Selling explicit images online helped my self-esteem
By Kate Adair and Connie Sneddon
Imagine your dad asking you why a work colleague saw your sexual images online then having to tell him you chose to put them there and you’re making money doing so. This is exactly what happened to 20-year-old Megan.
When she had to withdraw from university due to health issues, she wondered how she was going to afford to keep a roof over her head.
After chatting with her boyfriend she decided to try setting up her own OnlyFans account and she’s not alone. Users upload their images (often explicit) to the platform and followers can view the content, in exchange for a paid subscription.
What is OnlyFans?
OnlyFans is a platform where users can upload their images and followers can - in exchange for a paid subscription – view the content. Which the user then makes money from.
Working As An OnlyFans Creator
"It makes me feel empowered because I know I'm doing it all for myself".
During the Covid-19 lockdown more and more people are turning to online sites like this to make money.
OnlyFans told The Social that since the start of lockdown in March they’ve seen the new user uptake increase by around 75%. This equates to 200,000 new users a day. They attribute some of this to having more high profile influencers and celebrities joining the site such as Kerry Katona, Danniella Westbrook and Love Island’s Katie Salmon.
The site also said some of the top creators are now earning in excess of $500K (£408k) per month. Megan said for her, it’s a full time job and the stigma around it is slowly starting to lift.
“It’s becoming more of a more mainstream sort of thing. If you go back 10/20 years, a man would have been involved in taking the pictures, promoting them and it’s just the fact that females can now do all that by theirselves and I feel that’s the only reason females get hate for it.”
But as sites like this become the norm is there a danger that you don’t know what people are doing with the images you share online?
I would cry about myself every day, and now it鈥檚 completely different.Megan
In 2020 there was a reported ‘leak’ of users content from the site, Megan’s said it was a real worry for her. “It was like my heart stopped. I was so worried it was going to be my pictures on there.”
The leak breached the platform’s policy that creators’ content on the site isn’t allowed to be shared. Megan said: “You’re supposed to email the site and they’re supposed to help you with getting it removed.”
OnlyFans told The Social that it does indeed support creators with DCMA take down requests, but also highlights that the reported leak was from a culmination of social media sites and not just their own. They said: “We are continuously scaling our operations department across the board and this includes our primary support function.”
They added that their “success rate in takedown requests this year was 75% across offending image hosting sites, torrent providers and cyber lockers”.
Megan said overall her decision to become an only fans creator has helped her self-esteem. She said: “I would cry about myself every day, and now it’s completely different.”
And as for her family, they’re now supportive but she says it took time. Megan's plans for the future include going back to university once she’s saved up enough to fund herself.
