Sex workers, always a vulnerable social and economic group, are being hit particularly hard by the financial fallout of Covid-19. Even in sex-positive San Francisco, with its history of advocacy for sex work, they are struggling to find support amid the sudden loss of work.
Those with legal W-2 jobs can apply for emergency relief, from unemployment insurance to emergency grants or loans, to moratoriums on evictions and power shut-offs. But because sex work is mostly illegal, those in the field are out of luck.
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So while social distancing is recommended, many are needing to get innovative. Sex workers are exemplary influencers — after all, long before social media came along, many were adept at creating and maintaining online personas and constantly pushing out new content. It should come as no surprise, then, that many now-unemployed sex workers are pivoting to online work.
“We have a savvy group of sex workers in the Bay Area.”
“It’s been great to see a lot of established performers helping and mentoring workers’ transition to internet hustles,” said Maxine Holloway, a sex worker, community organizer, and co-founder of the peer-led sex worker resource organization Bay Area Workers Support (BAWS). Holloway also has a strong online presence herself.
“We have a savvy group of sex workers in the Bay Area,” said Chuck Cloniger, co-founder and clinical director of SF’s St. James Infirmary, a groundbreaking organization founded and staffed by sex workers. “We’ve been through HIV when it came in 30-plus years ago. Sex workers were frontline folks on knowing how to stay safe and passing info to others. Those who are able to are finding creative ways to serve their clients to make money in ways that are safer via video or phone.”
Organizations like BAWS have issued resource guides for Covid-19 with sections on joining web-based services, including instructional videos and marketing tips. Time spent on adult sites is definitely on the rise — in mid-March, Pornhub announced one month of free premium service and reported an 18.5% increase in traffic.
However, sites such as PornHub notoriously profit off of pirated material. Many enterprising sex workers direct their interested customers to subscription-based online platforms such as OnlyFans, Just For Fans, and NiteFlirt, where they can control content and receive the majority of their channel income.
Dominic Ford, veteran muscle daddy porn star and founder of Just For Fans, confirmed that his site “definitely has seen an uptick in sales.” He’s seeing “models” succeed who show “personality and character.”
“Think of it like Instagram with X-rated material allowed,” he said. Every photo or message sent by subscribers in reaction to a live video incurs a charge. Models can make additional money by offering extras such as personalized pictures, texts, merchandise, subscriptions to social media accounts, and video downloads.
To help models during this time, Ford says he recently made it faster for them to get verified, has reduced minimum payouts, and launched a live beta cam. The Just For Fans Twitter account also frequently posts pointers. Other camming sites have also offered more help to their live models, like ManyVids, which recently streamed an event as a fundraiser.
Online models are taking it upon themselves to offer more promotions than they usually do, such as discounts on subscriptions. Ford says the number of models offering promotions is 203, up from the average of 120 — an increase of about 69%.
The scramble to online platforms may seem like a gold mine, but increased competition and the difficulty of gaining fans make the feasibility of full-time web work a distant goal. Ford pointed out that “it’s very rare that sex workers rely 100% on their online income.”
“Most are bartenders, go-go dancers, strippers, masseurs, escorts, or studio porn stars. And all of that business has dried up right now,” he said.
Even James Darling, a relatively well-known transgender Bay Area adult performer, director, professional dominant, and companion, expresses this as a new model on these sites. “I’ve been trying to get online subscription platforms… but that can take months to build up and actually see an income,” he said.
Holloway also noted that “camming and porn are much more public, and people have to give up some degrees of privacy to engage in that type of work, which isn’t always an option for everyone.”
As for the long-term success of sites like his, Ford expressed trepidation about the projected continuation of the Covid-19 economic decline.
“Right now, the people who can work from home and still earn a salary are still spending money. But if the entire economy goes into a depression, then I think they will stop spending money, too,” he said.
Then there is the controversial national FOSTA-SESTA bill, signed into law in 2018. Its intention was to fight online sex trafficking, but people in the sex work industry say it’s ended up backfiring on consenting adult sex workers’ ability to conduct online business, such as advertising for services. More of the bill fallout overlaps with the fact that “sex workers are also not always able to access fundraising and banking tools, and frequently get banned from platforms like GoFundMe, PayPal, Venmo, cash app, and even bank accounts,” said Holloway. Some must jump from platform to platform under different identities in order to maintain income flow.
The reality, Holloway said, is that some sex workers will choose to continue seeing clients in person in order to make ends meet.
Many sex workers support other family members, care for sick partners, and are dealing with complicated issues related to health care access and immigration status,” she added.
That’s why BAWS has included significant harm reduction sections in their Covid-19 brochures, covering everything from dealing with mental health to tips on reducing the chances of contracting the virus (like avoiding kissing and having clients wash hands after exchanging money). St. James Infirmary and City Clinic are remaining open during SF’s shelter-in-place order to serve sex worker clientele, as the two fall under the category of essential health care operations — with service modifications to reduce contact between people. City Clinic will only see clients with urgent sexual health concerns, and St. James will conduct its free therapy sessions via phone or video.
BAWS has also set up an emergency grant fund to distribute mini-grants of $50–$200 to sex workers. There are also Bay Area mutual aid lists circulating among individuals for overlapping communities, such as the Covid-19 Resource List created by Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality.
“Any type of issue in the sex trade always affects marginalized people more,” Holloway said. “It’s crucial that we support BIPOC, trans women, disabled, and outdoor workers during this pandemic… Many sex workers support other family members, care for sick partners, and are dealing with complicated issues related to health care access and immigration status,” she added.
Until there is a sea change in policy to decriminalize sex work on the city, state, and federal levels, sex workers are left without mainstream aid options and have to create their own. They always have, but shouldn’t have to do it alone.
