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The Onlyfans Phenomenon
A by-the-numbers expose and a new avenue for sex work
Once upon a time, if a girl wanted to make a living doing sex work, she had to either shake her stuff in a strip club or lie on her back for paying customers. Working as a phone sex provider afforded those less-inclined to personal interaction or the unfortunates simply not attractive enough to garner a man’s attention an avenue for “expression.” But that only offered a modest income at best.
Then came “cam work,” an enterprise that allowed a few women to earn a good living by interacting with paying clients through their computer cameras. Then finally, the emergence of social media social media and a website called Onlyfans really blew the doors open to sex workers earning a fortune without suffering the indignity of the in-person interaction most could live without just fine.
The concept was sublimely simple. Let’s say in a PG-rated world, an aspiring musician wanted to know how Eric Clapton came up with a guitar riff. If Eric joined Onlyfans, that musician could pay to have a one-on-one chat with Eric through the innovative subscription site. Sounds like a plan, right?
But that’s not how the Onlyfans business model blew up. Predictably, it became all about pornography and sex — and guys who wanted to access x-rated material and/or…
