Persephone's (Gothic) Insights
The horror blog about metal, videogames, and sex.

Returning to Short-Form Content: Supporting My Future Work on Patreon

I'm returning to short-form content, which you can support on Patreon! Said content includes pin-up art and educational essays, both made support the rights of sex workers, trans people, and other minorities. Here's a copy-paste of the announcement post, originally from my Patreon account:

 

(artist: Persephone van der Waard)

 

Hi, everyone! Now that my book series on Gothic Communism is finished, I'm getting back into making short-form content. Part of the same basic trend, said content revolves around my political voice—chiefly one of a trans, an-Com sex worker* whose anti-fascist political activism includes standing up for sex workers and/or trans people, but also a variety of other groups; i.e., that reactionaries (and their moderate allies) historically target and abuse, under Capitalism; e.g., Indigenous and queer actor, Jonathan Joss, who I covered recently by writing about Joss' murder at the hands of a Texan bigot targeting Joss' trans husband. Sex workers and trans people are historically treated like monsters by the state, whose police behaviors Gothic Communism helps counteract; i.e., by subverting the same basic process (of abjection; re: Kristeva) in reverse. In short, my art and essays reverse abjection, punching up against state abuse in all its forms.

*Basic details about me (from my YouTube channel description): "MtF trans woman, they/them or she/her, poly/demi-pan, 39; anti-fash and BDSM author/Gothic Communist, sex worker, indie researcher/PhD in Gothic poetics and ludo-Gothic BDSM (who specializes partly in Metroidvania), erotic artist/pornographic historian and invigilator" (source).

Even so, while I do sex work elsewhere, my Patreon content only features illustrations (above) and educational essays that are safe for Patreon. Regarding either, I also work with other marginalized peoples that include sex workers in a larger polity. The content I make/feature on Patreon will stand up for their rights and mine; i.e., through pin-up art and written essays, both having SFW and NSFW versions; e.g., my essays will appear on my website in NSFW form, and on my blog and YouTube channel in SFW form. While my content will always be free to the public, supporting me financially on Patreon goes towards making said content—with as little as $1 a month making a tremendous difference (with higher tiers offering various extra rewards). Also, though considerably more expensive, you can commission me for custom illustrations (the rates for written commissions [essays or otherwise] are on my website, which you can access through the SFW promo, below).

Here are several essays written in June 2025, meaning after my book series concluded; i.e., the quality and kind of which you can expect when subscribing on here:

To know who you're supporting when you subscribe, here's my larger body of work (re: Gothic Communism): I'm a self-published author and trans sex worker who works with other sex workers (of different kinds and walks of life) to push for universal liberation under Capitalism; i.e., through an artistic political movement I call "Gothic (gay-anarcho) Communism," and one attached to a six-book series I recently finished called Sex Positivity versus Sex Coercion, or Gothic Communism: Liberating Sex Work under Capitalism through Iconoclastic Art (2023, though it started back in 2022).

 

(artist: Persephone van der Waard)

 

Regarding Gothic Communism, here are various SFW links attached to the project:

To conclude, I conceived Gothic Communism to push collectively for universal, not partial liberation; i.e., breaking Capitalist Realism (and the mechanisms of the state's Omelas refrain) while camping the more problematic elements of Marxism and its past (see: series promo for the longer abstract, above); e.g., Marx' homophobia (also above). There's a lot of moving parts and people involved—nearly a hundred (~70 of them sex workers, above), if you don't include YouTube creators, filmmakers, and videogame designers; i.e., my process is a holistic one, deliberately combining an-Com Marxism, intersectional gender studies, Gothic theory and ludology (the study of games) into a single approach: to imagine a better world by synthesizing praxis on a daily level.

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My name's Persephone van der Waard; I have my MA in Gothic English literature and independent PhD in Gothic poetics and ludo-Gothic BDSM (focusing partially on Metroidvania), and I am the author of the multi-volume, non-profit book series, Sex Positivity vs Sex Coercion, or Gothic Communism—its art director, sole invigilator, illustrator and primary editor (the other co-writer/co-editor being Bay Ryan). A rape survivor/granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor and Dutch Resistance member—and someone anti-war (as a business), anti-Zionist and anti-racist/anti-white-supremacist who specializes in tokenism (e.g., TERFs, SWERFs, and fascist feminism)—I'm a MtF trans woman, Tolkien and Amazon enthusiast, former YouTuber, anti-fascist, loud critic of Marxist-Leninism/state vampirism, atheist and Satanist, poly/pan kinkster with multiple partners, erotic artist/pornographer and anarcho-Communist; i.e., under my brand of Gothic (gay-anarcho) Communism as a holistic, intersectional discipline: one devised in 2022-2023, and which my friends and I currently achieve together. / Originally this blog explored my love of movies when I was cis-het; now I use it to write about the Gothic—horror, but also sex, heavy metal, and videogames in a queer way (especially Metroidvania).

I take donations for my work (which goes towards helping sex workers, trans people and other minorities). I currently take payment on PayPal, Patreon, and CashApp, etc; all links are available on my Linktr.ee. Every bit helps!

Regarding Formatting Issues for Blogposts (Older than October 2025): Recently Josey Howarth helped transfer my old blog from Blogger to WordPress, which—while vital for security reasons—altered their formatting. On a phone screen, the posts are mostly readable, but look slightly "jank" on computer screens. Many also contain outdated "About the Author" sections—meaning inside the posts-in-question, alongside the blog website "footer" (as added by Josey after the transfer). Such things are temporary. Eventually we plan to overhaul their visual design, remodeling my blog and website (thus fixing the issues in the question)!

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