Doxy Magazine Advocates For The Working Girl

Tell me about the inception of the magazine, why did you want to start it? 

Maxine: Celina and I are both from South Florida, but we didn’t meet each other until 2022 in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We were introduced through Celina’s roommate at the time, and once Celina found out I was a designer she asked if I’d be interested in helping her with a personal project. Her concept was clear from the start: a magazine about sex work, told from the sex worker’s perspective. Immediately, I was all in. In February 2023 I was working at a big corporate brand, designing ads and marketing materials all day. It paid my bills at the time, but creatively I felt like I was slowly dissolving into an abyss of one colour palette and three fonts.

I was craving a project that I could learn from, something that felt meaningful, and something that would actually uplift a community rather than flatten it into a marketing angle. Once we started hanging out more, the momentum kept building. We posted a call for submissions on Instagram, and Celina began reaching out to people she wanted to interview, photograph, or feature. When Celina landed on the name Doxy, I designed the logo, which set the tone for everything after. It was this early confirmation of how well we bounce off each other creatively, and how much we trust each other’s vision, that’s kept us going.

Celina: Well, I’ve been a sex worker for nearly a decade now, and that comes with a heavy degree of stigma. I have known since I was a ‘baby’ stripper in 2017 that I wanted to give other sex workers something that I never had when I first started, which was a sense of community within our line of work. Not having a tangible community when you have a job that is so heavily stigmatised is incredibly isolating. With Doxy, I knew that I could build the community I was so desperate for, as well as educating outsiders in an effort to reduce or alter the stigma around sex work. 

How was it to put that first issue together? How has the magazine evolved for the second issue?

Maxine: Putting Issue 01 together was like building a plane while flying it. Neither of us had experience producing a magazine from scratch, so we were learning everything in real time: production, organisation, event planning, coordinating with contributors and vendors, all while trying to make something that felt genuinely insightful and professional. It was intense, stressful, messy, and definitely nerve-wracking at times, but we somehow managed to pull it off within a few months. That summer we threw a small release party in lower manhattan, and the turn out was way better than we expected. I had never poured so much of myself into something that would be printed, sold, and shipped all over the world for people to hold and read. Designing printed media means a different kind of vulnerability. Celina’s trust, and the response from the public, felt transformative. It reminded me why I wanted to make things in the first place.

For Issue 02, Celina had a very specific aesthetic vision and things moved very quickly. She was conducting five or six interviews all within just a few weeks, while travelling and working nonstop. Once the interviews and photo shoots started coming together, I started the design process too. Celina and I bounced visual ideas and references off each other until everything felt cohesive. Structurally, Issue 02 is split into two halves. One half is photography, artwork, writing, and ads, and the other half is interviews paired with their images. Compared to the first issue, the design feels more typographic, minimal, and cerebral. It’s intentionally nostalgic and more photography forward. It still feels like Doxy, just calmer and sharper.

Celina: I grew up in the hardcore and punk scene and that community is built entirely on DIY, and zine culture plays a large role. I had read and created enough DIY feminist zines when I was 18 that I thought I knew everything about what goes into creating a publication. In reality, though, there’s so much more that goes into making a magazine. Every issue teaches me more, and I also keep in mind that we can do things at our own pace. I think the second issue feels more put together and definitely a lot more connected to sex workers on a global scale. We had such a positive response after the first issue that I was able to really expand when it came to the individuals we featured. The first issue definitely laid the foundation of Doxy, and establishing a following and a small community after just one issue really enabled the second issue to flourish. 

What surprised you when you were putting this issue together?

Celina: I think something that surprised me is just how much I ended up really adoring practically everyone we featured, almost everyone featured in the last issue has become someone that I now consider a good friend. We all connected really well, and we continue to work together in a multitude of ways, all with the broad goal of improving the lives of sex workers. In a more practical sense, I would say I was pretty surprised by everything that goes into creating a quality photoshoot. You need set designers, stylists, proper lighting, and having to set up all of those things was shocking and exhausting!

Maxine: I think the most unexpected part of Issue 02 was what came after its release. Our follower count on Instagram tripled and so many creative people reached out from all over the world asking to work with us in some kind of way. We had to spend hours going through messages and emails and it was surprising to see how much exposure we gained from people wearing our merch too. It makes me so happy to spot people repping Doxy out in public.

Doxy seeks to shed new light on the world of sex work, and platform the voices that often go unheard. Do you think a magazine gives a unique way to platform different perspectives?

Celina: I think so. A print magazine feels immune to censorship, which is a critical issue that sex workers continue to face. More than that, physical print media feels particularly important when I think about Doxy’s impact long-term. Sex work is the oldest profession. I’d like to think that at least 15 years from now there will be a woman who is new to sex work, who stumbles upon an old issue of Doxy in a vintage bookstore and it guides her, entertains her, fascinates her, and more.

Maxine: Yes, it’s way harder to censor media that is printed and shared through an independently driven source. We are so grateful for Antenne and all the independent book stores who have reached out to carry Doxy Issue 01 and 02.

Celina’s note in this issue ends, “This issue is an ode to the community.” How has it been to create a space for community, and to foster connections with other sex workers?

Celina:  It’s been the most beautiful and inspiring experience. Sex work is not an easy job no matter what field of sex work you work in. Just like any other job it is a profession that will always have its grievances. Therefore, establishing a supportive community – one that provides a safe space to vent, build connections, and give assistance in terms of mutual aid – feels more important now than ever. 

How do you navigate giving a nuanced view of sex work, a realm around which there is so much discourse, and so many preconceptions?

Celina: I feel as though my extensive experience as a sex worker continues to give me a deep perspective into all the discourse surrounding sex work and sex culture. Nothing has ever felt black and white for me, my nuanced view comes naturally. 

Maxine:  The vast majority of people who are not sex workers have formed their understanding of the industry from the outside looking in. This is a perspective which barely scratches the surface, and is inherently skewed. Our priority has always been to amplify each sex worker’s perspective and experience, over anything else.