South Africa: OnlyFans in South Africa - What Creators Say About Sex Work, Personal Safety and the Gig Economy

‘Sex worker? No, I am a content creator’ — inside SA’s R6bn OnlyFans boom

For her African feminist studies research at UCT, Phiwokazi Qoza asked South African OnlyFans content creators one simple question: ‘Do you identify as a sex worker?’

South Africa: OnlyFans in South Africa - What Creators Say About Sex Work, Personal Safety and the Gig Economy

Analysis - OnlyFans was established in 2016 as a platform for content creators to post images and videos or host live streams in exchange for money. But what began as a small and relatively quiet niche startup suddenly exploded.

OnlyFans in South Africa: what creators say about sex work, personal safety and the gig economy

The lines between influencer and sex worker have become blurred in the online gig economy. Obi/UnsplashOnlyFans was established in 2016 as a platform for content creators to post images and videos or host live streams in exchange for money. But what began as a small and relatively quiet niche startup suddenly exploded. Global traffic to the site increased by over 90% between November 2019 and October 2020. At the height of the COVID pandemic, wh…