Is OnlyFans Better Than Pornhub? The Sex Work Revolution
Using a lens of social justice and entrepreneurship, this research project bravely examines sex workers’ journey toward self-liberation through the use of disruptive emerging technologies.
I had the honor of serving as mentor to Josh Hee for this research project. Rather than a traditional research presentation, Josh flexed his creativity and social media content creation skills and crafted a doc-style video. Check out the abstract and video presentation below!
ABSTRACT
Sex work is historically stigmatized. Past scholars have looked at how technology increases access to the sex industry for both sex workers and consumers (e.g., Craigstlist escorts, adult content streaming). However, increased online accessibility may have only exacerbated the toxicity and abuse present in the male-dominated industry.
In recent years, OnlyFans, an online content subscription site, has exploded in popularity as more celebrities join the platform such as Cardi B, Bella Thorne, and Amber Rose.
Drawing from past research on sex work in the social media era, I argue that OnlyFans is a disruptive platform that not only uniquely empowers sex workers in the creation and distribution of adult content, but also that it mainstreams and destigmatizes sex work.
The present research reports 10 structured interviews with female OnlyFans creators.
Three primary themes arise in the data: 1) Identity Management (e.g., on-camera vs. off-camera identities); 2) Business Management (e.g., learning the hard lessons of entrepreneurship and self-employment); and 3) Stigma Management (e.g., the rationale used to navigate the moral questions inherent in this space).
Important sub-themes include capitalizing on sexuality as feminist re-matriation of the female body, economic validation in the marketplace, as well as positive consumer support of the shift in power from larger brands to individual creators.
Taken together, the results imply that OnlyFans is playing a critical role in the contemporary sex-positive feminist movement and disrupting an industry historically fraught with abuse.
