South Africa: Onlyfans in South Africa - What Creators Say About Sex Work, Personal Safety and the Gig Economy

What the report says

The Conversation Africa, published via AllAfrica, examines how OnlyFans is being used by South African creators and how they describe their work within the wider gig economy. The platform launched in 2016 as a subscription-based site for photos, videos and live streams, and the article notes that it expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 period. It says the service is best known for adult content, though it also hosts other kinds of creators.

Drawing on Phiwokazi Qoza’s PhD research in South Africa, the piece says many of the creators studied did not call themselves sex workers, preferring terms such as adult content creator. Others did identify with sex work as an umbrella label. Across both groups, the article says participants used pseudonyms and online personas to reduce stigma and maintain privacy. The story also describes OnlyFans as a source of income and some stability for young people in a country with high youth unemployment.

The article places this work in the South African legal and social context. It says sex work is criminalised in the country, while platforms like OnlyFans can operate legally, and it notes that creators face piracy, extortion, and the risk of outing. Participants reportedly avoided police or legal action because of fear of judgment. The analysis argues that online sexual content creation involves real labour, safety concerns and reputational risk, making it relevant to debates about platform work and protections for gig economy workers.