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March 28, 2024, 01:28:55 PM

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OnlyFans and horses work.

Started by Fry, April 30, 2021, 05:50:51 PM

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TrenterPercenter

Quote from: Zetetic on May 01, 2021, 05:07:49 PM
If we think that OnlyFans and the like has reduced labour supply into face-to-face/contact prostitution, has it:
1) Reduced demand for the same?
2) Induced demand for migrant labour and trafficking?

(The second of these is also likely a problem for poorly implemented UBI, of course.)

My estimate would be these are different things (products to use how capital would define them) in two different markets; you need distance for anticipation which prostitution being a much more immediate and impersonal affair.  Part of the lure of OnlyFans I suspect is that never actually sleeping with someone but the fantasy of such a thing.  Prostitution rather takes that out of the picture; that is not to say the same entity could work both markets.

Sebastian Cobb

Fairly sure Zet's asking some intentionally teasing questions there, as an inverse to common reductionist supposed positives of things like Onlyfans.

I say "fairly sure", I mean "my interpretation of this is".

Ferris

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on May 01, 2021, 03:31:32 PM
Gamification innit, the same little bumps that exist on fruit machines and the like to keep you playing.

I read a book about the gambling industry a few years ago - their big thing is not making games addictive (they are really careful about that term), but creating a "flow". Games with good "flow" keep punters zoned in without thinking about it. I see "the flow" everywhere now, 20 minutes scrolling through CaB without really thinking about what I'm doing, that's just good flow. If it was monetized (I pay 1p to read each post or something) then would I notice spending 5 quid on it? Or another 5? Same for idly browsing reddit or playing Skyrim for an hour I'm engaged but... "trance" is the wrong word, but sort of not really paying attention[nb]this may be because I'm starting to realize in the last few months I have ADHD[nb]I've never typed that out before. I'll have a breakthrough realization about my chronic generalized anxiety next![/nb] and have done for a very long time, which to be fair I don't hold the gambling industry responsible for[/nb].

I think these kind of services monetize that, and as I get older, I find these kinds of parasocial relationships increasingly dodgy. Podcast hosts who all pretend to be your mates and oh yeah buy my book as well haha that's what friends do right - I suppose Alex Jones was something of an early pioneer in this field. OF is particularly dodgy because the people you are encouraged to imagine are your best mates/partners actually write back and tell you how great it is to be best mates/partners (from my admittedly limited understanding of it).

You could say "well no ones being exploited!" except that late stage capitalism massively exploits people. A UBI might kill OF which is a weird thought.

Absolute load of rambling shit. Will post it anyway. Sorry in advance.

Sebastian Cobb

Yes that's exactly how modern gambling works. The idea of a "bad day at the bookies" was always fiction, any competent bookmaker balanced the odds so they didn't 'win' or 'lose' they just took a bit off the top.

The difference with modern betting is it's just put a turbo on the gambling cycle. Fixed odds betting terminals and slot machines are the crack version, with small wins to keep people going.

TrenterPercenter

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on May 01, 2021, 06:27:33 PM
Fairly sure Zet's asking some intentionally teasing questions there, as an inverse to common reductionist supposed positives of things like Onlyfans.

I say "fairly sure", I mean "my interpretation of this is".

Probably.

Ferris

And having it on phones! I've never touched one of those apps (never gambled at all, really) because I know what I'm like. If I had 24/7 access to it on my phone I'd be wearing a sack and living at the bottom of the garden in a week.

Sebastian Cobb


Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on May 01, 2021, 07:06:35 PM
And having it on phones! I've never touched one of those apps (never gambled at all, really) because I know what I'm like. If I had 24/7 access to it on my phone I'd be wearing a sack and living at the bottom of the garden in a week.

I'm fairly certain that's the plan.

I worked in a bookies for a year or so, upto 2009.

When I worked there there were two things "ruining" the traditional bookie trade from a staff point of view.

One was the general extension of "night racing" - traditionally, back when being a bookie was less computerised, racing only happened in the day, then they shut and settled the bets. The faster you settled the bets the faster you went home. Computers doing the maths didn't change this much, until night racing came in and hours extended to fill the time.

Fixed Odds Betting Terminals - a computerised combination of the "slot machine"* and the "roulette machine" in one box, that could suck money from patrons in a much faster cycle.

*slightly different to the fruit machine/puggy - simpler yet better at hoovering money.

greenman

I spose most of what I'v heard has been focused on how much some minor celeb has made from it but to me the equivalent of that seems to be the kind of conventional media frenzy you would get in the past were someone would spend a few months being paid for sexy photo shoots, interviews, etc.

Dex Sawash

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on May 01, 2021, 06:32:09 PM
I have ADHD[nb]I've never typed that out before. I'll have a breakthrough realization about my chronic generalized anxiety next![/nb] and have done for a very long time, which to be fair I don't hold the gambling industry responsible for[/nb].


Get on the amphetamines asap, you big wally

Sebastian Cobb

I don't think I'd noticed Ferris' [1] or he'd not made it at the point I quoted him, but I'm having similar thoughts recently.

A lot of your described "corporate slacker" stuff from years of working in Finance stuff you've mentioned certainly has rung true, despite been of a different industry. And some other acquaintances who mentioned similar symptoms has also made me wonder.

I also got extra time on my exams in school for having ropey handwriting, and had to practice "motor control" stuff at one point, which makes me wonder if I might have dyspraxia, which is adjacent to ADHD... but a lot of these 'neurodiverse' things share symptoms and are adjacent.

It makes me wonder if I'm neurodiverse in some way, or perhaps an apathetic wasteman, but also whether as a more or less functional adult whether pressing for a diagnosis is useful given the time it takes with the nhs. It's something nibbling away at me though.

Sebastian Cobb

I always wonder if the dyspraxia thing might be a bit wrong; although I have very spidery handwriting and can be a bit clumsy I can also touch-type, and despite being absolutely crap at woodwoork when forced to do a bit of woodwork for a project I was actually interesting turned out to have a knack at it despite not usually being 'good with my hands'.

Echo Valley 2-6809

Quote from: Kankurette on May 01, 2021, 01:14:36 AM
I'd also add that I catered for an extremely niche fetish

Oh my god, yes!!!  I thought I was the only one.

Please PM me.

Echo Valley 2-6809

^  Ignore me, I thought you said quiche.

Zetetic

Quote from: chveik on May 01, 2021, 05:59:26 PM
i doubt it, it doesn't satisfy the same needs.
If not 1, then probably 2, was my thinking.

Sebastian Cobb

I wonder if 2) rings true either given globalisation. I seem to remember reddit had a quite interesting ama from an anonymous Romanian camgirl that suggested that Romania was a bit of a hub for that sort of thing and Romanian's being multilingual to the point of fluency could be from wherever you want to be darling.

TrenterPercenter

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on May 01, 2021, 07:36:18 PM
I always wonder if the dyspraxia thing might be a bit wrong; although I have very spidery handwriting and can be a bit clumsy I can also touch-type, and despite being absolutely crap at woodwoork when forced to do a bit of woodwork for a project I was actually interesting turned out to have a knack at it despite not usually being 'good with my hands'.

One of the most harmful things for people with learning difficulties is them taking onboard a view that they cannot do things as well as other people (usually in the form of being made to feel stupid).

Sebastian Cobb

I understand what you're saying. I don't know what I don't know when it comes to neurodiversity and I'm quite willing to accept I might be unintentionally verging into tropes while trying to wrap my head around it. It's not intentional.

bgmnts

Mental people can get their tits and knobs out too.

TrenterPercenter

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on May 01, 2021, 08:54:23 PM
I understand what you're saying. I don't know what I don't know when it comes to neurodiversity and I'm quite willing to accept I might be unintentionally verging into tropes while trying to wrap my head around it. It's not intentional.

No no not all! I didn't think you were saying anything bad at all. I was just saying that maybe you have dyspraxia but you are good at woodwork : ).  A lot of people take their learning difficulty and think because they don't fit some stereotype idea of what they should be like then they don't have one (and they are just stupid).

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: TrenterPercenter on May 01, 2021, 09:07:22 PM
No no not all! I didn't think you were saying anything bad at all. I was just saying that maybe you have dyspraxia but you are good at woodwork : ).  A lot of people take their learning difficulty and think because they don't fit some stereotype idea of what they should be like then they don't have one (and they are just stupid).

No worries!

My speculation was around two fuzzy points I guess: I don't know if I'm actually neurodiverse and when I went to school they were ill-equipped to work it out anyway. I'm in my mid 30's and while there was a kid who was officially "aspergers"* it certainly wasn't a thing, they'd just about recognised that dyslexia was a thing rather than dismissing people as 'thick'.

*I'm not sure he was based on modern understanding of ASC.


Ferris

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on May 01, 2021, 07:28:45 PM
I don't think I'd noticed Ferris' [1] or he'd not made it at the point I quoted him, but I'm having similar thoughts recently.

A lot of your described "corporate slacker" stuff from years of working in Finance stuff you've mentioned certainly has rung true, despite been of a different industry. And some other acquaintances who mentioned similar symptoms has also made me wonder.

I also got extra time on my exams in school for having ropey handwriting, and had to practice "motor control" stuff at one point, which makes me wonder if I might have dyspraxia, which is adjacent to ADHD... but a lot of these 'neurodiverse' things share symptoms and are adjacent.

It makes me wonder if I'm neurodiverse in some way, or perhaps an apathetic wasteman, but also whether as a more or less functional adult whether pressing for a diagnosis is useful given the time it takes with the nhs. It's something nibbling away at me though.

I've always been good with my hands and making/visualizing stuff.

This is probably worth a separate thread though, will start something now.

Kankurette

Quote from: bgmnts on May 01, 2021, 09:01:03 PM
Mental people can get their tits and knobs out too.
Yep. I'm one.

bgmnts

Quote from: Kankurette on May 02, 2021, 01:37:07 AM
Yep. I'm one.

Me too, thats why I'm no longer allowed in my local gym.

paruses

Very positive and empowering spin in this article:

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/tv/meet-north-wales-23-year-20510575

Might have a look at the doco to see if it's just a Young and Rich nonsense piece. Be interesting to know how she really feels about blokes telling her they've "paid for that round". Apart from people who shout at public sector workers that they "pay your wages" are there any other jobs that people point that out to?

Assume I got the push notification for this because of this thread - plus I read a lot of North Wales Live. It says in the article it's not just X-rated stuff - news to me - but cooking and lifestyle pages too .Is that right? Or is it cooking in underwear / gardening in underwear / rambling in underwear.


Kankurette



Icehaven

Quote from: paruses on May 02, 2021, 06:53:21 PM
Very positive and empowering spin in this article:

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/tv/meet-north-wales-23-year-20510575

QuoteAlaw asked her parents what they thought about the venture, and she was taken aback by their response.

"I do my content from my room," she says. "They are aware of what I do. I asked them first before I started underwear modelling and they said 'it's now or never,' that surprised me."

Deso.

turnstyle

I think the rise and normalisation of OnlyFans is problematic for a few reasons. It's sending the message that getting your bits out for a few quid is totally cool and groovy, but it sweeps a lot of the reality under the carpet.

- The platform is crowded. Only the people at the very top are making a liveable wage.

- What are the mental health effects on a woman's self image of putting your nudes online, only for nobody to want to buy them?

- What are the effects of the competitive nature of gaining subs, and the length these women will find themselves having to go to to keep up?

- Is there any mental health support for OnlyFans contributors (genuine question, I have no idea).

- This content could follow these women around forever, long after they've stopped using the platform. What happens when employees, partners, families or someone more nefarious discovers the content after they've stopped using the site and want to put it behind them?

- Is the platform not just objectifying women, despite the pretence of putting them in control? Are we in danger of telling an entire generation of women to market themselves as sex objects?

- By the same token, are we basically telling men that women can be bought for a few quid a month?

It's a tricky one to talk about, because the consensus among a lot of younger people is that OnlyFans is empowering women to use their bodies to make money (and from the relative safety of their homes). Raise any objections, and you're labelled an out of touch, prude boomer, but it really doesn't seem that simple to me. I also wonder how much of this viewpoint is influenced by OnlyFans own marketing.

The platform is targeting teenage women with adverts like the one in the OP, and simplifying the process and effects of being an OnlyFans model. Especially true in a pandemic year where these women could be even more vulnerable and suggestible.

Icehaven

Quote from: turnstyle on May 03, 2021, 08:08:08 AM
- This content could follow these women around forever, long after they've stopped using the platform. What happens when employees, partners, families or someone more nefarious discovers the content after they've stopped using the site and want to put it behind them?

In the article linked above, the Welsh woman even says "I fully understand I'm not going to be teacher", acknowledging that doing this limits certain career options and that it's existence out there forever could always potentially be detrimental to her, which is hard to believe anyone can be totally OK with. That's not to say it's at all fair that women will be judged for having had an OF, but they will be, and saying you 'fully understand' the impact it could have on the rest of your life at 23 isn't necessarily true.