It is well known that you can make money with social media. As a rule, too much bare skin should not be shown, Instagram and Co. censor explicit content. Maybe that’s one reason why onlyfans exist at all, because it’s different there: users, called “creators” here, can upload erotic photos and videos, which are then activated for users for money. Cardi B is here, Michael Wendler and his wife Laura Müller also have an account, as well as a number of influencers and B celebrities. Onlyfans is “Like Instagram, only with a payment function,” says influencer Pati Valpati, describing the concept. And with sex.
Pati Valpati is the host of the podcast Hype & Hustle. For the Spotify production, she talks to creators who are much more than revealing on Onlyfans. Many of them have only been around since the pandemic, because when brothels had to close, the platform suddenly offered sex workers an unexpected opportunity and porn actors a self-determined job: Behind the content are “no pimps, no producers, no directors,” says Valpati. Everyone decides for themselves what they upload and earn money with it. The portal is not only praised as “empowering”, but also as feminist. Is that justified? Or “how shady is the business on Onlyfans?” asks Valpati.
The podcast explores these topics in six episodes. It goes from the destigmatization of the platform to the abysses of the porn industry. One episode tells the story of the company, how the Briton Tim Stokely founded the website with his brother in 2016 and pumped his father as an investor. At the time, the Stokelys had no idea that this family business would one day become so successful. Then came Corona, the number of users increased ninefold. Many creators feel right at home with Onlyfans because, unlike other porn sites that sort videos by performers of specific ethnicity or sexuality, Onlyfans does not categorize. And so-called slutshaming, i.e. insulting women who dress revealingly or are open about their sexuality, for example, is not done on the platform, says sex worker Yma Louisa Nowak. It is important to her that she “can use sexualization to her own advantage”. Nowak is one of the seven creators who have their say in the podcast.
The platform is self-determined, yes, but also opaque
In addition to them, Valpati interviews journalists who have researched Onlyfans or the porn researcher Madita Oeming. These interlocutors point out the less attractive sides of the platform, criticizing, for example, repeatedly suspended payments to creators, data theft, bad service and fake accounts. In addition, Onlyfans, like Instagram, would increase social pressure from beauty mania, says Nowak.
When Onlyfans announced last year that they wanted to ban pornographic posts, there was a lot of confusion at first, as the whole business model is based on exclusive pornographic content. CEO Tim Stokely cited the critical attitude of banks towards the entire porn industry, which makes money transfers more difficult, as the reason for this, but could not prove it. After much excitement, the company withdrew the announcement.
According to the conclusion, Onlyfans is no longer the comfortable and safe place it once was for many actors. Hype & Hustle offers the necessary background knowledge about the platform, presented in an entertaining and calm manner.
“Hype & Hustle – Die Onlyfans Revolution”, six episodes, on Spotify.