Renee Olstead explores the importance of nuance in sex worker media representation in her new feature “Next on Stage: Anora” for Penthouse Magazine.

The Penthouse Pet and frequent Penthouse contributor, Renee Olstead, examines the moving parts of Sean Baker’s new groundbreaking film, which won the prestigious Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, through interviews with sex workers Luna Sophia Miranda, Lindsey Normington and Sophia Carnabuci who are featured prominently in the Anora cast.

“While there’s no shortage of sex workers in modern media, few filmmakers – whether for lack of interest, apathy, or oversight – have made a real effort to ‘get it right’. Sean Baker, a vocal supporter of the full decriminalization of sex work, is a rare exception,” she writes in the article.

She notes that Anora continues Baker’s signature approach to storytelling, which often centers the lives and stories of sex workers. Known for films like Red Rocket, Tangerine, and The Florida Project, Baker has long been an advocate for more nuanced and humanizing portrayals of sex workers in his work, and emphasizes Baker’s impressive collaborative effort in shaping Anora.

“The sex workers depicted in Baker’s films frequently challenge the one-dimensional tropes commonly seen on screen, portraying sex workers as human instead of sterile avatars of vice or virtue. In making Anora, Baker, alongside his wife, producer Samantha Quan, committed to a collaborative effort with members of the sex work community, consulting and casting sex workers in a process Quan described as crucial to the film’s evolution.”

Olstead also makes note of Baker’s inspiring acceptance speech at Cannes: “Accepting the award from famed filmmaker George Lucas, Baker dedicated the award to sex workers ‘of the past, present, and future’, and expressed a wish that films like Anora might help end stigma against sex work and make the world a safer place for sex workers.”

Anora opened in select theaters October 18th, and fans can learn more the film and Sean Baker via X.

• You can follow Renee Olstead on Twitter (X) @Renee_Olstead.
• You can follow Sean Baker on Twitter (X) @Lilfilm.
• You can follow Penthouse on Twitter (X) @Penthouse.