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Comment by Abishek_Muthian | Hacker News Reader

I read that sex-workers have lost their livelihood during the pandemic due to lockdowns and have become more vulnerable. Then I read the interview of Aella, A OnlyFans creator making 5-figures on IndieHackers[1].

I always felt porn was an exploitative business so was never into it, But I gained respect for OnlyFans as a platform because it enabled people to move from dangerous, risky work to relatively safe work. As with any content platform, I understand that only perhaps top 5% might make sustainable business out of it but still it's a choice available.

Now they've blown it, In order to chase after scale OnlyFans has decided to sacrifice their original customers. Fans of those music artists who are supposedly joining now should inform them that OnlyFans is robbing the livelihood and would be pushing many back to dangerous physical-sex work.

[1] https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/211-aella-savannah-solo

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Is everyone else who isn't running a porn subscription company also robbing potential porn creators of a livelihood or is this a helping people a little is worse than doing nothing type situation?

Few artists want to be associated with that by now. If people present their onlyfans, customers expect nude pictures.

Article states that OnlyFans took this decision because big names from music and other industries are joining them.

This article? Didn't read anything like that although I just skimmed it. Be that as it may, people often associate onlyfans with sex work.

Aella already had a monetized following prior to onlyfans. She is not representative of the potential of a new content creator.

> I gained respect for OnlyFans as a platform because it enabled people to move from dangerous, risky work to relatively safe work

What about not getting into this and, thus, not being exposed to any risks? Sex-work nowadays is the matter of choice, it's not how it used to be in pre-internet era.

> What about not getting into this and, thus, not being exposed to any risks? Sex-work nowadays is the matter of choice, it's not how it used to be in pre-internet era.

Unfortunately it's often the only choice, If not we wouldn't be still finding women from poor countries dead in locked shipping containers in the harbors of developed countries.

That has nothing to do with Only Fans, though. I wish we could have a grown-up discussion without someone shutting it down with “but trafficking” (quite often from a right-wing nutter who does not give a fig about the people in question, though I am not saying that you are). Trafficking and exploitation are bad, but it’s not unique to porn, and you can have porn without it.

I agree, trafficking is marginal problem nowadays, except maybe children trafficking, but this is totally different story. Prostitution today is a choice and, in developed countries, does not even have that much social stigma.

I meet many women who could easily move into sex-work, but they don't, they have tiring job which pays pennies, but they know that in the end this hard working is much better choice. Let's stop playing on victim note, almost everybody has a choice and in case of OF it is always a choice.

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