Written for Daily Hive by Katarina Szulc, a Canadian journalist who focuses on affordability, crime, immigration, and politics.
Before the pandemic hit, 33-year-old Rori Satya was working as an exotic dancer and battling alcohol and drug addictions.
Although the Vancouver woman wanted to change her circumstances, she says her opportunities were limited and left her in a constant cycle of status quo.
“I was surrounded by a lifestyle where every single person that I knew was drinking and using as much as I was, it was so normalized and so accepted. That’s when I realized I had a problem.
“I spent the next year continuing to work and trying to quit on my own, which was a failing mission. And my addiction got worse and worse, and I ended up in the hospital,” she said.
In March 2020, when COVID-19 forced many businesses to close down, Satya focused on building her career as an online sex work content creator and getting sober.
“I didn’t have access to drugs anymore; I was in a new environment; I was at home. I could make money whilst avoiding all the things that would usually drain my income,” she said.
Rori Satya, 33, goes by Aria Butterfly in the sex work industry. (Submitted)
After a few months, Satya, who goes by Aria Butterfly on OnlyFans, gained a significant following and subscriber base on the subscription content platform, which allowed her to generate more income than ever before.
“A lot of creators use their money for luxury lifestyles, they buy designer bags and cars. I didn’t want to look rich, I wanted to be stable, to change my life and my little sister’s trajectory.”
By 2022, Satya was generating $8,000 to $16,000 per month, but most importantly, Satya says she was finally sober.
“When I first got sober and I had only ever been in the sex work industry, I realized that I wasn’t very employable. I had very few options, and that was very scary for me.”
Satya is one of more than two million creators on OnlyFans, with earnings ranging from supplemental income to millions per month.
While the average OnlyFans creator earns $150 to 180 monthly, Satya says she managed to break through the glass ceiling with tenacity and a drive to change her circumstances.
Aria Butterfly has more than 50,000 followers on social media. (Submitted)
“Some people are passionate about it and love the work and maybe content creation or other aspects of it. They can use it as a stepping stone but this industry is short-lived. It’s not a career, and it can become very much a trap for most people. I’ve seen a lot of amazing people get really wrapped up in it. ”
Is OnlyFans a safer alternative for sex workers?
Treena Orchard, professor at the School of Health Studies at Western University, says Satya is one of many individuals who managed to use OnlyFans as a safer and more lucrative approach to sex work.
“There are a million different kinds of sex work. Many people take part in different kinds of sex work over the course of their careers. Some people never leave the street. Some people never make it to the street.”
Orchard says between the pandemic and the boom on OnlyFans, sex workers are now offered a more personalized, distanced approach in a field many know to be “violent.”
Statistics Canada shows between 1991 and 2014, there were 294 homicides of sex workers. The Health and Human Rights Journal claims many violent instances against sex workers go unreported and are generally underreported.
Orchard also says relying on public statistics about violence against sex workers can be arbitrary due to the broad spectrum of the types of sex work and the stigma surrounding the industry.
While Orchard does not claim OnlyFans to be the perfect platform nor a silver bullet to safe sex work, she says the site has played a role in somewhat destigmatizing the industry to an extent.
“With celebrities doing it, there’s sort of naturally a glamour and like kind of an acceptability, even though sex work will always be a taboo topic to a certain degree because sexuality is and having control — having sexual autonomy — is always going to be a problem within the patriarchy.”
Satya, who is now studying to pursue a psychology PhD, says although she would have preferred to avoid sex work altogether, the destigmatization of OnlyFans allowed her to focus on her future without entirely worrying about her past and the often negative connotation to the reputation of sex work.
“I don’t think this industry should be glamorized, and although I’m grateful for OnlyFans, if people are considering getting into it, I want them to think long and hard about the ramifications that it will have on the rest of their lives, because it is permanent and that information will be out there forever.”
Follow Channels and Categories