While everyone is discussing Clubhouse, we decided to talk about OnlyFans.
The main social network on the planet this week is Clubhouse, but there is another platform that has made about as much noise. This is OnlyFans, where you can legally make adult content and get paid for it. The media write that OnlyFans has revolutionized the sex industry, and we tried to figure out what it is and what dangers are associated with the sale of nude photographs.
What is OnlyFans?
A social network that operates on a subscription basis: users pay money for content. The platform launched in 2016 in the UK, but became popular around the world during the pandemic.
In fact, OnlyFans is one of the same platforms as TikTok or Instagram. Here you can also post photos, write posts, shoot humorous videos, make audio content, or create an account for your favorite cat. But, unlike other similar platforms, content on OnlyFans is monetized. With the OnlyFans Finder, you can search for OnlyFans accounts.
The account owner himself sets the amount that users will pay him. At the same time, 20% of the profits go to the platform. In addition, here you can receive tips from subscribers, create separate paid posts, or even create custom content.
There is also no censorship or ban on nudity on the platform: you can easily post your topless photo and not be afraid that it will be blocked.
Despite the fact that OnlyFans positions itself as a platform for everyone – musicians, chefs, fitness trainers, artists, bloggers and photographers – adult content is still popular here. Therefore, throughout the world, OnlyFans is associated with a social network in which sex workers sell nude photographs.
Who registers there and why?
The platform made a real boom during the pandemic, when people were sitting at home, and many of them lost their stable income.
The New York Times didali a great article in which they talked about the most popular OnlyFans bloggers. And among them there are people who do not post explicit photos and videos. For example, Jem Wolfie is a former athlete and chef. She has the status of a “fitness model” on the platform, but she admits that 70% of the audience are men who like her curves.
There are also men among the OnlyFans stars, for example, model Matthew Camp, who earns more than ten thousand dollars every month thanks to the platform.
Still, female models, such as Danni Harwood, are more popular here. Danni is a British model and one of the highest paid OnlyFans stars. She makes adult content and fulfills the fantasies of users, most of whom are men.
Moreover, Harwood is in correspondence with regular users: she knows the names of their pets, can wish them a happy birthday or even call them after surgery.
This is the answer to the question of why people are willing to pay for content that is, in principle, publicly available on the Internet. It’s all about direct contact: users get the feeling that they are not just looking at some abstract, inaccessible model, but in front of them is a living person with whom they can talk.
Another star of the site Monica Haldt tellingthe hall to the Insider edition that in order for subscribers to see it features a real girl who might live next door; she tries to post the most natural photographs without any editing and with a minimum of makeup.
What is the danger of the platform?
The BBC has released a documentary “#Nudes4Sale” about what really lies behind selling nude photographs.
Minors Content
Most models use assistive social networks to promote their OnlyFans account. For example, Twitter or Snapchat. The authors of the film studied the “enticing” posts and found that among the people who create content for the platform, there are often minors.
For example, 17-year-old Hannah from Scotland actively sold her nude photos on OnlyFans, using a fake ID (personal identification) – this could be a passport, a driver’s license, or any other identification document. After some time, complaints were received about the account and it was blocked, but the girl created a new one.
Due to the large number of minors and the appeal of the author of the film, OnlyFans has tightened the registration rules – now you need not only to attach a photo of the document, but also a photo of yourself with the document in your hands.
Exploitation of women in difficult life situations
The authors of the film accused the social network of exploiting women who find themselves in difficult life situations: they are forced to sell photographs to pay for the roof over their heads.
Like, for example, 20-year-old Sasha. When she was 15 years old, she sold nude photos of herself through Snapchat. When one of the photos was leaked online, her parents couldn’t accept it and kicked her out of the house. For some time, the girl wandered in search of housing and was literally homeless. Now OnlyFans helps her earn money for a living.
Unprotected position
Girls selling photos on OnlyFans are in a vulnerable position. They are subject to bullying, shaming, de-anonymization and stalking. One of the heroines said that she periodically receives messages that she is disgracing her family. But for her, publishing on OnlyFans is a feeling of freedom and celebration of the female body.
Why do public figures register there?
Stars also add popularity to the site. For example, in August 2020, Cardi B announced on her Instagram* that she had joined OnlyFans and would use the network as another platform to communicate with fans, posting behind-the-scenes videos and photo shoots and more personal content.
From foreign celebrities, Tyler Posey (star of the TV series “Teen Wolf”), Aaron Carter, stars of the reality show “Real Housewives” Sonja Morgan and Dorinda Madeley and even Michael B. Jordan: he also joined OnlyFans promisedl to put my beard there and give the proceeds to charity.
The biggest scandal was the registration of American actress Bella Thorne (former Disney star) on the platform. She also posts some pretty innocent content, but she still managed to earn a record amount.
Bella caused a flurry of protests from sex workers who accusedor her of she destroyed the platform and, unlike the other girls, is in a safer position and cannot understand all the risks they face.
As a result, Bella apologized on her Twitter, writesav, that in this way she wanted to “destigmatize sex, sex work and other negativity around the word “sex.”
