Talking Healing, Pleasure and Queer Fluidity with Charlie L’Strange
Charlie is a non-binary (He/They), Afro-Caribbean psychic medium, reiki healer and pleasure activist based in Brooklyn, New York. Charlie is a sex educator, sex worker and Black Trans advocate who contributes to the community through spiritual work.
Charlie is a Nichiren Buddhist who conducts healing workshops based on the principles of reiki, pleasure and the transmutation of energy. Their workshops also focus on healing trauma, especially for queer and trans individuals and those impacted by abuse and racism. Charlie’s services are free for BIPOC individuals. In these volatile times, Charlie’s work is essential to the wellbeing and mental health of individuals.
Charlie’s power, passion and dedication to healing pain are highly inspiring. I sat down with Charlie L’Strange to talk about the power of healing, the importance of pleasure and the boundlessness of identity.
Describe yourself in 4 words
Powerful, Eccentric, Curious, Erotic.
How do you keep and protect your peace with the BLM protests and the issues of racial tensions, phobias and social unrest?
It’s been really hard on my heart. I encourage myself to rest when it is needed, and I try to lean into my healing work. I am still running community workshops by utilizing my own practice. I contribute by practicing reiki and offering services and access, especially to Black people and trans people. Encouraging the healing of others helps me find peace and healing within myself.
How has your spiritually played into your work as sex/ intimacy worker?
I am a Nichiren Buddhist. I practice connection through reiki; I believe in viewing the self as a source of energy and honoring that in someone else. Faith, practice and study are my three pillars of self-practice.
In order to be a source of your own healing, you have to study and understand that the support of the community is a huge part of it. You can make choices based on your pleasure, understand what it means for your self-esteem and experience. Understanding yourself and how you function as an energy source is an essential part of this. The transmutation of energy is an essential aspect of exploring consent and building an atmosphere of trust. This is the foundation of kink, understanding your boundaries and creating a space where you can explore sane, safe and consensual pleasure.
What other projects are you involved in?
As a reiki healer and practitioner, and psychic medium, I utilize my intuition to help and guide people along their journeys. As a medium, I connect with people who have passed away. I also engage in healing ancestry work ( This service is free for BIPOC individuals).
I run several workshops; Sex As Healing workshop, Healing Starts Here workshop for survivors of child abuse and the Wellness Workshop. I also facilitate a sensual and guided meditation for those over 18+.
How has your journey and experience as a Trans person shaped you and your identity?
That journey started before I was even aware that it was happening. As a little kid, I wanted to be a daddy rather than a mommy. At the time, I didn’t know how to articulate those feelings. I wanted to be a jock, be muscular and be seen as aggressive and powerful, to be seen in terms of masculinity. However, I realized that aggression is not necessarily associated with masculinity.
I identify with queer fluidity; Sex work and kink is an expression of this fluidity. This work and these processes have happened alongside navigating sexual abuse and trauma. Reclaiming your body, paying attention to bodily discomfort and not allowing anyone to take that away from you is so essential, especially when it comes to men. Sex workers, especially women, should not be treated as commodities but should be appreciated and paid for the work that we do.
I know how painful it is to pretend to be someone else. People like me keep our identities secret for so long that it is often ugly and difficult. Being viewed as a woman was always ill-fitting for me. While transitioning, I put a pause on sex work due to fears surrounding my safety. My body parts changed, and as a trans individual, there is a real fear of being killed due to ignorance, confusion and hate.
I enjoy being myself; boundlessness and fluidity are huge essential aspects of my identity. My identity is Masc centered, but because of the fluidity, this allows me to be femme without being female. I love putting on makeup and being masculine at the same time.
What do you wish to do and see for yourself in the long term?
I wanna see sex workers protected; I want to see more Masc centered people supported in sex work without having to jeopardize their identity for money. Personally, I would love to conduct my workshops worldwide. As a Black trans person, I want to see health and wellness include Black people and gender variant individuals. I want to have the funds to be able to offer more free services to BIPOC individuals. I know I will get there. It’s mine to claim.
To support Charlie L’Strange, please follow and donate here and here.