About two months ago a friend referenced OnlyFans in a conversation we were having about women. It was the first time I had heard the term, so I asked him what he was talking about. He explained that women were posting pictures and videos of themselves, and charging “fans” to watch. Apparently this is quite the past time for some men, and quite the income generator for some women.
A short time later, in August of 2021, I saw a news story that seemed to indicate that the OnlyFans website/platform would cease publication and hosting of nudity and sexual content. That turned out to be erroneous information, but it piqued my interest. I think it’s the first time in my internet-using history that a platform would willingly turn away profitable content. I decided to do a little superficial research and find out what the fuss is all about.
I discovered that OnlyFans is a subscription service where people pay to follow a specific individual’s content. OK, but why? Apparently (I did not sign up, so cannot say from experience) many men (the “fans”) will pay a subscription to see the adult content of hosts, presumably, but I assume not exclusively, women. I have questions as to why this service is viable.
First question: Why would women put this content out there? Is it for the money? According to influencemarketinghub.com, the average content creator on OnlyFans generates $145 per month after paying the OnlyFans service. That’s an average. Unless you are a professional or live in a third-world country, is that amount of money really worth the stigma (Yes, the stigma still exists. Debate on that some other blog.) of having your naked, and even performing, body plastered permanently on the internet? How many hours would you have to perform for $145? I can’t imagine the fan is going to pay a monthly fee for the privilege of seeing the same photo/video repeatedly. Therefore new content must be continuously created.
Is it for the hope of fame and fortune? That makes more sense. In that case it’s a risk vs. reward scenario. A woman pays her dues in the hopes of becoming one of the top 10% of revenue generators, and being able to make a decent living. But that means most girls are making less than $100 per month, possibly for years. Or is it a rotation thing. Those that don’t make much money quickly exit, and another aspiring OnlyFans queen takes their place? And what happens to the pictures that were posted? Are they now the property of OnlyFans, or are they somehow considered intellectual property of the poster, and unusable to anyone else, except those people who downloaded the content and now have it stored for their personal use?
Second question: My second question is for the fans. What makes an OnlyFans girl worth the $5-10 per month subscription. Are they better in some way than the free nudity and porn that is available all over the internet? Is there a level of interaction that I am not seeing, not being a fan? Why would a man (presumably) give a girl money each month, just to be able to see her naked? He has to know there is zero chance of meeting, and she is only there for the dollars she can generate.
To sum up, I am not judging either party. It’s a transaction, one party paying for a service, and the other party supplying the service. This is just my curiosity as to the motivations of both parties.