THE ‘SUBSCRIBE’ TO ME ECONOMY

IN AUGUST, SAVANNAH’S ENTIRE MONTHLY income was at stake. OnlyFans, the social media platform where she built her career, making an average of $50,000 a month from subscribers, had just announced it would be removing content like hers from the site. But there was little she could do about it. She remembers thinking, “O.K., well, this is another Thursday, I might as well finish my Chick-fil-A, and I’m just gonna chill here and wait for us to get some sort of response.” Savannah, 24, is part of a vibrant community of online sex workers who underwrite OnlyFans’ considerable financial success; it’s now valued at more than $1 billion. But that community was shaken when OnlyFans announced it would be banning explicit content. “The sky falls on OnlyFans, like, every three or four months,” Savannah says wryly.

She could’ve gotten a more standard job when she graduated from college in 2020 with a business degree—maybe at a bank, as a mortgage-loan officer. But while career hunting, she was working three part-time jobs and her boyfriend at the time suggested trying out OnlyFans. She opened an account in January 2020, posting sassy videos and photos that showed off her passion for Star Wars cosplay and her cheeky sense of humor to attract subscribers. “It was nerve-racking,” Savannah admits. At first, the subscribers just trickled in; she made $80 that month.

Then the pandemic lockdowns started, and Savannah’s online star began to rise. “It was an extreme case of ‘right place, right time,’” she says. “Everyone was suddenly locked inside. And they were horny. And it just all came together.” By September 2020, she had earned enough money to buy her own house—a goal that had always seemed elusive