I want to say thank you to everyone who shared their perspective about Onlyfans with me, I found all of them fascinating.
Onlyfans is a platform which allows users to post their content, but also charge for it - sort of like a paid version of Instagram. It has become a popular platform for women posting sexual and graphic images of themselves in exchange for cash, which is the focus of this blog.
(Onlyfans)
Onlyfans workers profit off sexualisation that is already present.
It would be careless of me not to acknowledge that some women feel extremely empowered by Onlyfans and sex work in general. One of the most popular opinions I received is how Onlyfans allows women to monetise their bodies which have been objectified, sexualised and commodified by the patriarchy for so long. It allows them to take control of their sexuality and profit from it instead of it being taken from them for free. That seems quite abstract so I will give some examples; sex trafficking, sexual abuse, rape, grooming and sexual harassment are just SOME of the ways that women's bodies are exploited daily. And, this doesn't just happen rarely and individually, it's a common occurrence within institutions such as the mass media.
A huge amount of advertisement is based around the objectification of women's bodies and using them as a 'thirst-trap' for people to buy products. This industry profits off the sexualisation of women's and girl's bodies by placing them in adverts in a sexually appealing way. This common marketing strategy makes customers want to look at the adverts and thus buy the products. Here is a list of some sexist and objectifying adverts in recent years. Having adverts that sexually depict women and girls contributes to the notion that women's bodies are commodities.
(Dolce & Gabbana 2007 Spring/Summer campaign)
Onlyfans operates in a way that still sees women's bodies as sexual commodities but, instead of the advertisement companies profiting off their sexualisation, it is the women themselves making money.
So, it's fair to say that women do feel empowered when they take control of their bodies in a way which they haven't been able to before. To be given the freedom to charge their own rates and produce content which they are comfortable with can feel liberating. And, apart from a few boys on Twitter who think it is 'minging' and that their parents/husbands will be 'proud', most people seem to agree that Onlyfans helps to take back control of what is already theirs.
Yet, I have to say that, although Onlyfans may be empowering for women on the individual level, there is a darker side to this perceived 'sexual freedom' which I want to bring to light.
Women are only allowed to feel empowered when it is to do with their bodies.
Women are encouraged to feel empowered when it is to do with their bodies, but when it comes to other things which are generally seen as 'masculine' (staring a business, investment, and finance), we are not. When are we ever told that these things can be empowering too? Yes, taking control of our sexuality is empowering within itself, but why is that the only thing we are encouraged to feel empowered by? And, why then, when we do take control of our sexuality with things such as Onlyfans, is it detrimental to our careers? The answer has to do with how we are only allowed to feel empowered when we are propping up the patriarchy.
I do think that Onlyfans can be empowering for some women - I would never deny that - but it creates a false sense that our opinions are finally being listened to when they're not. Women aren't encouraged to talk about their opinions on other things like rape culture, everyday sexism or more inclusive feminism. Instead, we are encouraged to profit off the sexualisation of our bodies, but never to question the sexualisation in the first place. We are more than just our bodies, and I don't think that has fully been recognised yet.
Women are only allowed to feel empowered by sex work when it suits the male narrative.
Although women are allowed to feel empowered by things like Onlyfans, it is conditional to when it serves men. We live in a society where sex work still defines women. If we had true sexual freedom, we wouldn't be penalised for it, it would just be seen as any other job. A lot of people, who I received opinions from, rightly pointed out how it can have a huge negative impact on future careers. Is society truly encouraging of things, like Onlyfans, when women are still made to 'pay' for it years later? I think not. But, because women have the upper hand in the sex industry, they are punished for it and it can potentially destroy their career prospects.
Men can somehow pick and choose when women are allowed to take control of their sexuality. I just think that there is a contradiction when a male boss can fire someone because he found out that they have an Onlyfans, and then go home and pay for porn. There is a difference here though: in one of the scenarios it doesn't benefit the man, and in the other it does. This hypocrite of a (hypothetical) boss only accepts women taking control of their body when it suits him - and this is exactly what society seems to be doing.
Moreover, if a woman merely posts a bikini picture of herself on Instagram, it can be an issue for a lot of businesses. Yet, when a man has been accused of (at least) 25 accounts of sexual misconduct, they can still run and win the most important job in the most powerful country in the world!
Society encourages female empowerment but picks and chooses when and what it is, leading to a false sense of progression.
Onlyfans legitimises the idea that women's bodies have a price.
Although I hate to say it, I do think Onlyfans helps perpetuate the notion that women's bodies have a price, and men are entitled to them. It sends the message that bodies are meant to be commodified because the workers are consenting to it. I also think that the involvement of money allows men to objectify women guilt-free because they are paying for the guilt to be wiped away. This then justifies the objectification of the worker.
(Pintrest)
A positive about Onlyfans is that if a customer makes a worker feel uncomfortable, the worker can block or communicate with them what the boundaries are. This isn't the case in normal life so there is, to an extent, power being taken away from men and given to women. If I was in a bar and a man sexually assaulted me (say hit my bum), nothing would be done about it as it is my word against his. And, although Onlyfans doesn't solve the issue in the real world, the shift in power dynamics on apps like it is a step forward. Having said this, it shouldn't even happen in the first place and women self-inflicting their commodification and objectification just adds to the issues by legitimising it.
What should we do?
It's easier to criticise society than to give an actual solution, so here are some suggestions for ways in which we can help to progress and improve women's condition.
We first need to recognise that some women do feel empowered by sex work, and we should never judge them for this as we cannot know their motives. We should bring the women around us up and make sure that they are encouraged to feel empowered. not only by their bodies, but by their minds, opinions, talents and passions too. We need to speak out if we see sexual harassment, objectification or anything of the sort, and hold people accountable. I think societal change starts with an individual's shift in mindset and then projecting it onto the world. So, start with checking yourself and the people around you. We need to keep the conversation about sexual objectification going to make sure people are aware of it, so women can be seen as greater than just their bodies.
*Disclaimer*
I just want to say that the main group of people/workers I was talking about here is women with Onlyfans accounts and not underage girls. 'Nudes4Sale' is a documentary reported by Ellie Flynn, highlighting how vulnerable girls fall prey to the sex industry and the repercussion it can result in. I would recommend it if you're interested in that side of Onlyfans. I think that the topic of underage sex work is one within itself, which is why I wanted to keep it separate from this blog instead of hastily brushing past it.
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