Amid a yearlong pandemic, record unemployment rates and a vitriolic election , OnlyFans exploded into pop culture and into the private lives of millions of people this year, providing a place to let loose and indulge in creating, engaging in and consuming adult content. Although the platform hosts everyone from fitness bloggers to musicians, it continues to be a major hub for sex workers.
Some of them have found it to be extremely lucrative, providing financial stability for them and their families without dealing with intermediary players. Silvia Saige stumbled onto the adult scene when she moved to Los Angeles and needed to supplement her income as a stand-up comedian. OnlyFans launched in summer and experts say it was initially used mainly by sex workers. Fans can make themselves known by messaging creators, sending tips or requesting custom private content.
Compared to services like Instagram, the site provides a way for creators to profit directly by using the platform. While businesses around the country struggled, OnlyFans saw a massive surge in creators and users, aided in part by attention from mainstream celebrities that experts say helped legitimize the platform.
Wynter Mosely had just quit her job to double down on her growing OnlyFans account when the pandemic hit. She was concerned at first, but she says March ended up being her highest-paid month.
There are now over a million content creators and over million users, with , new users joining daily, according to the company. I'm like, all right, maybe this really isn't a fluke. Maybe this is something that I can actually do. You can sext with me. You can talk to me. Yeah, it's nice for me to be able to put a price tag on that time. Griffin Barrows of Chicago says that interacting with fans is so important that he takes time to go through every message his subscribers send on OnlyFans.
