How Feminist Is OnlyFans?
The growing social prominence of OnlyFans has been met with conflicting reactions from the public. Mainstream media has lauded it as “empowering”, on account of its potential for financial benefit for the models (content creators). Success stories like that of the “Mum who lost job in lockdown set to become OnlyFans millionaire in just one year” are part of an overall positive narrative, constructed by media outlets such as the Mirror. Others have made strong claims to the contrary: OnlyFans is a tool for men to treat women like personalised sex toys. So how feminist is OnlyFans really?
This is the question I set out to answer in my newest article, published on the postgraduate political philosophy blog What To Do About Now. I conclude that OnlyFans can be considered between minimally and moderately feminist. I take into account the benefits it brings to vulnerable women, and weigh them against the overall contribution of the platform to patriarchal oppression.
The article won the What To Do About Now 2022 postgraduate article competition.
You can read it on the blog’s website here:
