“The New Era of Social Media and Sex Workers”

By: Ciera Starkweather

In today’s era of social media, it seems that sex work has not only become less stigmatized but also widely accepted as a legitimate career. Only Fans, sugar baby websites, Instagram influencers, and high-class escorts are a new class of working women that deserve just as much respect as anyone in a traditional profession. While not all of the professions I named necessarily involve sex work, many revolve around selling one’s image, and mainly that image of a desirable woman. Only Fans in particular has gained traction on Instagram and other social networks as a place for women to build a fanbase who will pay for images of them, dressed or undressed. 

Recently an infamous celebrity faced society's wrath and backlash when she started selling exorbitantly priced images on her Only Fans account. Leaving the sex work community baffled and upset since their main source of income became drastically undercut by her site. Instead of being villainized for their gender in their work, these women have turned the concept on its head by instead becoming celebrated and paid for things that in earlier eras could get you fired or disregarded. 

In a world where being a woman can make life in the workplace incredibly difficult, many of these professionals have taken unorthodox approaches to circumvent the issue. The de-stigmatization of sex workers in today’s culture allows individuals to become their own bosses, and market their sexuality in a positive manner. For some of these women, the work is just to make money for another endeavor, like graduate school or paying off debts, but for others, it's their entire career and livelihood.