Shadow economy: ‘Sex worker? No, I’m an adult 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?’
Researchers at the University of Cape Town conducted a study on South African OnlyFans content creators, examining their identity and the shadow economy that powers the platform. The creators interviewed faced a hierarchy in their response to whether they identified as sex workers, with some maintaining firm boundaries between their content creation and the stigmatised sex work label.
The creators' primary motivation for participating in OnlyFans was often for fun or personal enjoyment, rather than as a means to survive or escape economic hardship.
While the creators maintained their boundaries, the audience often pressured them to participate in hookup scenarios, leading to substantial psychological stress and anxiety. The creators' experiences were contingent on the availability of high-speed internet, private workspaces, and proper devices, which limited access to the digital market for many South Africans.
This shadow economy, centred around OnlyFans and similar platforms, reached an estimated R6-billion annually, with the top 0.1% of creators capturing 76% of the revenue.
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