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Umar Shahzad-23020308

Does Onlyfans Empower or Exploit Young Creators?

Onlyfans is the Youtube of XXX-Content Creators who create almost soft-porn content to get a following and earn through monthly subscriptions to their exclusive content. This exclusive content includes almost-naked pictures or videos of them performing sexual acts individually or with a partner. The subscription cost varies from $4.99 to $49.99 monthly. Creators can also set up tips or paid private messages at a minimum of $5. Paid tips and personal messages can boost earnings and help creators engage their fans and build a loyal following.


Miss Swedish Bella is one of the top-earning creators on Onlyfans, even though she has a monthly subscription set to $6.5. She makes the bulk of her money through commissioned work via private messages. Business Insider reported that she earned around $100,000 monthly through her subscribers. However, she has to constantly make content seven days a week to maintain her level of earnings. She is quoted as saying,


"I would never advise someone doing it if they only wanted to do it like two days a week or something. It's not a part-time thing in your mind. You wouldn't make enough money."


This is a concern voiced by many sex workers in the industry since it is important to build a large following and audience to maintain the subscription counts. Moreover, it is also important to consistently produce content to turn a huge profit in their business.



However, Onlyfans is also a source of financial freedom for most sex workers and content creators, especially porn stars, who can have greater freedom and control over their content than a traditional production house.


Bhad Babie, or the Cash Me Outside Girl broke the internet when she earned $1,000,000 in subscriptions in only 6 hours of creating an account. Bhad Bhabie charges $23.99 per month for access to photos and videos on her OnlyFans page. Subscribers also are promised the ability to “direct message with this user.




However, it is not only rainbows and butterflies for content creators. Many of these creators state difficult working conditions and a low likelihood of success in the field. The average content creator has to gain subscribers gradually, constantly producing content whilst following up with anyone who engages with their work. As a result, content creators report that the rewards do not always match the time and effort spent – particularly during financial difficulties like the coronavirus pandemic. However, the most successful followers are celebrities and have a built-in following on Instagram and Snapchat, which they leverage to their OnlyFans.


Moreover, models also experience Low Self Worth as they place too much value on the perception of others, primarily males. One creator was quoted as saying,


“I started to hate the attention; it made me sort of narcissistic and hyper-aware of my appearance at all times, which had never been typical for me.”


Moreover, many content creators, especially those who have previously created explicit content, challenge the idea that OnlyFans is a tool for sexual empowerment. They state that selling semi-nude and nude pictures on the platform should not be romanticized. One creator was quoted as saying


"Nothing is empowering about showing your body to people for money. It’s a job, for Christ’s sake – it’s no more empowering than working at a grocery store.”

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8 Comments


Ibrahim Sanaullah
Dec 10, 2022

In the most literal sense, exploration is "the act of treating someone unfairly to benefit from their work." From this perspective, only fans creators are not being exploited in any way; instead, one could state that they are being empowered as many female creators found a safe space to overcome societal taboos regarding gender norms and sexuality. It is important to note that some women, such as Bhad Bhabie, who were famous within the music industry, decided to use the only fans platform for the sake of enjoyment purposes. When she joined only fans, she made over $1 million within the first 6 hours. Over the next few months, she claimed she earned approximately $52 million from the platform. In…

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I agree with all the arguments you have made in the blog. I want to specifically talk about the fact that such platforms make content creators hyper-aware and conscious about their bodies. They are constantly comparing their bodies with other members of such clubs which creates this added pressure. There is this song name "Victoria Secret" which addresses this issue:

I wish somebody would've told me that thighs of thunder

Meant normal human thighs

The fuckin' pressure I was under

To lose my appetite

These unrealistic beauty standards puts women in a weird state. Moreover, the audience of such platforms are teenage boys and girls who are made to think that girls need to look a certain way to look…

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Another issue that only fans creators face is with managers who sign contracts with them to generate social media following for them. These managers post advertisements for them on other apps like Instagram (the ones we see) and get a share from the profit apart from what is spent on the ad itself. Many creators have complained how these managers exploit them by demanding unfair shares out of their earnings or just straight up steal from them. It also makes you think about how the idea of the panderers (or pimps) has evolved over time where it is a crime in most countries but you’ve also got ‘managers’ now who could kind of bring you the clients for a price…

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I think one way around is to have their own website where their audience from snapchat, onlyfans and instagram is redirected to purchase from a collection of libraries or have video on demand without paying the platform fee

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I believe that onlyfans has both positive and negative aspects. Onlyfans is often considered empowering because it is seen as a positive shift from the traditional pornographric websites. It is considered a relatively safer space for women who voluntarily sexualise themselves , according to their own conditions and without being bound to any contract (often with employers). This freedom stretches beyond the content as majority of creators publicize their content through social media sites and ultimately creating their personal brand. On the other hand , the large free streatming sites like Pornhub have long been recognized for their exploitative nature with many reports of child abuse , assault and misogynistic content.

Secondly, since the creater is in direct contact with…

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I believe the Instagram models main aim is to build an audience to redirect them to down the sales funnel. However, not everything is glamorous as it seems. this means that they need to put an effort to produce content and is like anyother job that requires work

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