The Seduction of a Culture - How Pornography Became the New Normal

Pornography is one of the most common forms of adultery. It is present in some form in almost every type of media. From popular books, shows, movies and advertisements. You are being sold sex at every turn. With the rise of the internet, pornography became easily accessible. In the last decade however, the rise of social media has facilitated it taking root in main stream culture.

After the TV boom during 2010s, several shows became famous for their explicit content. HBO’s Game of Thrones and Euphoria played a part in normalizing sexual content becoming integral parts of plotlines[1]. These shows, along with many new ones such as House of the Dragon and White Lotus, aim to shock viewers with graphic sex scenes, nudity and the objectification and violence of women. HBO and Netflix are leading the cultural push to make porn mainstream[2]. They have lazily repackaged sexual content as a form of storytelling. So, in an era where storytelling has the ability to shape the souls of many, the entertainment industry has decided to catechize the culture in sexual depravity.

At the same time, many streaming services and online platforms pulled back the curtain of sex work to personally introduce the average person at home to the life of sex workers[3]. With the most popular age demographic on social media being teenagers and young adults, sex workers can now take their audience through a day in their lives to flaunt their fast money, lavish lifestyles and material possessions[4]. What used to be a profession steeped in secrecy and shame has now become popularized and aspirational. Naturally, what came next shocked no one.

The normalization of pornography on the TV screen and the rise of social media led to the creation of OnlyFans. A platform dedicated to reducing the distance between the sex worker and the audience to almost zero[5]. OF removed the necessity of a formal industry and turned a generation of girls with cameras in their bedrooms into hardcore pornographers.

But as with any type of pornography, OnlyFans seeks to make its content more palatable by dubbing the women who create their explicit content as OnlyFans ‘creators’. Choosing simply to describe them as ‘models,’ ‘girls,’ and ‘educators.’ From its inception, many decisions were made to normalize and merge mainstream culture into its platform. Celebrities, influencers and artists flocked to join as a way to make extra money or simply as a way to stay relevant in an industry where pushing the latest boundary is the only way to maintain a career. Former Disney star, Bella Thorne, famously made almost a million dollars in one day[6]. Online celebrity and rapper, Bhad Bhabie boasts being the highest paid celebrity after making seventy-five million dollars[7]. As of now, you can even find Real Housewives (and their daughters) on the platform. Dennise Richards even admitted to her younger daughter stumbling upon her content[8].

Recently OF has attempted to repackage their reputation by starting “safe-for-work” platforms as well as showcasing and funding other non-adult content creators. But regardless of their attempts to rebrand as simply a platform intended to allow creators to manage their own content, OF will always be heavily associated with their sexually explicit content[9].

Naturally, with its close connection to social media and the rise of podcasts, some of its most famous sex-workers have become household names due to their fame seeking antics. Porn stars such as Bonnie Blue and Lilly Phillips have recently attempted to out-do each other by sleeping with over a thousand men in one day[10]. Both of them advocate for women degrading themselves and pushing themselves past the point of abusive limits simply for financial gain.

Both women also seem to operate beyond the belief that their actions will have any negative repercussions. They stress the monetary gain while ignoring the very real consequences they will soon experience. Future possibilities of a healthy marriage and family life, STDs and the loss of dignity and reputation are all issues to scoff and laugh at. But while they ruin their life and impact the lives and families of the men consuming their content, there is a more insidious issue that no one is talking about.

The truth is that OnlyFans pornographers have found huge financial success by cutting out the middleman of the old industry. The choice to press record, edit and release their own content has allowed many the control and ability to make more money than they would have otherwise.

But it would be foolish to believe that any industry wouldn’t have a top dog in charge. Since its inception, famous celebrities and big-name porn stars have broadcasted the millions that they have made from the platform. Causing your average, normal girl to run west seeking to be a part of the gold rush. It is said, that while young men aspire to become famous youtubers, young girls are now seeking the easy profit of becoming a cam-girl. Except that, due to the rise in numbers, the success is not easily found.

Instead, girls who should be headed for college post for months with their mailman, former high school teacher and next-door neighbor finding their accounts without finding very much success. So, the natural progression has become for the more famous ‘OF girls’ to create digital brothels[11]. Once again, girls are recruited to be part of these houses where more famous creators platform and promote their work. But it is no coincidence that the young women recruited could pass for teenagers.

The truth is, pornography, as with any industry is a numbers game. It is simply supply and demand. Instead of material possessions being sold, it is the bodies of young women being degraded and sold for profit. The evil genius of OnlyFans is that it managed to dupe an entire generation into believing this was honest, easy and reputable work.

Once admiration in the form of clicks and likes replaced admiration from moral and virtuous choices; a life creating pornography from your bedroom became an easy sell. The phrases ‘its not hurting you’ or ‘what do you care what consenting adults do?’ have been utilized to defend pornography from its inception.

But in a culture where the divorce rate is through the roof, depression, addiction and STDs have become common-place; perhaps it is time we accept the truth. When we have situations like men interacting with OF creators in the bathroom while their families sit in their home, or young girls that should be heading off to college turning on their cameras instead, or even young children who will someday find out what their mothers do for work – it is time to accept that pornography is a social ill that affects everyone.

[1] https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/beware-of-graphic-content-for-hbo-go-subscribers-parental-controls-and-more/

[2] https://nypost.com/2024/03/16/entertainment/netflix-subscribers-sickened-by-x-rated-supersex-series-are-we-just-making-porn-mainstream-now/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiC_gpE7y0521sfyvcczRMsYzBWzW4TAr & https://www.vice.com/en/tag/sex-workers/

[4] https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/

[5] https://www.security.org/digital-safety/is-onlyfans-safe/#:~:text=OnlyFans%20has%20carved%20a%20unique,Let's%20start!

[6] https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/bella-thorne-breaks-onlyfans-record-1-million-24-hours-1234749127/

[7] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-14466315/Bhad-Bhabie-shares-unbelievable-OnlyFans-earnings-makes-richest-celebrity-site.html

[8] https://pagesix.com/2025/03/12/parents/denise-richards-confesses-13-year-old-daughter-found-her-risque-onlyfans-photos-in-ipad-mishap/

[9] https://gabb.com/blog/what-is-onlyfans/

[10] https://www.joe.co.uk/life/bonnie-blue-explains-exactly-how-she-slept-with-1057-men-in-12-hours-471338

[11] https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-bop-house-is-an-onlyfans-paradise-that-pulls-millions-per-month/