‘Joanna Mode’ — The changing world of online sex work
By day, she is a proud activist and bartender. By night, she goes by Joanna, a young lady earning her living as a stripper at a local club and an OnlyFans sex worker.
Since her early teens, Joanna aged 22, was curious towards sex and the sex trade. After a rocky start making her way into the industry, she found solace in the welcoming and non-jugdmental sex worker community.
OnlyFans is an online subscription based adult site. The creator’s can sell content from nudes, videos to custom content.
Joanna starts her day off like any other, on her phone. As she waves goodbye to her partner as he heads off to his 9 to 5 job, Joanna lazes in bed scrolling through her social media accounts and more importantly her client’s messages and requests.
Her subscription base averages out at 20 regularly returning customers each month.
“Onlyfans can be in smaller chunks. I’ll upload the blowjob folder and send it out for $30 because it’s always on onlyfans. My price strategy is pretty cheap and cheerful because a lot of the clients have already paid the subscription fee, $7 a month,” Joanna commented.
More often than not, Joanna will walk through the door from her shift at the pub to a request. Before she has the chance to deactivate ‘Joanna mode’ she will take the clients video call.
“The easiest ones for me to do are the blowjob videos. I’ll do a bundle deal on all the videos that are in my blowjob folder for 20% of what they would be individually. That’s another thing people don’t tell you about the online industry, you have to be good at maths,” she laughed.
Despite being in the trade for many years, Joanna continues to encounter new desires from her clients. Most recently, A.S.M.R style videos called JOI or ‘Jerk Off Instruction’ have become popular.
Fetish porn continues to boom, as Joanna mentioned that that is “where the most money is made.”
However, the type of content she creates is dependent on the day, mood or how much her ADHD is impacting her.
“I think one of the most important things to do is get consent from yourself,” she said.
Joanna never feels alone in her work. The sex worker community continues to grow in both numbers and support.
In December 2020, the number of content creators using OnlyFans is said to have reached one million.
“I’m in a really good group chat on Twitter with other content creators. And so we get a lot of advice from each other from that.
“Whenever I have a request from someone and I don’t necessarily know exactly how I’m going to do it or how to price it, I’ll message them like ‘what do you guys think?’ ”Joanna said.
The ‘family’ or freeing space that the sex trade community have created, is a way for inidviudlas alike to share, retweet and support each other.
In particular, the community chats are an escape for the individuals who feel the emotional impact the industry can have on them.
“We’ve got funny stories to share. Someone will message saying ‘Oh, my God! One of my toys got stuck the other day!’ We do have a good laugh,” she remarked.
Despite the morale that keeps the community alive, online sex sites such as OnlyFans are riddled with flaws.
Under-18s have used fake ID to set up OnlyFans accounts. Some users have been identified as young as 14-years-old, using members of the family’s passports and driving licenses to sign up and sell with.
But why is the sex worker industry glamorised so much?
“I think the stripper aesthetic and attitude is coming up a lot in pop culture. People have confused the movement of female ownership of the body and sexuality with everyone being a whore.
“Patriarchy creates unattainable goals, for example you have to be a sugar baby or you have to tolerate abuse, as long as you’re getting your coins. That’s the attitude that is being pushed because of the ‘independent’ women stereotype. But women can’t be independent unless they’re servicing somebody. That’s why it’s encouraged because then men can still get something out of it,” Joanna commented.
However, what changes can be made to OnlyFans in order to recognise and upkeep the safety of users?
Tighter regulation checks should be put into measure when signing up to the site. A vigorous ID process including sending in a selfie of the person holding up three fingers or a 10 second video displaying all angles of the individual’s head.
Joanna said: “I can just hear it in my head already, all the debates and rhetoric blaming the parents. That’s bullshit. Kids are curious and the society that we live in pressures children to be sexually active.
“There’s also a lot to be said for children who are being trafficked or being forced into making these profiles. If sex traffickers can see that there’s too much ‘red tape’ to jump through they might not bother with it because of the risk.’ ”
