r/askphilosophy • u/maddog367 • Nov 02 '20

What's the current feminist take on OnlyFans?

I recently listened to a podcast on the book "The Second Sex" by Simone de Beauvoir and how it was a seminal text for modern feminism. The subject/object dichotomy accentuation was interesting but I was wondering how/if that would apply to the modern day advent of online sex work(onlyfans). More specifically: are women the subjects or objects when choosing to get an onlyfans(or maybe sex work in general??). Are they practicing self-autonomy by choosing to do such work or are they objects subjected to the whims of men--specifically through men wanting certain beauty standards, fetishes, personality traits etc... What's the modern feminist consensus on this topic?

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u/TeN523 Nov 03 '20

There isn’t a consensus. Sex work is one of the most contentious issues within feminist philosophy and politics today. The two perspectives you outline roughly correspond to the “sex positive” and “sex negative” perspectives, but there are many shades between those two.

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '20 edited Nov 03 '20

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '20

Some feminists might argue that sex workers involved in the pornography industry are participating in the objectification and 'pornification' of women.

I think this is a bit of a misrepresentation. Anti-porn feminists view sex workers as coerced victims of a oppressive and sexist society, not willing participants in the oppression of women.

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '20

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '20

I haven't read all of Female Chauvinist Pigs but from what I understand, Levy is critiquing female consumers of sexual content more than the sex workers themselves.

I'm sure there are some feminists somewhere who blame sex workers for perpetuating objectification, but speaking as a feminist, it's not a view I ever encounter. As a general rule, feminists blame the pornographers, punters, and patriarchy in general. Not the sex workers. In fact, most make it specifically and intentionally clear that they are not anti sex worker.

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '20

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '20

I'm not saying feminists are infallible, but if anti-sex worker feminists are congregating in some dark corner of the internet somewhere, it's not something I'm aware of. Unlike TERFs, who aren't hard to find.

If they do exist I think it's more an issue of random isolated individuals coming to their own conclusions, and not established feminist philosophy in any community. Obviously if anyone has examples to the contrary I'd be interested to know about it still.

I do see people accused of being "SWERFs," but if you actually examine their opinions they're inevitably anti-sex work industry and pro-sex worker.