The Woodhull Freedom Foundation is a left-of-center advocacy group with a primary focus on promoting permissive socially liberal stances related to sex. In addition, the group advocated for left-of-center stances on other issues related to the economy and race. ¹

The group advocated for legalizing prostitution and other forms of sex work. ² It has also supported repealing laws that criminalize the knowing spread of HIV, claiming those laws led to the prosecution or punishment of HIV-positive people due to their health status. ³

In 2023, the group signed a letter organized by the LGBT-interest group Human Rights Campaign which demanded that Target put removed Pride merchandise back on display. ⁴

Background

Mary Frances Berry, Melinda Chateauvert, Richard Cunningham, Judy Guerin, Ricci Levy, Jeffrey Montgomery, and Eric Rofes founded the Woodhull Freedom Foundation in 2003 and named the group after 19^th-century feminist Victoria Woodhull. ⁵

The group advocates for freedom in sexual behavior and declared September 23^rd, which was Victoria Woodhull’s birthday, Sexual Freedom Day. ⁶

The group hosts an annual Sexual Freedom Summit, which hosted discussions related to sexual health and other sexual issues. ⁷

Political and Cultural Stances

Legalizing Sex Work

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation advocated for the legalization of prostitution and other forms of sex work. In a letter to the New York Times, its executive director claimed that laws criminalizing sex work disproportionately affect LGBT people, non-whites, and migrants. It also claimed banning sex work harmed the health of sex workers and promoted sex trafficking. ⁸

Opposition To Laws Against Spreading HIV

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation opposed laws that criminalize the deliberate spreading of HIV. It claimed in a blog post the laws that many states have in place discourage testing for HIV and punish people for their health status. It also claimed that with PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) medications that it is impossible to spread HIV if the HIV viral load is low enough to be undetectable. ⁹

FOSTA Litigation

In 2018, Congress passed the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act or FOSTA. The Woodhull Freedom Foundation joined with Human Rights Watch, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive, a massage therapist, and a sex worker advocate and sued the U.S. government. The lawsuit alleged the law silenced online speech by muzzling internet users and forced online platforms to censor their users. ¹⁰

In March 2022, the district court dismissed the lawsuit and the plaintiffs appealed in September 2022. In July 2023, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found FOSTA to be constitutional but ordered a narrow interpretation of the law. ¹¹

OnlyFans

In August 2021, the internet platform OnlyFans announced that it would restrict pornography on the site but reversed its decision after outcry from sex workers. The Woodhull Freedom Foundation denounced OnlyFans’ initial plan to ban porn on its site as restricting the freedom of anyone who wanted post or view sexually explicit content. ¹²

In May 2022, OnlyFans pledged to financially support the Woodhull Freedom Foundation with an undisclosed amount. ¹³

Panel On Super Bowl Sex Trafficking

In February 2022, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation hosted an online panel about what it called the myths about sex trafficking at the Super Bowl. It claimed that consensual sex work was conflated with sex trafficking and that claims of trafficking makes sex workers more vulnerable to exploitation. ¹⁴

Target Pride Merchandise Controversy

In June 2023, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation joined over 200 groups in an open letter written by the LGBT interest group Human Rights Campaign that demanded Target put Pride merchandise that had been relocated or removed amid complaints from customers and social conservatives back on the shelves. ¹⁵

Target removed Pride merchandise made by the brand Abprallen and designed by Erik Carnell. Carnell faced social media backlash for designing products with Satanic imagery such as pentagrams and horned skulls. Target also reviewed transgender swimsuits and children’s merchandise. ¹⁶

The open letter demanded Target release a public statement within 24 hours reaffirming its support of the LGBT community, put all Pride merchandise back on the sales floor and online in full, and ensure the safety of employees. The letter alleged, without evidence, that extremist groups organized the backlash against Target and Anheuser-Busch. ¹⁷

Leadership

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation president and CEO is Ricci Levy. ¹⁸

Finances

As of the 2021 tax return, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation reported $274,231 in revenue, $222,185 in expenses, and $295,796 in assets. ¹⁹

1. “Our Issues.” Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/our-issues/.
2. “Letter to the Editor of the NY Times Re: ‘What It Means to Call Prostitution Sex Work’ by Pamela Paul.” Woodhull Freedom Foundation, September 6, 2023. https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/nytimes-sex-work/.
3. Joseph, Tess. “Criminalizing HIV.” Woodhull Freedom Foundation, October 7, 2022. https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/12239-2/.
4. “Breaking: Over 200 LGBTQ+ and Allied Organizations Call on Target, Business Community to Speak out against Extremist Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks.” Human Rights Campaign, June 5, 2023. https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/breaking-over-200-lgbtq-and-allied-organizations-call-on-target-business-community-to-speak-out-against-extremist-anti-lgbtq-attacks.
5. “Mission, Vision & Information.” Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/about-us/mission-vision-information/.
6. ^[1]“Mission, Vision & Information.” Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/about-us/mission-vision-information/.
7. “Mission, Vision & Information.” Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/about-us/mission-vision-information/.
8. ^[1]“Letter to the Editor of the NY Times Re: ‘What It Means to Call Prostitution Sex Work’ by Pamela Paul.” Woodhull Freedom Foundation, September 6, 2023. https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/nytimes-sex-work/.
9. Joseph, Tess. “Criminalizing HIV.” Woodhull Freedom Foundation, October 7, 2022. https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/12239-2/.
10. “Woodhull Freedom Foundation et al. v. United States.” Electronic Frontier Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.eff.org/cases/woodhull-freedom-foundation-et-al-v-united-states.
11. McNeill, Zane. “Appeals Court Upholds Law That ‘Conflates All Sex Work with Trafficking.’” Truthout, July 10, 2023. https://truthout.org/articles/law-that-made-sex-work-industry-more-dangerous-upheld-in-court/.
12. Turner, Gustavo. “Woodhull Freedom Foundation Denounces Anti-Porn Campaign.” XBIZ, August 30, 2021. https://www.xbiz.com/news/261373/woodhull-freedom-foundation-denounces-anti-porn-campaign.
13. Factora, James. “Onlyfans Is Finally Showing Some Political Support for Sex Work.” Them, May 24, 2022. https://www.them.us/story/onlyfans-finally-shows-political-support-for-sex-work.
14. “Woodhull Freedom Foundation to Host ‘sex Trafficking at the Super Bowl’ Panel.” Fleshbot, January 18, 2022. https://fleshbot.com/biz/post/woodhull-freedom-foundation-to-host-sex-trafficking-at-the-super-bowl-panel/.
15. “Breaking: Over 200 LGBTQ+ and Allied Organizations Call on Target, Business Community to Speak out against Extremist Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks.” Human Rights Campaign, June 5, 2023. https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/breaking-over-200-lgbtq-and-allied-organizations-call-on-target-business-community-to-speak-out-against-extremist-anti-lgbtq-attacks.
16. Cavale, Siddharth. “Target Removing Some LGBTQ Merchandise Following Customer Backlash.” Reuters, May 24, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/target-remove-some-lbgtq-merchandise-after-facing-customer-backlash-2023-05-23/.
17. ^[1] “Breaking: Over 200 LGBTQ+ and Allied Organizations Call on Target, Business Community to Speak out against Extremist Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks.” Human Rights Campaign, June 5, 2023. https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/breaking-over-200-lgbtq-and-allied-organizations-call-on-target-business-community-to-speak-out-against-extremist-anti-lgbtq-attacks.
18. “Ricci Joy Levy.” Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.woodhullfoundation.org/team/ricci-joy-levy/.
19. “Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/113681116/202203139349301515/full