Monty the Monster Slayer

Host AM Davies welcomes artist and sex worker, Stephanie "Monty" Montgomery, to discuss the billboard she hand-painted after surviving workplace assault and being failed by club management and police. Monty traces how rage transformed her art from carefully marketable work into a weapon for public accountability, guided by the mantra “vengeance for me, justice for them.” Their conversation moves through childhood grief, forced positivity, Los Angeles grime, Texas conservatism, and the exhausting work of unlearning systems built on patriarchy and control. Monty also shares how her story became the animated short Monster Slayer, which has screened at 18 festivals and connected with survivors through their shared experiences of violence. She explains why sex work never makes someone responsible for assault and previews her companion art book, created to document the film’s illustrations and creative process.   All the Links: Monty’s Instagram https://instagram.com/montymonsterslayer Donate to our work https://yaswork.org/donate/ YAS Work Instagram https://instagram.com/yasworkorg YAS Work BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/yaswork.bsky.social YAS Work Twitter https://x.com/YASWorkOrg YAS Work Youtube https://youtube.com/@YASWorkOrg YASStore.Shop https://yasstore.shop   All the Chapters: 00:00 - Violence and Solidarity 01:26 - Introduce Monty 04:49 - The Billboard 13:36 - Artist Background 16:17 - Mental Health 19:04 - Life in Los Angeles 22:10 - Texas Culture 24:25 - The End of Conservatism 25:57 - Me Too 31:10 -  Unlearning 39:04 - Monster Slayer Film 45:32 - Reception 49:45 - Where to Find Monty