How OnlyFans is dominating the sex industry without even trying

OnlyFans is a platform where people are free to post exclusive content. Anyone is free to subscribe and creators charge a monthly fee of $4.99 for their service. In terms of what the app is like, think YouTube patreon meets Twitter. Content creators are free to post cooking recipes, motivational speeches, or even daily vlogs. What’s controversial about cooking online or selling motivational videos? Well that’s not what OnlyFans is traditionally known for; the app officially launched in July 2016 but gained momentum during the pandemic, similar to TikTok.

We know that sex sells, it’s in urban music, almost all of our favorite movies and shows, ads and banners, magazines, and anywhere else you can think of. So when OnlyFans gained popularity most people weren’t exactly shocked by the leading content being explicit. In 2021 the app announced their plans to ban sex work and later recanted, mainly because sex work is what gets the platform traction.

There has always been a stigma against working in the adult film industry and it appears that with the rise of OnlyFans people are more comfortable with the idea. The concept of selling explicit videos and photos online  wasn’t invented by OnlyFans but the app definitely helped dismantle the negative connotation attached to it. Unlike Pornhub or other rated X sites, creators on OnlyFans have full creative control of what they sell to their audience which makes it more appealing to sex workers and aspiring sex workers.

With more and more people accepting the idea of sex work, the  idea of being an OnlyFans model isn’t as obscene. However with every movement there’s always going to be pushback and in the conversation of sex work some people argue that men and women as young as 18 are being “conditioned” to see the glamorizing side of this industry alone and not the dark side. Why isn’t anyone covering the creepy stalkers? The mental health aspect of it all? These are conversations to be had before selling a dream. 

As OnlyFans rises and platforms like it, it has become more normalized in the conversation of career paths. On the contrary it makes you wonder if sex work is finally being normalized or if we as a society have just become desensitized to the idea of sex.