Queer Aesthetics & Intimacy in Technical Communication: Destigmatizing Sex Work Through Zines

Zine scholarship in technical communication does not often engage with aesthetics. This article argues that Yapp's queer aesthetics can be used in technical communication to shift perspectives. Through an analysis of the zine ProMomme: A Sex Worker's Guide to Parenting, I argue that queer aesthetics is used to bridge the gap between a societal impulse to consider sex work aberrant and the need for destigmatization by engaging a “traditional” vintage aesthetic with queer/stigmatized images to teach others how to talk about sex work. This juxtaposition helps create an intimacy and queer aesthetic that challenges dominant narratives that cause stigmatization, oppression, and violence against sex workers.