The OnlyFans platform has been causing numerous debates for several years. Although there are different types of content on it, over time it has become almost synonymous with pornography. Is OnlyFans a step forward or backward for women's rights and how much money can be made from it anyway
Over the past few years, the OnlyFans platform has gained massive popularity among influencers, celebrities, and others who would like to make some quick cash. The concept of this platform is simple – creators upload content that is paid for at the level of a monthly subscription.
Although it is used by people from various professions, including artists and fitness trainers, OnlyFans has become synonymous with pornographic content over the years.
That's why this platform still triggers numerous debates, especially among feminist circles. In patriarchal societies, this kind of content is viewed with disapproval, but there are other angles from which the OnlyFans phenomenon can be viewed, namely economic and women's rights.
Millions of users and creators
According to the latest data from Statista, OnlyFans reached over three million registered creators in 2022. The number of users of this platform is many times higher and in 2023 it amounted to more than 170 million people worldwide.
OnlyFans reached its first 100 million users faster than Facebook ever did.
The average age of the users of this platform is 29 years old, and almost half of the registered users come from the United States of America.
Increasingly popular in Serbia and the region
However, in recent years, OnlyFans is rapidly gaining popularity in Serbia and the region - among others, singer Jelena Karleuša, Croatian influencer Nika Ilčić and former Serbian national basketball player Milica Dabović have joined the platform.
"I like to take pictures of myself and I'm proud of my body." I've been training all my life, it's my long-term project. I like how I look at the age of 40, why not show it to others. I will show body parts depending on how much people pay. "How much money, how much music," said Dabović.
Monthly subscription on OnlyFans averages about 15 dollars, but creators can earn in other ways - by private correspondence with users and fulfilling private wishes.
Numerous reality stars in Serbia have boasted of their huge earnings on this platform - reportedly tens of thousands of euros per month.
However, according to a Business Insider survey, very few creators make more than $100.000 a month. OnlyFans takes about 20 percent of that profit, while the rest goes to the creator.
Their second survey showed that the average creator of this platform earns around $180 per month.
Feminist criticism
Although the OnlyFans platform is viewed with approval in certain feminist circles, opinions are divided in this sphere as well. There are two schools of thought - one believes that OnlyFans has a positive impact on women's rights and allows women to make independent decisions about their bodies and their sexuality. The second, in which the prevailing opinion is that OnlyFans trivializes female empowerment and takes society back a step in the feminist struggle.
U a recent text for Women's Solidarity, author Ružica Ljubičić writes about feminist criticism of OnlyFans from several different angles.
The first aspect refers to "exploitation and false emancipation".
"Although OnlyFans is often presented as a platform where women can take control of their own bodies and financial status, it should be warned that this perception is often superficial. When we scratch beneath the surface, many platform creators face enormous pressures to produce more and more explicit content in order to maintain competitiveness, which can result in a feeling of exploitation," says the author.
She explains that OnlyFans can also have a negative psychological effect on young girls. Young girls often compare themselves to unrealistic ideals portrayed in the media and on the Internet, and strive to achieve these unattainable standards. This game of "reaching the unattainable" often leaves long-lasting consequences on their physical and mental health, writes Ljubičić.
The third argument is related to social stigmatization - in Serbia and the region, OnlyFans is still quite taboo, so women who use this platform can be perceived as morally controversial persons. Finally, there is a critique of capitalism – the platform exploits women's bodies for profit, while perpetuating patriarchal norms that objectify women and their sexuality.
An uncertain future
Since its launch in 2016, OnlyFans has grown tremendously. By 2023, more than $5 billion in earnings have been paid to creators on the platform, with the most successful earning millions annually, TechReport writes.
However, criticism due to its association with sex work and pornography could limit the platform's future growth. At one point in 2021, the creators of OnlyFans announced that they would ban adult content, but after backlash from users and creators, the decision was reversed after just six days.
Despite the hurdles, the platform plans to enter new markets and offer new features like NFTs and live events.
Sources: Women's Solidarity/TechReport/Business Insider
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