It's definitely a controversial topic.
At the end of the day I absolutely support a performer's choice to work however the hell they want to work. OF can provide a solid revenue stream and offer them complete control over their work environment, and if they've had negative experiences in the industry, that can be the difference between keeping going or leaving the industry altogether. Which, of course, I also fully support if it's what they want. We have to remember that these are human beings and respect their autonomy and choices, whether we approve of them or not.
Equally, I reserve the right to be personally disappointed when someone whose work I enjoy opts out of the studio system, because 99% of the porn I watch comes from that system. I don't really enjoy OF content because, by and large, the production values are worse and as @petergriff mentioned, it's generally pretty vanilla boyfriend content if it's BG at all. So I can't say I've ever found an OF I wanted to actually subscribe to.
bigloverofcoffee69 There are certain things some of these pornstars would do on their on Onlyfans and similar Onlyfans-like sites that major studios would never do due to all sort of restrictions.
That's definitely a super-relevant point. There is content I enjoy that you'd never see here for all the reasons we've been talking about lately. But the cost of OF mounts up quickly. I'd have to want that particular content really badly to want to pay that. And TBH most of it missed the mark for me anyway.
The problem with the Aidra Fox tweet as I see it is that she isn't recognising that it isn't just about her shooting content, or how she chooses to sell it, it's about the ways in which her choice restricts what that product can be, and that this might be a deal-breaker for some people. A regular sub to a site full of content by many performers is obviously better value for most of us than a sub to an individual OF site, which is still much better value than buying individual clips from clip sites (have you seen those prices?). Expecting people to support you directly because they are fans is the problem; sure, some will do that, it's what OF is for, but most people may enjoy a particular performer's content but not be fooled into thinking they can somehow have a real, direct relationship with them. That's a way in which OF, and social media more generally, exploits people. The 'if you liked me, you'd support me directly' thing is honestly a little grubby IMHO; by all means offer something for money and people can choose to pay for it or not, that's a fair exchange.
I can see both sides of the coin here, but I personally am highly unlikely to ever sub to an OF site, so for my own interest I would like the VR studio system to succeed. When someone I like leaves that system, I can be disappointed about it, that's my right, but my concern is that that system is healthy and respectful and safe and that every performer gets to make their own choices. Whatever they might be.
