Over the past few weeks, controversy has been swirling around OnlyFans, a subscription-only content platform that allows sex workers to have more control over and earn money from explicit photos, videos, and live services. After the former Disney star Bella Thorne and the social-media influencer Caroline Calloway joined the platform and quickly racked up millions of dollars, many in the sex-work industry decried their presence on the site as a form of digital gentrification.
Critics said the celebrities' foray onto OnlyFans was drawing attention and money away from sex workers. The criticism reflects a key reality: Finding success as a sex worker on OnlyFans takes a tremendous amount of ingenuity and entrepreneurial thrift. Adult creators work full time to create and market content valuable enough to generate subscriptions , and they often employ an array of different skill sets to do so.
Beyond making material unique enough to beat out a world of free porn, creators also have to juggle social media, marketing, finances, networking, video editing, copywriting, and a host of other entrepreneurial challenges. Aella , a sex worker and OnlyFans creator in San Francisco , is an example of the diversity in background, brand, and content that OnlyFans creators embody.
The OnlyFans creator was raised in rural Idaho by professional evangelical fundamentalist Christians. After she lost her faith and moved away, she held a variety of jobs before turning to porn and sex work. Her impressive numbers place her among the top 0. While that "sounds high," she told Business Insider, "it's an insecure income right now, and I don't know how long it'll last.
She has two accounts on OnlyFans, a free version and a premium one, and she posts regularly on Twitter , Reddit, Instagram , Snapchat, and Twitch.
