Digital Sex Work Among Students

Thabo Moenyane

The Covid-19 pandemic forced sex workers to find alternative ways of continuing their work. Online platforms like OnlyFans became mainstream, owing to Twitter-active sex workers who popularised the platform. Many people, including students, have taken an interest in digital sex work. PDBY interviewed a student and former digital sex worker, ‘Peach’.

Peach started creating adult content at 18. The content included curated, explicit pictures that aligned with the BDSM (bondage, discipline, dominance, submission and masochism) dynamic. Peach said, “I never met with anyone physically. I did everything online, and I did charge for the services that I had online.” She indicated that she did make money, mainly from men who were seeking a dominant figure in their lives.

“Boundaries were always maintained. Sex work is not the scariest or taboo thing that everyone thinks it is.”

“I started adult content creation because I was looking for ways to express my anatomy through my sexuality,” Peach explained.

“And through sex work and adult content creation, you really get the chance to put your sexuality in your hands, and get to reframe your own sexual desires in a positive light.” However, she ended her digital sex work career after her family gained knowledge of the fact. “They were more concerned with what people who know me and them would say if they found out that I was a digital sex worker,” she said.

Digital sex work started years before the pandemic with digital sex workers who worked for companies that had internet pornography websites such as Pornhub. However, the social distancing protocols of the Covid-19 pandemic caused the industry to thrive as people turned to the virtual world to fulfil their needs.

Sex workers who operate digitally mainly deal with adult content creation. This type of content creation consists of explicit pictures and videos of the creator in the nude and engaging in sexual activities, either alone or with another individual. There are several online platforms that are easily accessible worldwide, and these have made it possible for any individual to become a virtual sex worker. The cons of digital sex work include unpaid labour, emotional labour, social stigma, and online harassment. Furthermore, virtual sex workers are not exempt from customer service because they need to personalise their connection to each subscriber.

According to an Africanews article, there are an estimated 150 000 (physical and digital) sex workers in South Africa. However, sex work in South Africa will remain illegal until the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences And Related Matters) Amendment Bill is ratified by the president. The prolonged fight to have sex work decriminalised and destigmatised still continues.