Is the line between empowerment and exploitation buried in a terms and conditions agreement? Society has never really gotten comfortable with the idea of a woman seizing control of her own objectification, which brings us to the newest series of accusations against OnlyFans. The adults-only platform has recently been accused of being a pyramid scheme by a few mad Brads and Chads online. The brosefs are wringing their hands over what they perceive as women luring innocents with the promise of riches, only to trick them into sex work. With OnlyFans having a reputation for being a legal financial haven for sex workers, it’s no surprise that some men have confused “pyramid scheme” with “viable means of controlling their income.”
Critics allege that successful OnlyFans models like Sophie Rain share over-inflated reports of their earnings on the platform, similarly to how recruiters for companies like Mary Kay have been known to operate. These critics argue that women earning money on OnlyFans recruit others to work under them, thereby duping them into sex work. While it’s true there’s a significant disparity between top earners on OnlyFans—Sophie Rain made over $40 million in her first year—and everyone else, dudes, have a seat. That’s not how this works.
First of all, OnlyFans content creators aren’t required to perform sex work to have a subscription-based channel. OnlyFans has actively recruited creators who produce non-explicit content, even sponsoring a German Olympian bobsledder. Secondly, OnlyFans doesn’t get paid unless its creators do. Creators don’t pay upfront for the privilege of having an OnlyFans channel; instead, the platform claims 20% of their earnings. Unlike genuine pyramid schemes that charge victims hefty supply and hosting fees, OnlyFans ensures the creators who keep the platform running get their due before taking its cut. A pyramid scheme this is not.
What OnlyFans is is a legal means for women to profit from what has been happening to them for centuries: their bodies being objectified. People pay hand over fist for tickets to sporting events and concerts where performers profit off their physical abilities, so why is it wrong for women to profit from their beauty and sex appeal? Spoiler alert: it’s not. The real issue is that people can’t handle the idea that sex workers aren’t necessarily desperate or immoral heathens to be shunned. Sex workers provide a service in high demand, and the vast majority of that demand? It comes from the same demographic vilifying them—men who can’t handle the idea of paying for the attention they’ve historically taken for granted, wanted or not.
Sex work is a business, just like running an OnlyFans channel. It requires time, planning, branding, customer management, and solid accounting skills. It’s not easy money, nor is it money anyone is duped into making. It’s hard work. So can we please stop demonizing women who succeed on OnlyFans? When we vilify sex workers, we reflect societal misogyny that continues to treat women as objects unworthy of dignity and protection. Instead, let’s respect women who flip the script on objectification and take control of their finances.
OnlyFans isn’t without its flaws. Security protocols need improvement to protect content creators from exploitation, but the platform does make an effort to support the women who keep it profitable. Can your employer say the same?
As a society, we owe it to these women to confront our hypocrisy. We objectify women every day, in large and small ways, but when they profit from it, we’re quick to shame them for saying, “That’ll be $19.99/month, please.” Instead of condemning sex workers and pretending they’re the villains, maybe we should recognize why their industry exists. Respect their agency and professionalism, and stop accusing them of running a pyramid scheme.
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