I tell them the story that they want to hear that day’

Emotion management, emotional labour, and authenticity as a digital sex worker – the case of OnlyFans

Dados Bibliográficos

ID13086322
AutoresSwana Schuchmann (0009-0005-4866-9437, Goethe Institute, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Páginas1-17
Data de publicação2025-06-09
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPorn Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2326-8743 • E-ISSN: 2326-8751
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23268743.2025.2501322
OpenAlexW4411155892
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas61

As digital technologies reshape intimate interactions, research on the experiences of digital sex workers, particularly on platforms like OnlyFans (OF), remains sparse. This study examines the emotional labour of five female German OF creators, aged 21–28 years, through semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that participants engage in surface acting and strategic intimacy within a work persona that closely aligns with their authentic selves. This alignment aids in reducing emotional labour by detaching displayed emotions from genuine feelings, facilitating emotional disengagement from work. The study contributes to understanding the complexities of emotional labour in digital sex work

Emotion work · Emotional labor · Emotional Labor in Professions · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Social Psychology