I don't understand this issue with OnlyFans.

[DragonSnapCrimson]

I’ve been thinking about OnlyFans recently and can’t fully understand why it appears to be seen in such a bad light here.

In the cases where a person is pushed into it, feels it’s no other option etc then yes, I fully get why it’s not a good thing.

But I have seen some people on social media who are aware of all of the risks, aware that their photos could be shared with third parties etc and they’re completely ok with that, they’ve spoken on it. They’ve made buckets of money with the app in order to pay for uni, a house deposit among plenty of other things. So why would that be seen as a bad thing?

If they’re fully aware of the dangers/consequences yet still consent to it and make decent money for their future/whatever they like, then I don’t see the problem. Or is there no problem with people in this particular situation?

This post isn’t about other kinds of sex work, just OnlyFans.

Thanks everyone else for the answers, have read a couple of the posts on my break and will read the rest later, has already opened my eyes!

@DragonSnapCrimson my problem is I think you're disingenuous.
Hilarious! 😂

@loveinthe90s What would even be the gain in that? Information? Education on an important subject?

I don't know. People troll about all kinds of things, don't they? Glad you're here to be educated though.

purgatory I had no idea there was more to it than just selling/buying photos, it really does sound like a pyramid scheme.

The people I mentioned in my OP are all either late 20s or 30s, so it does make sense that they would understand the risks more than an 18 year old.

But I have seen some people on social media who are aware of all of the risks, aware that their photos could be shared with third parties etc and they’re completely ok with that, they’ve spoken on it. They’ve made buckets of money with the app in order to pay for uni, a house deposit among plenty of other things. So why would that be seen as a bad thing?

Only fans is basically Forever Living with sex.

If I recruit you to join Only Fans I then get a percentage of your earnings. The women making the real money out of Only Fans are 1) the ones who had a big following to springboard off. 2) the ones who recruit lots of other women.

So of course they are going to say how much money they’re making and how great it is, because they want you to pm them and ask how to do it yourself.

It’s exactly how all mlm works, you see an acquaintance suddenly posting about how much money they make and it piques your interest.

When actually very few people make a living wage on Only Fans and if you don’t have a big following to start with or a down line the way to make any money is to private sales. So men ask you for particular things and you do them.

This is not only a slippery slope for the women but it means that men get conditioned into believing that every sexual whim should be catered for and that everything is for sale.

How will the idea of consent and healthy sexual relationships develop in young mens minds if they have been able to buy whatever they like, whenever they like off women they may even know in real life.

@loveinthe90s Next time please just report, no need to say anything on the thread. Not everyone who name changes or joins is a troll. I've been on mumsnet for years and have recently been encouraged to visit the FWR boards despite finding them an unwelcome place for "beginners", so being called disingenuous on page 1 is a bit of a pity. Here to learn, nothing to gain from trolling, just want to hear all sides of all arguments and gain knowledge.

That's actually quite mad Moonbeam, I hear about OF reasonably often on social media and no one ever mentions any of this. It's all shown as a straighttforward buying/selling thing, although I suppose that's the point.

there are tons of people of all demographics on OF, not just men seeking women's bodies.

?? who else?

I choose, my choice” isn’t valid here, it would be full of men if it was in any way empowering or lucrative

Exactly this.

@thinkingaboutLangCleg

there are tons of people of all demographics on OF, not just men seeking women's bodies.

?? who else?

Women buying pics/videos from other women, men doing the same to other men, women buying from men, there are couple specific accounts etc. Lots of accounts dedicated to specific kinks regardless of whether man or woman. A ton. Its not just for men wanting to see photos of women although I do appreciate that may be the majority, but I'm not positive on that as I haven't looked up the data.

If everyone was employed in a job they enjoyed/performed well in/earnt a living wage for, and those who couldn't work were suitably supported by the state, then places like OF wouldn't exist or would be close to empty.

There are sites that are dedicated to posting, free of charge, photos and details taken from Only Fans. The forum chat about the women in the photos or video clips is stomach churning and often terrifying in its naked, violent misogyny.

Any women (or man) who posts intimate content on Only Fans should do so in the full knowledge that it will be publicly available for free to anyone who wishes to seek it out. They will have no control over who can see it, or how this content is further shared or exposed.

What is also becoming increasingly apparent is that as with other porn, those accessing it become quickly ‘bored’ and desensitised to what they call ‘vanilla’ content.

To maintain, never mind increase their popularity and income, women have to post increasingly explicit and extreme content. Often the most money is made not by the monthly subscriptions but through ‘tips’ for exclusive content, similar to a lap dancer leaving the public floor for a private dance, where ‘anything’ may be up for agreement.

Turning it into a MLM style model, where current 'content providers' are incentivised to supplement their revenue stream by bringing new women onto the platform, has two additionally damaging consequences.

Firstly they will sell a sanitised, ‘empowering’ message that completely ignores the realities I detail above. This is not ‘a bit of glamour modelling’, ‘page three for the Internet age’ as many try to claim.

Secondly with more and more women and content being lured onto the platform the more competition there is. To stand out, to get subscribers and private tips you will have to show yourself to be ‘better value’, ie be more explicit, engage in more degrading acts than others are willing to do, put more and more of this content up for consumption so your subscribers dont get bored.

It’s an absolute hell hole for women to get sucked into

This article here says that 87% of Only Fans users are male and that the platform says that most of its content creators are women between the ages of 25 and 35. I wonder how many are under 25 though. I don't think anyone would doubt that it's mostly men wanting pictures of women.

@crazyjinglist

This article here says that 87% of Only Fans users are male and that the platform says that most of its content creators are women between the ages of 25 and 35. I wonder how many are under 25 though. I don't think anyone would doubt that it's mostly men wanting pictures of women.

My browser won't let me open your link, it says it's a threat or something.

I hadn't quite understood the similarities between Onlyfans and MLM's - that's been very interesting to read.

There was a recent thread where someone who had had an Onlyfans account was asking if it would be a problem as she wants to do teacher training. The consensus from posters (including those who are/were teachers) was not only would a live account be an issue but even one from several years before.

I’ll believe that tons of young women are effortlessly earning house deposits and university fees via OF just as soon as I believe that those women selling that magic aloe vera juice stuff at home parties are making enough to drive a Mercedes or whatever the last ponzi fad was.

And of course it’s sad, sordid and tawdry for all involved, and another shitty manifestation of the nasty misogynist porn culture we currently live in.

My browser won't let me open your link, it says it's a threat or something.

Hmm... having looked at it again, it does say that the stats in the article are collated 'from various sources including our own polls', as OnlyFans does not publish stats about its users. So that may not be very accurate!

Hmm... having looked at it again, it does say that the stats in the article are collated 'from various sources including our own polls', as OnlyFans does not publish stats about its users. So that may not be very accurate!

I had a quick look on google and the only stat I can find is the average age of the users on the site which is between 25 and 40, but that was also from a few random websites so no clue how accurate it is. Other websites said differently but the above was the most common.

Sorry, that stat was supposed to be of users and creators, not just users.

So the content you post on OnlyFans can be used and reproduced by other people (free of charge) for the rest of your life! You can't change your mind later. You can never delete it or escape it. Anyone who finds it in later years can show it to your employers and your children -- or make a good income from blackmailing you.

This alone makes it an appallingly bad move for anyone, especially young people before they start out on their careers. An absolute gift to financial blackmailers and to predators who will keep quiet in return for sexual favours.

Women are the product, men are the buyers.

Its sexual content. You can buy extras 'out the back'

Remind me how this is different to a strip bar which is a front for prostitution and sexual exploitation again?

If everyone was employed in a job they enjoyed/performed well in/earnt a living wage for, and those who couldn't work were suitably supported by the state, then places like OF wouldn't exist or would be close to empty.

THIS.

It’s a complete failure of our society and welfare state that girls and young women (or anyone) needs to do this financially (which is how it is often justified) or wants to do this because they think it’s ‘empowering’ (the other way that it is justified) and that there is no social sanction or consequences whatsoever on the vile creepy men that exploit their vulnerability in whatever form it takes, by buying and encouraging this horrible shite.

I hate the commercialisation of every single part of everyone’s life and what that does to society. And that any of this is seen as ‘progressive’. If it was actually progressive and empowering, men would do it. They don’t.

I have also heard of people who don't ever post their face, their pictures are taken in front of a white background and all identifying features (like tattoos or birth marks) are photoshopped out, so I think those people are a lot safer from blackmail, unless their account gets hacked of course!

I suspect that women who only sell still images without their faces earn even less than those who provide videos of them performing sex acts.

It's mostly not photos, you know, and I don't know how easy it is to edit features out of home videos.