Much has been said about the staggering worldwide influence of OnlyFans, but Australian model Lucy Banks has nothing but love for the wildly popular social platform that offers subscribers exclusive adult content in exchange for cold, hard cash.
With more than 1.5 million content creators selling thousands of sexy (and explicit) adult video clips and photos for 170 million registered users, creators such as Banks – who left a corporate banking job to model full-time – are reaping the benefits of OnlyFans’ flexible schedules and six-figure incomes. But many argue that the service objectifies its creators and puts them in abusive, exploitative and predatory situations at the hands of strangers.
“I quite often get comments like, ‘I thought you were a feminist?’ To me, OnlyFans is the perfect vehicle for women to embrace their femininity,” explains Banks. There is NO MAN out there that can threaten to leak my nudes because they’re already out there… or call me a gold digger because I am financially stable all on my own. No one can talk me into sending nude photos for free, because if they’re interested in seeing me nude they can just subscribe. Why would I ever send a man my naked photos, ever?”
As for the assertion that OnlyFans objectifies women, “I think it’s the opposite; no one gets to see me naked without me having monetary gain. I choose what content I put out and set my own prices. If I’m ever uncomfortable, I have the ability to delete, ban and restrict subscribers. I am in complete control of my body and decisions, and my content revolves around my pleasure and boundaries.”
Despite its celebrity-studded clientele and economic opportunity it afforded the many thousands of people whose jobs were affected by the COVID pandemic, OnlyFans still carries the ill-fated stigma of ‘sex work’, which in 2022 seems like a quaint attitude from a bygone era – yet it steadfastly remains.
“Women are the most judgemental; it’s the ‘fairer sex’ that publicly outs my real name, makes up lies, tear me to shreds on social media… and yet it’s quite often the same girls who are sending nudes just to keep guys from Tinder interested in them,” she says. “I don’t expect other people to make the same decisions I do, just like I wouldn’t make the same decisions they do. But I respect the sisterhood more than to tear someone down just because they’re different to me.”
Banks also affirms that the world is in a very different place than it was three years ago. “The pandemic changed the way we work and live. We don’t want to work long hours trapped in office buildings; we want to spend time with our families, work remotely and prioritize the work/life balance.”
While she understands people’s concerns and opinions, Banks is pragmatic about her chosen profession. “I’m not stupid; I’m well spoken, I’m educated, I’ve worked in the corporate world and I have a very dynamic approach to my business. Every single piece of marketing is purposeful. My OnlyFans alter ego is a character that my personal life profits from, and it’s crazy to suggest that Lucy is who I am as a person… she is a character that men pay for online. The men I choose to date personally, my family and friends – know a completely different person.”
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