Behind the Paywall

Abstract

This study investigates how the networks of communication and collaboration between adult content creators on OnlyFans, a digital patronage platform commonly used for sex work, have gained the site its popularity and notability. Because of the site’s infrastructure, content creators must self-promote on other platforms, drawing users from social media platforms like X, Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit onto OnlyFans. Given that this promotional labour and skill is largely unpaid, this study also examines the power dynamics at play in the complex labour structures of OnlyFans and the precarity of the broader gig economy. OnlyFans adult content creators create their own support systems, assisting each other with this labour based on their skills, and developing formal and informal support groups for professional and personal guidance.