With so many influencers across YouTube and TikTok joining OnlyFans, it prompts the question, does OnlyFans allow you to own your body, or does your audience own it?
Popular YouTuber Markiplier uploaded a video on Oct. 16 titled “I Will Start an OnlyFans…” in which he laid out conditions his 33.9 million subscribers needed to meet for him to create an account with the nude-sharing service.
OnlyFans has seen an incredible number of members joining the site in the past few years who use it to sell their naked pictures and videos for profit. Many big names on social media have done the same. Granted, what sets Markiplier apart is that he is likely the only of these big names to have all profits go to charity.
Being in the public eye on social media comes with a lot of attention, some forms being better than others. One of the side effects of fame, especially online, is a creator’s audience beginning to romanticize and sexualize influencers regardless of whether they feed into it or not.
These unhealthy parasocial relationships begin to form between creators and viewers. Young viewers especially begin to obsess and romanticize these creative online figures. We saw it to a disturbing level with creators like Jake and Logan Paul, whose young fans were so obsessed that they were willing to blatantly ignore their overwhelming faults and crimes.
These parasocial relationships are inevitable as you put yourself out there on platforms like YouTube, but there are ways creators feed them, whether intentional or not. The more a creator shares with their audience the more invested they are going to become, and the more likely it will continue to build into something unhealthy. Videos like apartment tour, day in the life and get ready with me all let viewers get closer to the creator, strengthening the unhealthy obsessions.
But five years ago, no matter how much you got to know or learn about a big creator, there were still things that were off limits. With the rising popularity of OnlyFans, many of those things are no longer off limits, as viewers are able to see the most intimate parts of a creator’s self. This goes beyond anything an apartment tour could do in terms of letting a stranger into your life, which can be harmful to certain audiences who will only strengthen their continued obsession.
Creating an OnlyFans and tapping into that market can also come with pressure to change all of your other content to be more sexual. Popular TikTok creator Garett Nolan began on the platform by posting videos of his life in the military and singing with his cat. However, as the thirst comments came pouring in, the OnlyFans came shortly behind. Now all of his content revolves around thirst traps, queerbaiting and sexual content.
TikToker Tate Hoskins followed a similar path, starting his account with videos inspiring gay youth to overcome adversity and learn to be themselves in environments that don’t support them. With popularity came the thirst comments, and of course, the OnlyFans. Inspirational videos for gay youth are few and far between, instead being replaced by videos that further feed the gay stigma about having to have the “perfect body.” Instead of helping young gay people, Hoskins has fully looped around to perpetuating harmful self-images.
It is anyone’s right to do with their content and body as they see fit. However, when these creators begin to feed unhealthy parasocial relationships, take advantage of young viewers, queerbait for more profit and perpetuate harmful ideologies, it becomes an issue beyond creative choice and self-confidence.
As Markiplier enters this market, and will most likely be followed by many other big names, I hope he does so with integrity, doing it for the right reasons and keeping in mind the kind of content that got him where he is today.
Tracy Mullinax can be reached at [email protected]