Before starting online sex work

While it may appear that your favourite online sex worker constantly has money to blow and free time to go on holiday, social media must always be taken with a pinch of salt. All may seem perfect on the surface, but behind closed doors come the real-life consequences that many sex workers don't publicise. Before you start posting nude content online, make sure to understand the ramifications your actions can have.

Your friends and family will probably find out

Unless you wear a mask and keep your face, plus any recognisable features (tattoos, birthmarks and your belongings) hidden, there is a good chance someone may come across your work and realise it’s you. While some people may be understanding and let you do your job in peace, sadly some people will send screenshots to your family or even expose you to your vanilla job or school. Jealousy and straight-up misogyny are toxic and sadly dominate the internet, so get ready for people around you to find out. Many girls in the industry have lost the respect and love of their family members, which can be heartbreaking for most individuals. Although it's your body and you can do what you want with it, be prepared for family members to not understand why you'd want to go down this career path.

Sex work can affect your current or future vanilla job

While some companies may not care that you bared all online, others will, and with no real laws to protect sex workers from being discriminated against, employers can fire you simply for your past job. If you want to do sex work for as long as possible this may not be an issue for you, but if you are simply here for some quick cash and want to go into another job (specifically child care, government or charity work) in the future, it may not be worth the risk.

Your job can be used against you

Once your job is discovered, it can be used against you by everyone in your life. Within four years in the industry, I've seen women lose their jobs, be kicked out of university, and even have their job brought up in a child custody case. While these cases are mostly rare, it can still happen, so must be taken into consideration before you make the dive into the industry.

Blackmail and doxing is common in the industry

While sex workers try hard to hide their real identity, all it takes is one person to recognise you and post your details for others to find out. While there are measures you can take to prevent people finding out personal things about you (which I will go into in another post), there’s always a chance your real identity will be exposed.

Your family may not accept your job

Many girls in the industry have been kicked out and disowned by their families when they have found out about their job. While this may not happen, it’s something you need to take into consideration before you join the industry. Please don’t risk becoming homeless or losing a good relationship with your family over this job.

Your friends may not accept your job

I can speak from experience when I warn that although you may be sex positive, not everyone is, and I have lost many close friends over my job. While you can argue that they aren’t true friends anyway, the loss of those relationships still hurts and can be emotionally damaging.

Sex work can affect your love life

Dating is hard enough in the vanilla world, without you getting naked online for all to see. Your partner may be comfortable with your job at first, but opinions can change which may put you in a difficult position. Sadly slut-shaming is very common and with dating apps even banning sex workers, the whole process can be very humiliating and exhausting.

While a lot of people would take issue with others seeing their partner naked, luckily there are lots of secure people out there who don't see their partners body as their property. Dating inside the industry is also very common, especially if you are more open to yourself and your partner working with other content creators.

You content will ALWAYS be online

While it may seem like an exaggeration that 'what you put online will always be there', it couldn't be truer when it comes to the adult industry. Sadly due to mass pirating, even if your content is hidden behind a paywall, it will always find itself onto popular free porn sites, such as Pornhub or Xvideos. This means even if you stay on small websites, where no one you know would ever look, your content will still make its way to the mainstream. Once your content has been posted/leaked, it will circulate the internet like wildfire and end up on sites you never even knew existed. This is why you need to be cautious with what you post, and be ready to deal with the fact your nude body will never be off the internet once it has been posted.

The affect on your mental health

Dealing with the constant parade of bullshit that comes your way when you're a sex worker online can impact even the strongest willed. There is no shame in tapping out to save your mental health. Every inch of your body will be criticised, insulted and made fun of by trolls, no matter which platform you post on. This can be crushing to some people, although after time you will be able to adjust to it. Using the block feature freely helps immensely, but some of the comments will stay in your mind for months.

The demand that comes with this job can also take a toll on you. Customers will expect you to be on their beck and call 24/7 and disregard your right to take a break. While you can work your own hours, the amount of work you have to put into constantly make sales can mean you end up working all day, most days. Along with a busy work schedule, the isolation from being self-employed and mostly working from your deks can be awful. Human interaction over a computer screen isn't enough for some people and can lead to feeling depressed and completely alone.

If you feel strong willed enough to put up with bullshit, brave enough to let your family and friends see all and ready to work hard and make your mark on the industry, make sure to check out my 'Getting started' article. Coming soon.