The Rise of OnlyFans

In 2016, I wrote up a little piece describing Patreon as a new way for cosplayers to make money off of the hobby. Some people in the community have been able to utilize it as their sole source of income/turn it into a full time job. We're here now 3 years later and I wasn't expecting there to be drastic shifts. Many cosplayers are banking on the concept of lewd/nude sets of cosplay and modeling which is usually reserved for higher tiers. However, this also has raised a lot of concern when it came to marketing their Patreons on social media. Specifically with the algorithms being unfair and banning/limiting cosplayers usage. As I mentioned previously in discussions with OhMySophii and Zach Fischer Illustration, these social media platforms are treating cosplayers and sex workers unfairly when the hobby has had a handle in making these platforms flourish in popularity.

You can probably see even on this blog that whenever I share a cosplayer, I link outwards to either their Instagram or Patreon. Facebook Pages are pretty useless to a cosplayer and unfortunately Instagram is being critical of its guidelines not to mention its Report function being weaponized by fragile incels that feel these cosplayers shouldn't be able to make a living off of their work/showing off their bodies. That it's "unfair" in their eyes. Now, even Patreon is taking measures to block off cosplayers from showing up in search results. With the title and first image you see on this post, I want to talk about another social media platform that's slowly seeing a rise amongst cosplayers that specialize in the lewd market.

OnlyFans is much like Patreon in that it's a subscription based service on a monthly basis. Instead though there's one flat fee that can change over time in case the user wants to have a sale/promotion. Once subscribed, you get access to what users describe as a more sexually risque feed and the posts don't have to follow such strict guidelines as they do everywhere else. Some of the content shared here is also available on Patreon if the user is running both at the same time. What OnlyFans adds in is the option to tip the creator for even more photos, full sets and even video content. There can also be locked content publicly or in messages that subscribers have to pay (usually a small amount) to see.

Over the second half of 2019, I've certainly seen a jump in cosplayers flocking over to OnlyFans as a way to create sexier content. Between all the restrictions on normal social media sites PLUS payment issues on Patreon's end a few times, I can see why. Some girls have found so much success, that they're transitioning from Patreon TO OnlyFans as one of few sources of income (usually they have sites like Gumroad to sell past sets).

I've only heard of OnlyFans previously as a site that sex workers and adult actresses have used to sell extra content to fan. With cosplayers entering the mix, it's only gotten bigger. Sure there are some gripes I've seen with how much the site takes out of the monthly payout, but I have only one other concern. Mainly it's cosplayers and lewd content creators exclusively utilizing the "tip" function for more content being locked repeatedly. It's a similar worry I have with cosplayers not posting to all of the respected tiers on Patreon and making it seem like it's only worth it if you pledge "X" amount or higher. I feel like I've seen it with a few creators on the platform already but hopefully users on OnlyFans are just trying to strike out a balance in how they post. Both in content and frequency!

With 2020 right around the corner, I'm curious to see how the current cosplayers on OnlyFans will use the site as I've seen a spike in switches over the last couple of months. With a full new year ahead, it's surely to lead to a lot of experimentation. To those cosplayers who have ALREADY made it so this can be their sole source of income, I'm both impressed and beyond happy for you since I know some have been working their asses off in trying to be a full time content creator.

With Patreon having such a strong hold as a top platform for creators, I'm curious to see how 2020 plays out. Will OnlyFans become a safe haven for cosplayers and lewd models as social media guidelines become unfair to sex workers? Is Patreon going to lose some steam?

I'm very curious to see how OnlyFans is placed in the next couple of months. Will it become the next full blown Patreon for some supporters? Or will the latter platform remain crucial to cosplayers wanting to make a living out of this hobby? Wait and see! I'm also planning on hopefully reaching out to any of the girls I shared in this post to have an in-depth conversation about OnlyFans on my podcast next year!
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