Greater accessibility to sexually explicit material (SEM) via smartphones and the Internet has uncovered new frontiers in sex research and sexuality studies among diverse populations (Cunningham et al., 2018; Downing et al., 2014; Peter & Valkenburg, 2011; Walby, 2012). For example, the subscription-based, direct-to-consumer platform OnlyFans has become increasingly popular, boasts more than 100 million registered users, and has paid out over $3 billion to content creators (OnlyFans, n.d.). The meteoric rise of OnlyFans, as well as similar cam platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic, represents a novel phenomenon that remains understudied in sexuality research. To date, an empirical analysis of OnlyFans users remains absent from the literature. Obtaining a deeper understanding of the sexual attitudes and demographic characteristics of OnlyFans users would provide an important foundation for future studies on subscription-based, direct-to-consumer platforms.
Because OnlyFans represents a new platform for people to buy, sell, and access SEM from an entirely online environment (Cunningham et al., 2018), identifying user demographics and sexual attitudes are of paramount importance to understand the evolving nature of the sex industry (Bernstein, 2007; Sanders, 2008). Learning more about OnlyFans users would also greatly add to the paucity of SEM research and discourse because the sex industry has historically been stratified in ways that obfuscate digital sex work and minimize the diversity of sex workers (Cunningham et al., 2018; Laurin, 2019; Ray, 2007). Examining OnlyFans users’ sexual attitudes and characteristics therefore has important implications for emerging research at the intersection of human sexuality, online behaviors, and the broader SEM discourse.
Though an extensive overview of previous SEM research was beyond the purview of this study, the following sections describe direct-to-consumer platforms, such as OnlyFans, broadly identifies SEM users, and outlines the relationship between sex and sexual attitudes to establish the need for a preliminary analysis of OnlyFans users’ characteristics and sexual attitudes. This exploratory study sought to do the following: (1) obtain demographic and background information about OnlyFans users compared to nonusers, and (2) compare the sexual attitudes of OnlyFans users and nonusers based on biological sex. This exploratory study was designed to provide a deeper understanding of the inter- and intragroup differences of OnlyFans users and nonusers, which may elucidate the changing landscape of online SEM access for both consumers and creators.
OnlyFans
OnlyFans was created in 2016 by Fenix International Ltd and was later purchased by the owner of MyFreeCams.com. The website is marketed as a non-adult content social media platform designed to connect subscribers with exclusive content from creators in a variety of industries (e.g., fitness, cooking, sports). However, mainstream audiences have increasingly begun to regard OnlyFans foremost as an erotic content platform following the rapid influx of SEM creators during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. López (2020) cited a 75% increase in OnlyFans signups during the months of March and April 2020, which has been attributed to the massive unemployment and displacement of face-to-face sex industry workers brought on by COVID-19-related shelter-in-place mandates. The site gained additional notoriety as an erotic content provider following high-profile celebrity involvement and a bombshell announcement that the platform would be banning adult content in August 2021. The ban has been temporarily suspended at the time of this writing.
Camming sites have been on the rise for over a decade and OnlyFans is just one of several sites that offer SEM subscriptions (e.g., IsMyGirl, AVN Stars, Fansly), Consistent with other subscription-based platforms, OnlyFans content creators are employed as independent contractors and their income is secured through monthly subscription fees (typically $9.99 to $29.99/month). OnlyFans content creators can earn more money through an optional tipping service that unlocks exclusive content unavailable to non-tipping subscribers. The monthly hosting fee for OnlyFans creators constitutes 20% of their total revenue. Creators have shared common approaches to building subscribers that include marketing on non-adult content social media platforms such as Instagram, SnapChat, Facebook, and TikTok—although sweeping anti-SEM and anti-sex work policies have recently been adopted by many of these platforms, rendering SEM creators subject to various punishing actions (e.g., account deletion and “shadowbanning”) for marketing their SEM-focused channels, websites, and subscription platforms (López, 2020).
While OnlyFans, to date, has not released data detailing the exact nature of the SEM services provided on the platform, descriptions of creators’ accounts are available across the Internet, including in discussion platforms (i.e., Reddit) that are moderated by and for sex workers and other SEM content creators. The SEM content accessed through subscriptions varies widely based on creators and can include nude, partially nude, and fully clothed photographs and videos that may or may not involve explicit sex acts. Creators may also provide access to written content (e.g., blog posts, poetry, or erotic stories), participate in “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) discussions, give options for personal chats with subscribers, or allow subscribers to submit special requests for specific photographs, acts, and scenes. The increasing trend of accessing SEM through subscription-based, direct-to-consumer platforms may suggest that users are drawn to the opportunity to feel more intimately connected with SEM creators and are seeking out more authentic depictions of creators than may not be accessed through mainstream SEM websites (López, 2020).
Sexually Explicit Material User Demographics and Motivations for Use
Obtaining a deeper understanding of SEM usage represents an important area of burgeoning research (McKee et al., 2020), especially as the Internet provides greater accessibility, affordability, and anonymity to SEM (Cooper, 1998). SEM encompasses a broad category of media, representing diverse formats with varying levels of categorized subject matter, user interactivity, and costs for access. Although people of all genders access SEM, the motivations associated with SEM usage may vary (Grubbs et al., 2019). The extant body of research indicates individuals may use SEM to achieve sexual pleasure with oneself and one’s partner(s) (Bőthe et al., 2021; Grubbs et al., 2019), enhance masturbation and avoid boredom (Bőthe et al., 2021; Carvalheira et al., 2015; Paul & Shim, 2008), relieve stress (Peter & Valkenburg, 2011), and increase one’s sexual knowledge (Attwood, 2005; Campbell & Kohut, 2017; Hesse & Pedersen, 2017; Weinberg et al., 2010). SEM usage may additionally vary at group and individual levels as users tend to adapt their SEM viewing styles and frequency based on their relationship status (Carroll et al., 2017; Rissel et al., 2017) and across the lifespan (Nieh et al., 2020; Price et al., 2016; Rissel et al., 2017; Ševčiková et al., 2014; Willoughby & Busby, 2016). The following sections briefly outline the current body of research on SEM users across gender, age, and relationship status.
Gender
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Across a variety of previous studies, men were more likely to access SEM (Albright, 2008; Regnerus et al., 2016; Rissell et al., 2017) and reported more frequent SEM usage compared to women (Hald & Stulhofer, 2016; Morgan, 2011; Weinberg et al., 2010). Over a 40-year period, rates of lifetime SEM engagement spanned from 45 to 84% among men compared to 16–41% among women (Albright, 2008; Cooper et al., 2002; Price et al., 2016). Approximately 46% of men reported viewing SEM in a typical week (Regnerus et al., 2016; Sun et al., 2016) compared to only 16–43% of women (Campbell & Kohut, 2017; Carroll et al., 2017; Regnerus et al., 2016). To date, literature on gender differences among SEM usage has largely neglected to explore the viewing behaviors of transgender and gender non-binary individuals, as well as others who fall outside of the male–female binary (e.g., agender, bigender, Two-Spirit, and genderfluid individuals). This dearth of research represents a significant gap in the discussion of gender difference in SEM access and consumption (Bőthe et al., 2020).
According to a 2019 US report, Pornhub indicated 30% of their visitors were women, which represented a 9% increase since 2014 (Pornhub, 2014, 2019). Although women may be using SEM at higher rates than in previous years, a variety of factors that predict usage may exist (Brown et al., 2017; Price et al., 2016). As a group, women may demonstrate greater heterogeneity in sexual behaviors and motivations for SEM usage than men. Specifically, women who accessed SEM were more likely to have engaged in masturbation in the past year (Rissel et al., 2017) and were more likely to report using SEM for educational purposes (Cooper et al., 2002). Internet-based SEM platforms, such as OnlyFans, may also engage users by offering opportunities to rate content, comment on content, and utilize chat features (Albright, 2008; Tyson, 2013). Although a paucity of studies exist that measure the purpose, form, and function of these types of usership behavior, women may be more likely than men to engage in the communicative and communal features of SEM themed websites such as chat features, email exchanges, and arranging in-person meetings (Albright, 2008; Cooper et al., 2002). Although the relationship between gender and broad SEM usage has been reported, a paucity of research remains that compare OnlyFans users and nonusers across biological sex.
Age
The current body of research on the relationship between SEM exposure and age has yielded mixed results (Doornwaard et al., 2015; Nieh et al., 2020; Rissell et al., 2017; Ševčiková et al., 2014), whereas studies have noted increased SEM exposure among both genders from adolescence into adulthood (Farré et al., 2020; Nieh et al., 2020), and for boys but not girls (Ševčiková et al., 2014), other researchers have reported SEM usage may peak in youth and decline with age (Doornwaard et al., 2015; Price et al., 2016; Rissel et al., 2017). Results reported by Carroll et al. (2008) assessed usage among emerging adults ages 18–25 years and determined 87% men and 31% of women reported SEM usage. These findings echo a study of 20,094 Australian adults ages 16–69 that reported 84% of men and 54% of women had viewed SEM in their lifetimes with 76% of men and 41% of women using SEM within the past year (Rissel et al., 2017). The trend of decreased SEM usage with age was consistently reported over five generations of men despite cohort differences (Price et al., 2016). Although the motivations associated with SEM usage across age may vary, younger SEM users, including those who reside in rural, under-resourced, and/or politically conservative communities, may lack effective and comprehensive sex education programs (Atkins et al., 2012; Pound et al., 2016), which may lead viewers to seek out SEM for educational purposes and to learn about sexual functioning (Hesse & Pedersen, 2017; Kubicek et al., 2010). Although researchers have reported how broad SEM usage may change throughout the lifespan, no study to date has examined the average age of OnlyFans users.
Relationship Status
Researchers have begun to examine the frequency and impact of SEM usage among individuals in relationships (Campbell & Kohut, 2017; Maas et al., 2018; Poulsen et al., 2013; Wright et al., 2017). On one hand, SEM usage may have deleterious effects on relationships (Doran & Price, 2014; Wright et al., 2017) and may contribute to lower levels of sexual satisfaction, commitment, and communication as well as higher rates of infidelity among couples (Bridges & Morokoff, 2011; Brown et al., 2017; Morgan, 2011; Sun et al., 2016). In one study of 20,000 nationally represented couples, partners who viewed an X-rated film in the last year were significantly less likely to report happy marriages, were more likely to be previously divorced, and were more likely to have had an extramarital affair (Doran & Price, 2014). In a similar vein, a meta-analysis of 50 studies that included over 50,000 participants across 10 countries indicated SEM usage was associated with lower levels of interpersonal satisfaction (Wright et al., 2017). Indeed, SEM usage among one or both partners has been linked to lower self-esteem and poorer relationship quality, especially among women (Campbell & Kohut, 2017; Carroll et al., 2017). Conversely, research has noted increased sexual satisfaction (Poulsen et al., 2013), as well as higher levels of sexual knowledge, openness, and excitement among partnered women who viewed SEM (Campbell & Kohut, 2017). These mixed findings may suggest that the association between SEM usage and sexual satisfaction among couples may vary based on patterns of use, as well as attitudes toward viewing SEM (Bridges & Morokoff, 2011; Brown et al., 2017; Maas et al., 2018; Willoughby & Busby, 2016).
SEM usage may vary across relationship status and duration (Carroll et al., 2017; Rissel et al., 2017). In one study, SEM usage declined among men and women over the course of dyadic relationships (Rissel et al., 2017). In another study with a sample of 21,555 participants, men in dating relationships viewed SEM at higher rates than their married counterparts, at 75% and 63.5%, respectively (Carroll et al., 2017). Women in dating relationships also reported viewing SEM at higher rates than married women, a difference of 43% and 35%, respectively (Carroll et al., 2017). Across both genders, the largest decline in SEM usage was reported between those seriously dating and participants who were engaged (Carroll et al., 2017). Additionally, whereas men were more likely to report solitary usage regardless of relationship status (Kraus & Rosenberg, 2014, 2016), women in relationships were significantly more likely to report viewing SEM with their partner (Bridges & Morokoff, 2011; Carroll et al., 2017). Though studies have reported the relationship between broad SEM usage and relationship status, an exploratory study examining the relationship status of OnlyFans users compared to nonusers remains absent from the literature.
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Sexual attitudes are the beliefs and values that frame one’s understanding of the ethics, morality, and appropriateness of sex for oneself and others (Guerra et al., 2012). Sexual attitudes begin to form in early childhood and continue to evolve throughout the lifespan in response to individual experiences and socialization processes such as family-of-origin and peer group interactions, formal and informal sex education, media exposure, and religious teachings (Doornwaard et al., 2015; Litam & Speciale, 2021). Sexual attitudes often serve as a guiding compass for sexual decision-making and have been shown to have strong relationships with myriad biopsychosocial issues, including sexual behaviors (e.g., age of first sexual experience, safer sex practices, SEM viewing, masturbation, and sexual communication), sexual and relational satisfaction, and sexual shame (Litam & Speciale, 2021; Guerra et al., 2012; Marcinechová & Záhorcová, 2020; Petersen & Hyde, 2011).
Sexual attitudes may be conceptualized on a continuum of conservative/restrictive to liberal/permissive (Guerra et al., 2012). Religiosity, cultural background, and exposure to sex education have all demonstrated strong impacts on the development of sexual attitudes. Specifically, more restrictive beliefs are positively associated with higher levels of religiosity, conservative cultural values, and restricted access to comprehensive sex education (Petersen & Hyde, 2011). In Western societies, restrictive sexual attitudes are often rooted in traditional, Judeo-Christian conventions of sexuality that privilege heterosexual intercourse within marriage as normative sexuality. As such, sex outside of marriage and non-procreative forms of sexual expression such as same-sex sexuality, masturbation, oral/anal sex, sex work, SEM, and kink/BDSM are marginalized and viewed as indecent, immoral, and/or unnatural. In contrast, permissive sexual value systems often reflect more sex- and queer-affirmative stances, which center on beliefs that “emphasize the acceptance and/or affirmation of individual sexual freedom and respect for one’s sexual autonomy” (Guerra et al., 2012, p. 1028).
The relationship between sexual attitudes and SEM usage seems to be bidirectional in nature, as there is evidence that viewing SEM may shape sexual attitudes and sexual attitudes may determine the likelihood of whether an individual will seek out SEM. For instance, while researchers have reported that teens with more permissive attitudes about sex were more likely to view SEM than teens with more conservative attitudes (Doornwaard et al., 2015; Owens et al., 2012), there is also evidence to suggest that teens’ attitudes of sex are shaped by the behaviors, communication, and stereotypes depicted in mainstream SEM (Rodenhizer & Edwards, 2017). Though the extant body of research has examined the relationship between broad SEM usage and sexual attitudes, the sexual attitudes of OnlyFans users compared to nonusers remain absent from the literature. This information would be crucial to guide future studies on the direct-to-consumer platform, OnlyFans.
Purpose and Rationale
Based on our review of the SEM literature, a paucity of research exists on OnlyFans. Identifying the sexual attitudes and demographic characteristics of OnlyFans users compared to nonusers has important implications for future studies on subscription-based, direct-to-consumer platforms. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, a demographic analysis OnlyFans users compared to nonusers has not been conducted. The following research questions were developed to address the research gap:
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