I was on my phone yesterday, aimlessly scrolling through TikTok, when I came across a video of a man quite avidly proclaiming that he would never date a girl with an OnlyFans. His reasoning, you might ask? He posited that sex workers “belong” to the community.
OnlyFans has quickly become one of the most popular platforms for niche entertainment and content subscription. It seems safe to say that we all know an OnlyFans content creator, directly or indirectly, whether it’s the fitness model you follow on Instagram or that one girl from your high school. However, it is easily visible on platforms like OF, that where there is support for creators, there is almost always controversy as well.
I spoke to an OnlyFans creator earlier today and got her views of online sex work. I had to learn for myself, as someone looking from the outside in, what the big deal was. Why is there such an ideological schism, by both men and women, when it comes to support for OF content and creators?
One feminist journalist and critic of OF called the platform a “sanitized version of prostitution”. She further cited that OnlyFans puts its creators in danger, subjecting them to possible content leaks and lack of privacy. However, Poshspxce, a female creator who joined OF in February of 2020, provided a glowing recount of her experience on the platform. She took time to explain some of her favorite aspects of being a creator, saying that it “introduced [her] to some really cool souls and directly let [her] tap into a lot of interests that [she] didn’t know she had,” as well as gaining an introduction to other interesting communities both on and offline. She also explained the level of freedom that she feels as a creator, the ability to “create whatever [she feels] like, and getting to do it in [her] underwear.”
Although there are many critics out on the web, Poshspxce explained that both her subscribers and her community of fellow creators, which she described as having “girls-supporting-girls energy,” have allowed her to keep positive when she feels down.
While OnlyFans is most well-known for its sexually explicit content, that is not all that the platform has to offer. Poshspxce explained that niches on the site allow individuals to independently support creators, whether they be musical artists, film creators, or even family-friendly content. Therefore, the stigma that the platform is exclusively a center for sexual depravity and explicit content is wrought in misinformation.
Now, let’s introduce porn into the equation. The phrase, “GIRLS WITH ONLYFANS ARE PORNSTARS FROM WISH.COM,” has become an incredibly popular print on face-masks and t-shirts sold through online boutiques. Likening content creators on OnlyFans to pornstars on sites like Brazzers and Pornhub is not a newfound criticism. However, when I asked Poshspxce about her thoughts on popular free porn websites versus premium subscriptions on Onlyfans, she enthusiastically shared, “If Pornhub is Amazon, OnlyFans is Etsy.” She offered even further that she believes large pornography corporations are not doing their part in preventing “non-consensual, abusive, and/or content involving minors.” In this way, OnlyFans has been empowering its consumers and its creators, allowing specific boundaries and rates to be set, and minimizing exploitation.
Online sex work is a relatively new profession, and consequently, there remains immense controversy and confusion over people’s surrounding beliefs. Although milling through misinformation regarding OF content and creators may be tedious, it is imperative to forming a well-versed opinion.
