Doxy Magazine on Online Sex Work And It’s Impact in How We View Our Bodies
Words: Celina Reboyras, creator of Doxy Mag | Interviewee: Jane Wilde
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Sex work is often referred to as ‘the oldest profession,’ but as the world continues to evolve, so does sex and the way we sell it. From phone sex operators to cam girls, sex and sex workers have always adapted to the evolution of technology.
The most recent turn of the decade birthed an entirely new era of sex work, one that allows for us to take our stream of revenue completely online. In the last five years, more and more sex workers have made the decision to pivot to online sex work thanks to sites like Onlyfans, Hidden, and Fansly, to name a few. So, as the demand to churn out nude content is continuously met in new ways, how does this affect the way sex workers perceive their bodies?
Twenty years ago cell phone cameras had a tiny number of megapixels, and most amateur sex tapes were filmed in low light on shoddy video cameras. It’s safe to say that before the era of smartphones and OnlyFans, almost no one had ever recorded and reviewed nude content of themselves this frequently. In today's world, however, it’s never been easier to pair the high-definition camera on your iPhone with a store-bought ring light and hit record. You can easily capture yourself sitting on a dildo from whatever angle you choose. Playing back your homemade sex tape in record time has never been so simple – which unveils a set of questions such as…
“Has my jawline contour always been this prominent and unblended?”
“Does my orgasm face look weird?”
“Is my stomach supposed to look like that from this angle?”
The other week I was getting ready with a girlfriend for a movie premiere at a film festival. While putting on my outfit in the mirror, I found myself staring and critiquing the way my stomach looked in my see-through dress. This was a criticism of my body that had never really crossed my mind until last year, when I began to take an exponential amount of sexual content for my OnlyFans page. I glanced over at my girlfriend who I was getting ready with, and asked her if she had ever over-analysed her appearance as a fellow online sex worker. She confessed that she had. I’ve always liked my appearance when looking in the mirror, but I feared that having to play back so many photos and videos of myself had begun to alter my perception of the way I looked. In the name of research and in an effort to see if my fellow online creators could relate to my sentiments, I hit up my friend Jane Wilde.
“In a society that has embedded such a deep stigma around sex work, I suppose the issue surrounding bodily perception can feel somewhat trivial. Nonetheless, as the era of online sex work continues to evolve, so must the discussion around it.”
Jane Wilde, a 27-year-old online creator based out of California, who sits in the top 2% of OnlyFans creators elaborated on the range of emotions she’s experienced regarding her bodily perception.
“As an online figure, an online sex worker, we’re expected by our fans to have this level of unattainability in regards to how we look. But we’re regular people who lead normal lives at the end of the day, I know that and every other sex worker knows that. However, sometimes the industry and the fans do not. Speaking for myself, I definitely have felt hyper-aware of my appearance after pressing the playback button on my sexual content. More recently, I tend to review my newer content and fixate on all my flaws, inevitably taking myself down a rabbit hole of critiquing my looks. It’s almost as if I’m not looking at myself. It’s a very strange feeling to disassociate in that way.”
It may be that using sex and the nude body as a source of income will always be met with a higher analysis of our physical features than it would for non sex workers. Maybe over-assessing our appearances is a ramification that could go on to persist as this new era of online sex work continues to develop.
Labour will never be considered sexy when living in a capitalist society, but sex work makes way for the two to co-exist at times. Perhaps playing back your own nudes and amateur porn can yield many positive results, especially when your most recent solo play video has the ability to pay your car note. It feels rather shallow and crass to equate your appearance with your income, but the sex industry is responsible for designing it that way. And if our stream of income relies on our appearance, does this make it a contributing factor to the way we perceive our looks?
Some online creators have turned to cosmetic procedures in an effort to change their looks to a degree they believed would earn them more money.
I wanted Jane's opinion on the matter. “I think if a specific procedure is something you’re after, it can be liberating. I’d be lying if I didn’t confess that I’ve had some work done myself,” she says. “More and more online sex workers are choosing to open up publicly about their cosmetic procedures, which is very admirable, especially those with larger platforms. I believe it benefits beauty expectations for impressionable individuals.”
In a society that has embedded such a deep stigma around sex work, I suppose the issue surrounding bodily perception can feel somewhat trivial. Nonetheless, as the era of online sex work continues to evolve, so must the discussion around it.
Perhaps having to constantly replay our own sextapes is a form of exposure therapy for those of us who struggle with our appearance. Maybe if we stare at photos of our imperfections for long enough we’ll begin to appreciate them. And perhaps there are online creators who don’t feel this way at all, and instead get turned on by their own content. More power to them I say!
