP Minneapolis became heavily involved in the protests, ICE watches, and neighborhood patrols that still make up the daily fabric of life in their city.
Read now: https://www.playboy.com/read/politics/meet-the-women-forming-gun-clubs-for-self-protection
clean-links | 20 hours ago
Cleaned link from "May": https://www.instagram.com/p/DYiPdVIps0P/
Tracking parameters were removed from the original URL(s).
simpleisideal | 20 hours ago
> “You’re leaving [the club] with a bunch of cash on you at 4am, you’re possibly intoxicated, your personal protection has to step up,” she explained. “I always used to carry a knife, then start carrying a gun.”
Wait, they're seriously advocating carrying a firearm to make up for their intoxication? Maybe don't drink in that line of work.
iamasatellite | 11 hours ago
Nah that's just an extra detail. You're leaving the club with a bunch of cash on you at 4am. You're a target, intoxicated or not. Having a gun while intoxicated doesn't sound like a great idea either though. But if the business could take the cash and send them a deposit somehow, that could solve a lot.. Many countries have fee-less e-transfers these days.
horseradishstalker | 17 hours ago
I’m guessing that they are expected to partake with clients or they dislike the line of work so much it’s the only way to get through the night/day. There’s a reason American drink.
The firearm isn’t for their intoxication, the firearm is for people who think that they can assault other people, even though it’s illegal and immoral. Given the their increased risk of violence due to the of their proximity to criminal activities such as drug trade and human trafficking I’d carry a gun also - intoxicated or not. If you would want to remain sober and be a victim, then you should do you.
simpleisideal | 16 hours ago
Depending on a gun for protection while you're intoxicated, regardless of the reasoning, is asking for a disaster.
Like another commenter said, either work where bouncers can safely escort you, or do digital work at home.
horseradishstalker | 16 hours ago
And as I commented elsewhere, maybe we should focus on doing something about the people who feel that they can assault, murder, and traffic other people simply because they consider them somehow “less” than they are. That way, nobody would feel the need to carry a gun for protection.
You mentioned digital work. There is a reason that has become popular amongst sex workers. It’s far safer. And in that we agree, but I think it misses the larger point.
It still does not address the societal problem of - primarily men - who think they can murder and assault other people with impunity. If sex workers and other people has mentioned in the article weren’t afraid that they would be harmed simply because of who they are they probably wouldn’t be forming gun clubs.
That’s the far larger problem.
CombinationRough8699 | 14 hours ago
Most of the people killing and raping sex workers are monsters that there's unfortunately not much to do about.
simpleisideal | 16 hours ago
> It still does not address the societal problem of - primarily men - who think they can murder and assault other people with impunity.
Those people probably grew up with absent or inept parents which made them into who they are. Good luck fixing that problem overnight.
In the meantime, the suggestions in the OP will likely do more harm than good, particularly to the people you supposedly care about.
horseradishstalker | 16 hours ago
I don’t think you have any idea how any of them grew up or rather, you are referencing a myth. Have you ever actually interviewed any? And I sincerely doubt that they care about their clients or men who think they can assault them and murder them. That seems a little far-fetched.
simpleisideal | 16 hours ago
> I don’t think you have any idea how any of them grew up or rather, you are referencing a myth.
The myth of verifiable statistics?
Do you think these people were just born with the "abuser gene" or something and need to be culled? Clearly they're a product of their environment, and psychologists agree the earliest years (which parents have the most control over) are most fundamental to healthy social development.
edit in response to your comment below: I never said anything about the sexworkers' childhoods.
horseradishstalker | 16 hours ago
I never said anything about the nurture/nature controversy. I never said anything about anybody being culled. That’s kind of random.
I specifically said that you personally do not personally have any idea what the majority of murderers or sex workers childhoods were like. Reading statistics and interacting IRL are generally separate things. And I say that having volunteered in the court system.
If you want to suggest that most people need to have healthy childhood, I’m with you. The problem is, they are being raised by humans. And they are being raised by humans under all kinds of conditions by people who themselves grow up under all kinds of different conditions.
At least your suggestion is a better solution than just simply saying “don’t drink and use gun” like that solves everything.
Ragingonanist | 12 hours ago
> I specifically said that you personally do not personally have any idea what the majority of murderers or sex workers childhoods were like
No you didn't. you mentioned men, then /u/simpleisideal said those people and you responded with some bullshit because you failed to realize you had changed the subject of the pronouns and didn't use any nouns of your own. when you aren't using nouns you aren't specifically saying anything. id rather simpleisadeal had stating their subject clearly rather than those people but at least they clarified a bit in their next response.
gprime312 | 10 hours ago
> maybe we should focus on doing something about the people who feel that they can assault, murder, and traffic other people simply because they consider them somehow “less” than they are.
Yes, why don't we simply get rid of crime. No one has ever thought of that.
ChornobylChili | 10 hours ago
That depends entirely on someones tolerance to alcohol. And plenty of people have engaged in successful shootouts on alcohol or worse. The main concern is how it can make someone overreact to someone and use easy readily available means of violence in a situation not requiring it
You should see how much some militaries drink while armed. I stayed sober on the zero line in Ukraine
simpleisideal | 9 hours ago
> That depends entirely on someones tolerance to alcohol.
Functional alcoholism isn't a valid excuse in the eyes of the law, which for vehicles/guns/etc is based on statistical human limits of alcohol tolerance.
ChornobylChili | 6 hours ago
If someone is in this situation they are already a criminal by being a hooker… I dont think they would care about this law either. Thats how criminals work
ChornobylChili | 10 hours ago
This 100%
Its an unpredictable line of work with unpredictable people I would imagine
Medical-Button-5493 | 20 hours ago
We all agree that crazy people should not have guns.
We also agree that alcohol and drugs cause diminished capacity, reactions and decision making. Also you can be made temporarily insane by anger or depression.
Handing out guns to people who work in bars and are expected to drink for professional reasons is going to cause bunches of suicides and 2nd degree murders.
Maybe go work at a legal brothel with a sober bouncer? Only fans?
lu5ty | 15 hours ago
Pretty much everywhere its against cc rules to be either drunk or at a bar with ur gun
horseradishstalker | 17 hours ago
You do have part of that right. The increase in suicides by gun among all women has skyrocketed in the last decade. It’s more efficient than sleeping pills because it can’t be walked back.
And as the article says, they aren’t the only ones arming themselves.
Maybe we should complain instead about men who believed that they can sex traffic, murder, and assault people they consider somehow inaccurately consider “lesser” than they are. victim blaming won’t solve that one.
Medical-Button-5493 | 15 hours ago
Ok but still get rid of guns because they are the main cause of death for kids.
DoxaOwl | 13 hours ago
What? Guns are no the main cause of kids in the USA, where did you get this information exactly?
Matt3k | 12 hours ago
It is a significant percentage. If you take out suicide, it is much lower, but still notable.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6637963/
Unfortunately "Homicide" doesn't get more granular than that, so we can't distinguish between assaults and robberies and gang related violence, which would be interesting data to have.
Medical-Button-5493 | 6 hours ago
There's no reason to exclude gang violence or suicide. Depressed kids and street kids deserve to live too.
DoxaOwl | 7 hours ago
>In 2016, children and adolescents (1 to 19 years of age)
Dude, 17 to 19 year olds arent kids. Like that is such a misleading statement. I sthis an america specific kid? If you are 17 and older where I am, you are an adult.
Medical-Button-5493 | 6 hours ago
https://www.cdc.gov/firearm-violence/php/research-summaries/children-and-teen-impacts
Ages 1-19 yep.
ImAnIdeaMan | 18 hours ago
> We all agree that crazy people should not have guns.
Oh, I wish everyone agreed with that. Or should I say, I wish the gun lovers would agree to do any single thing to try and keep crazy people from having guns, but they throw a fit every single time.
CombinationRough8699 | 13 hours ago
The problem is who gets to decide what's too "crazy" to own a gun? It wasn't very long ago that homosexuality was considered a mental illness. Beyond that, mental illness can generally only be diagnosed after a person actively seeks out treatment. If there's a risk of losing your ability to own guns, that's going to discourage a lot of people from seeking treatment.
skeptical-speculator | 18 hours ago
>We also agree that alcohol and drugs cause diminished capacity, reactions and decision making. Also you can be made temporarily insane by anger or depression.
Should we start revoking the right to vote based on these things?
Medical-Button-5493 | 18 hours ago
No those things are not equivalent in terms of acute danger to others or self.
horseradishstalker | 16 hours ago
“Should we start revoking the right to vote based on these things?”
That said I’m assuming that you are joking. I can’t imagine any other reason for suggesting that anger and depression should be a reason to call for a revocation of voting rights.
skeptical-speculator | 15 hours ago
>I can’t imagine any other reason for suggesting that anger and depression should be a reason to call for a revocation of voting rights.
I asked if they thought it was a good idea. I wasn't suggesting that I thought it was a good idea.
tepidlymundane | 16 hours ago
While I'm not a fan of American post-Heller gun culture and think it dangerously delusional (people buying actual killing tools with hypothetical situations in mind), I can be persuaded that it's ok for women.
They don't get into nearly as much trouble as men do with guns, and they are at a disadvantage in violent conflict. Arm the ladies.
CombinationRough8699 | 13 hours ago
I think it's interesting that post heller has been the safest era in American history as far as violent crime goes.
tepidlymundane | 13 hours ago
The politics on this were decided some years ago. Guns aren't going anywhere, and their political preservation is rock-solid.
My personal disappointment in listening to my gun-owning friends talk about their guns is the level of abstraction they retreat to. "Safety" in your example. "Self-defense." "Protection." Even "peace of mind."
These are all terms that can be covered by things that aren't guns. Guns, IIU ownership correctly, are things you point at things you intend to kill. So talking about guns should be talking about your parameters for killing.
We had no problems pre-Heller discussing the animals we'd kill. Post-Heller we speak in abstract, vague terms about tools with very specific purposes, instead of "This is for killing intruders inside." "This is for killing trespassers outside." "This is for killing kidnappers or rapists who bring violence to me as a woman."
Again, the laws are settled, a portion of the nation will remain highly armed and my opinion doesn't matter, politically. It's personal - I feel a sighing disappointment when a friend or acquaintance talks about their personal protection gun as some kind of burglar deterrent system instead of a burglar killing tool. They sound to me like someone who's brought home something momentous - heroin, an alligator, dynamite - and isn't really owning that choice.
I think a lot of gun sales are made that way, too - with soft language about vague things, to sell a very hard tool with a very specific purpose.
And that's all without looking at the ethics of putting yourself in charge of the lives of others. I have little confidence in the Solomonic ethical wisdom of those who feel comfortable judging life and death in chaotic moments by virtue of a consumer purchase and some trips to the range.
My $0.02.
bestdisguise | 15 hours ago
Until males stop raping and murdering women and young girls nothing will ever change. We will not become free until we stop harming women.