After watching a documentary that was basically a 1.5 hour long commercial for OnlyFans, I am compelled to share the dark side of what is being presented as “easy money for people who are simply sexually liberated enough to sign up.”
I know the opposing arguments and am well aware of the rationale that it is better and safer than other areas of the commercial sex industry. I understand the lure and for many, the pressure. As economic hardship, isolation/disconnection, and our cultures’ normalization of porn intersects, more and more people are being enticed into this space of selling sex and sexuality.
And let me be clear, this is not meant to shame or judge people who have an OF. As a survivor of the commercial sex industry, I want to share some of the potential downsides with those who are thinking of starting one (and have the privilege of choice).
On the surface, starting an OnlyFans might seem like a simple thing… turn on your camera, post a pic or a video, get some subs (subscribers) and make some money. In reality, this is a serious decision that can have a lasting impact on your heart, mind, and future. I know this because I am a survivor of the commercial sex industry and I have spent nearly two decades walking alongside other women as they have fought to find healing and freedom from the sex industry.
1. Screenshots, piracy, and leaked images
There is no way of preventing this. It is practically inevitable. I have heard story after story of people’s content being leaked, shared, and even sold to other porn sites without the creator’s consent or knowledge. There are even networks of OnlyFans subscribers who buy and sell content to each other and to other porn sites. Not to mention, it is only a matter of time before co-workers, friends, or family members end up seeing something you never intended them to see.
2. You will always be asked to do more…and you probably will
This is a known reality of the commercial sex industry. It is so easy to get sucked into the black hole of demand for you to show more, do more and push past whatever boundaries you may have established for yourself. It is almost inevitable, one day, you will wake up and realize the money and pressure drove you further than you ever thought you would go.
3. The money isn’t as easy as you think
Some high-profile creators might make a lot of money, but this is not the norm for most people. And even if you do make good money at first, you will always have to up your game to keep making money. See #2. This is the economy of the sex industry. The money is fleeting and unreliable. There one day, gone the next. You end up chasing it- doing more than you ever thought you would to get the next dollar.
We have already seen this in other forms of amateur porn. New girls can make a little lump of money, but once the novelty wears off, it’s either go big or go home. With the market getting more and more saturated with “content creators” this whole dilemma will only get worse. This is exactly what we have seen in mainstream porn. Most professional porn performers that I know found themselves sucked into a spiral of doing more hardcore content for less and less money and eventually turning to escorting to make ends meet. This is one of the reasons there are such high rates of substance abuse in the commercial sex industry. Many find that the only way we can cope is to get high.
4. There is a cost to becoming a sexual object
I can tell you this from firsthand experience. When people pay you money to sexually gratify them, they gain a sense of entitlement to you. Some even feel like they own a piece of you. You are no longer a person, you are a product.
I have never heard anything more vile, crude, abusive, and degrading than comments from people who believe someone exists for their personal sexual gratification. Essentially, becoming a sexual object is an experience of being dehumanized. When you think about it, some of the most atrocious acts in human history have been committed as a result of dehumanizing another person or people group.
And trust me, being viewed and treated this way can have both immediate and long-lasting effects.
5. Sexual harassment is a job requirement
You can’t just post photos and videos of yourself and expect to rake in the money. You will be expected to constantly interact with your subs. They won’t just be in your messages telling you how beautiful you are and asking how your day is going. See #2 and #4.
You will be sexually harassed- more intensely than you can probably imagine. You will be pressured to perform acts you probably never knew existed by people who are caught deep in the throes of intense sexual addiction- people you would never even want to spend one second with outside of the context of OnlyFans. You will get called names and be vilely criticized. It’s not just harassment, it’s abuse.
There are a few things more important than who you choose to surround yourself with. It is important to consider, is this who you want in your ear and in your life, day in and day out?