Porn trap or sexual revolution? • WOMEN.AT

A platform for artists, media professionals and influencers to earn money from subscriptions instead of advertising – this concept has long since taken hold on the Internet. An example of this is 'Steady', a Berlin start-up founded in 2016. Journalists and bloggers upload exclusive content here. Another: " OnlyFans , which also launched five years ago, on which Z celebrities like It-Girl Georgina Fleur and reality TV star Bastia Yotta are active. More and more influencers are also gaining. Partly with very relevant content, which is why " OnlyFans is now also marketed as “Instagram Porn”.

Matthias Jax, social media expert at the Austrian Institute for Applied Telecommunications, explains: “The development of the content of the service is hardly surprising. Selling sex is an old marketing strategy that still works. Uh You don't even have to go to the relevant pages for this. Dozens of video clips alone prove that eroticism attracts. Again. More than ever. It doesn't matter. And sometimes even mutated into fitness trends, like twerk. Quick stirring of the buttocks, translated a little bumpy in German.

What happens if we enter "sex" on Google ...

“You don't have to demonize that” 'explains Jax: “Sex is part of our society and something natural. However, according to the expert, treating it critically is essential. “You have to question the content, especially when it comes to children and adolescents. We work intensively with sex educators who repeatedly stress the importance of educational work. Interest in sex usually begins at grade school age. Jax: “The kids wanted to know how adults have sex. And then it goes very quickly. The first contact with pornography takes place at the latest with the first smartphone: “They quickly understand what happens when they enter 'sex' or 'porn' on Google. It is then all the more important that they know that it is not real. , it's lived love, but fantasy, a kind of feature film. "

There is the attraction of not knowing what to expect.

But why a platform like “ OnlyFans booming "when there's so much erotic content on the web" that costs nothing!? In one year, membership has grown from seven million to 90. “The allure of not knowing what to expect,” says Jax. And: “What also attracts is the thought that you can see the girl or the guy 'next door'. Furthermore, explains Barbara Buchegger of saferinternet.at: “Users do not have the feeling of consuming anonymously, but rather of being able to influence their counterparts because the creators of content actually react to their subscribers.

Make a fortune naked

In any case, the image of OnlyFans is debatable. The international fitness models, who have made a name for themselves with sporty exercises on Instagram and YouTube, masturbate here in front of the camera and post nude photos. For five to eleven dollars per user. Depending on the range, many can come together. Australian social media star Jem Wolfie, for example, made over two million dollars there with nudes in just under eight months. “Demanding money for sexual services is nothing new in itself,” says Buchegger. As long as it's not young people who provide explicit content on the platform, Buchegger and Jax see no real problem.

And yet, " OnlyFans changes our approach to sex. Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Raphael Bonelli explains: “We are moving a little further away from the dimension of understanding sexuality as the language of love. don't. Thus, the platform contributes to the fact that we experience less sexuality than before. We also lose the sense of intimacy, real closeness and respectful interaction with each other. " 

Sexual revolution?

Intimate fluent Suzie Grime sees things differently. She sees " OnlyFans as a platform for modern feminism. In an interview with Bayrischer Rundfunk, she said, “It's the democratization of the erotic industry. You can produce whatever content you want. Everything is very self-determined. This empowers women to be the narrator and interpreter of their own story. The only one taking the money is the platform itself. Bonelli said, “There is no longer a middle man who markets women and makes a lot of money with them. That leaves more for the actresses themselves, true. But it's far from being feminist for me. And as free as most believe” They are not. It is a fallacy. You can get lost very quickly if you carry your inner outward thoughtlessly without keeping anything for yourself. This has consequences if you disclose your privacy. But it's not good for you. much nicer level. "