The OnlyFans Phenomenon: Empowerment vs Establishment

Omar Zahran
The Startup
Published in
10 min readDec 7, 2020

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Image Credit: Timo Wagner via Unsplash

Making a change is hard. When you are known for one thing and make the effort to make a pivot into something else challenges will inevitably arise. An example of this is the transformation that McDonald’s has attempted to undergo over the past few years. The chain once known for supersized fatty burgers and fries was trying to reinvent itself by offering specialty coffee drinks and more healthy options. The reason for this? People no longer wanted greasy fast food, they wanted good food fast. So McDonald’s tried to adapt, but 60 years of history is hard to erase and the reputation continues to be one of the greasy fast-food chains. In the content creator and digital age, there is a similar dynamic happening with OnlyFans. The service has come to be known specifically for sexual content and try as it does to shed that reputation, the company is learning that like McDonald’s that is not an easy thing to do. OnlyFans as a service is in a place where it is struggling to create a new identity, all the while trying to be supportive of the people that made the service popular. Truly in between a rock and a hard place.

The Reputation of OnlyFans

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Omar Zahran
The Startup

Freelance sports writer fascinated by the stories that our favorite teams and athletes present to us