Show me the money!
The other week I saw a tweet from someone I follow on Twitter, Hector Martinez explaining that he was expanding the platforms he uses to create #NormaliseNudity content and would be posting some content on the OnlyFans site.
OnlyFans is a subscription-based social media platform where content creators sell their videos and photos. While not exclusively NSFW, OnlyFans attracted a significant number of adult content creators during the COVID lockdowns.
My initial reaction was one of surprise perhaps tinged with some disappointment. I had always considered OnlyFans as a site associated with more adult-oriented content, and that doesn’t align with my view of the naturist philosophy. To be fair, I have never viewed or subscribed to any content on OnlyFans, as I have been put off by the number of direct messages that I get from young women claiming to be naturists, who invite me to view their latest efforts via the OnlyFans platform. My perception is that less explicit content creators use other platforms to engage with their followers and don’t solicit new viewers with direct messages and provocative images.
Hector and his wife are prominent proponents of a healthy naturist life and Hector has mentioned that their naturist earnings used to come from just one platform, Patreon. In these volatile times where our lifestyle is likely to be misunderstood, or even cancelled by major platforms, it makes good business sense to diversify your income streams and spread the risk.
There are many naturists on Twitter, and we are all aware that the blue bird platform could, at very short notice, decide that our content breaches their standards and close its doors on us. To that end, many of us have diversified our social connections to include other platforms such as Mastodon, Naturist Hub, Just Naturism, MeWe, and Nude Revolution, as well as other niche groups.
We are all doing the same thing, but as consumers rather than content creators so we are not making any money in the process. Hector and his wife have found a group of people willing to pay for some of the content that they provide and I take my hat off to them both for their efforts in promoting naturism and being able to generate income from doing it.
There are some naturist writers that I support (via Substack) and I also pay membership to a couple of naturist social sites. But I have reached my discretionary spending limit on supporting naturism content creators, and to sign up for something new, I will need to let an existing content creator go.
We can all put on our principled and virtuous hats, and claim that naturism should be free to everyone, but the volume of free output that content creators like Hector and his wife put out in the name of normalising nudity, is not cheap to produce.
This blog for example is very cheap to produce, but not free. It takes time to write, rather than a financial cost, and that time is something that I am happy to give to create the content. If I were to calculate the time taken to write the 800 or so words, edit them into a coherent order and check the spelling and grammar, even at the minimum wage, I suspect that each blog entry would be prohibitively expensive.
Were I to produce video content, I would need to invest in more equipment and editing software, as well as spending more time producing material. Not only do I not have the spare time to do this, I am not willing to fund the additional cost. I would need to put the content behind a paywall, and I am not confident that many would pay to view it. I can barely believe that a handful of people pay to read this content, and I am grateful to those who do.
While this blog is free to read for anyone, I do have the facility for people to subscribe or donate via Substack or buy-me-a-coffee. Rather than looking to make a living from my writing, I prefer to offer those who appreciate it a way to say thank you.
I have nearly 900 free subscribers, increasing by between 40 and 60 a month, but those who pay to read the blog can be counted on the fingers of a one-armed sawmill worker.
I would rather that my blog was read by more people than make extra money from fewer readers. My motivation for writing these blogs is about demystifying the naturist philosophy and helping people feel less alone.
Having said that, I don’t begrudge people who have found a way to make a living out of naturism. To some degree, I admire them, although I am not sure I would want the pressure to continually come up with new content to maintain the income streams. Finding something new to write about each week is becoming more and more challenging.
I was chatting online to a content creator the other day, who is thinking of giving up her OnlyFans gig. She said that the demand from subscribers to give more and more is taking its toll, and although she enjoys the extra income, it is not enough to give up her day job.
Hector and his wife are looking to promote naturism and help people understand what it is really about rather than what people believe it to be about, and to do that, they need to be where people are. It is no good shouting into a bubble or preaching to the converted.
Perhaps we should support them, if we can, rather than criticise them for using a platform that many of us talk of with suspicion. If just one OnlyFans subscriber gets the message that normalising nudity is not a sexual thing, then perhaps their effort is worth it.
Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I remember.
Involve me and I learn.- Benjamin Franklin
Thank you for reading, have a comfortable day.
Once again you tackled a sticky subject with great aplomb. When I broached the subject of the emerging naturist content creator class online I was summarily dismissed. There are two simple issues for me and you raised both. First. Is this the best way to promote naturism? Does it create too close of an association with the porn industry to effectively be a form of promotion. Pay per view nudity as I describe starts to seem a lot like soft core porn in the eyes of those out side of nudist circles,simple despite the protestations to the contrary of the naturist creator class. When I first raised the question there were already "nude models" and others who were offering photos of nude bodies under the naturist or artistic in nature label. This leads to the second issue.
Since those early days the number of individuals who offer pay per view nudity on various platforms has only increased. How many is enough? If we choose to only support a few "special" ones, then have we created a new elite class of "naturists" or more accurately "nudists" (since the focus is photos and videos of naked bodies, some more active than others). Is the discretionary/disposable income of those interested in naturism better spent on vicariously living through nudist content creators or participating in actual naturist experiences. I think the latter. What happens to those who can’t afford to pay per view.
That raises the second concern I have. The nudist content creator took a page from the mainstream social media creator book. The interesting thing about the emergence of social media creators is they didn’t actually create anything. It was just about developing a cult of personality and giving people a glimpse in their lives. The nude content creators save a few exceptions provide views of the naked body. Unlike naturist authors who create naturist literature. Or the naturist writers and commentators on Substack like yourself who create long form essays and informational pieces, or naked yoga or fitness instructors who share a skill and teach others. What's wrong with that you may say? For the answer to that I lean on naturist philosopher, author and filmmaker Marc Alain Descamps and the American naturist leader Lee Baxandall. Both of these individuals espoused an approach to naturism which has a greater impact on society beyond, exposing naked bodies to the unfettered consumerist gaze. Lost in the show me the money approach of the nude content creator is the opportunity to pursue and promote the naturist social project Descamps described. Baxandall dream was this social project would civilize society not just enrich individuals.
At the end of the day people have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies and if making a living is one of those things far be it from me to deny that opportunity. But I mourn the loss of the soul of naturism and it’s greater purpose if that becomes the defining image of naturism. Thanks again for a thought provoking piece.
I don't begrudge Hector and Francelli for monetizing some of their naturist content. That they chose OF is of no concern since not all the accounts are of an "adult" nature. Even if an account has "adult" material doesn't make it unacceptable. Many of us enjoy watching adult content. The problem is when people who identify as naturists/nudists make adult content. It can confuse those who expect otherwise in keeping with the purer philosophy of naturism/nudism. I'm not sure what content will be shown in H&F's new OF account that can't be published on public social media like Twitter. Maybe it is the same content but of a more premium nature. Longer videos. More photos. Exclusive stuff that is not published on social media. They need to be careful about tarnishing the brand that they have built.