OnlyFans creators have watched the Netflix hit documentary Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere, and they have a few words for the influencers who decided to take a shot at them. Thing one: stop profiting off of women while attacking them publicly.
If you haven’t added the documentary to your list, do that. It explores the ways in which the newer generation of male influencers like the 23-year-old British influencer, Harrison Sullivan (HSTikkyTokky) are building massive audiences online by blatantly attacking women, sex workers, and feminism in general.
You might be wondering to yourself, “Isn’t that a really gross way to build a platform that hundreds of thousands of people tune into?” The answer to that question is a resounding “YES, OH MY GOD.” Multiple OnlyFans creators agreed, and have their own takes on the viral documentary.
British OnlyFans creator Bonnie Locket has previously collaborated with male influencers, including HSTikkyTokky. When asked what it was like collaborating with someone in the manosphere, she said “At first it feels exciting and very performative, like you’re both in on the same joke or narrative. But when things don’t go to plan, it can turn very quickly. I’ve experienced situations where something that was meant to be controlled or agreed suddenly gets twisted publicly for attention. That’s when you realise not everyone is playing by the same rules.”
Because she’s collaborated with HSTikkyTokky, she was familiar with his behavior pattern that he exhibited in the documentary, and wasn’t shocked by what she saw from him, and other manosphere influencers. Says Bonnie, “One thing that struck me is how comfortable some men are consuming our content while still criticising us,” she said. “They want access to women’s bodies, women’s attention and women’s labour, but they still want to sit in judgement over the women providing it.”
Bonnie didn’t have to witness the content in Inside the Manosphere to understand what happens, because she’s lived it. She said, “One thing the documentary reminded me of is how easily narratives about women get created and spread online”, she said. “The content we filmed together was completely safe-for-work, but it was later framed in a way that suggested something else had happened”, she explained.
Bonnie wasn’t the only OnlyFans creator who had something to say. Summer Robert has also had the misfortune of interacting with manosphere influencers, and confirmed that they are just as toxic in real life as they are in the documentary. When asked about her experience working with manosphere influencers, Summer Robert had the following to say, “The way he spoke to me was always very demeaning, over sexualising me and trying to get me to take my clothes off on camera or flash on a stream, or even date a disabled man for views. It was all very strange and he knew that but he just didn’t care. Everything was about views. The people around him are just little monkeys who have to do a little dance for him.”
Summer was quick to extract herself from that working relationship, and says that the documentary made her “nauseous.” When asked what she would choose to make a documentary about, she said, “ I would make a documentary about the damage of the men who think they can come and control and ‘manage’ OnlyFans girls. Men see women taking things and earning their own money, and get annoyed that they aren’t a part of it.”
And she’s right. Men like those featured in the documentary who build their platforms off of degrading women definitely have no problem making money off of OnlyFans creators, while still looking down on the work these women do.
OnlyFans creator Kit Barrus had this to say about Manosphere, “My key takeaway was an understanding of how dark those people are and how close they are to so many of us. These men are deeply rooted in our industry. They manage girls we work with, they’re present at content houses, and they make money off of us all while despising us.”
When asked what she would have liked to have heard more about in the documentary, Kit said, “I would have liked it if they had interviewed more of the women around the men. I’m sure the OnlyFans girls would have been willing to talk about their experiences had they been approached away from the men, but I get the feeling they weren’t approached. Our outlooks on our own industry are often ignored because people don’t like giving us platforms to speak about anything meaningful.”
That these men are perfectly fine using women for profit while ignoring the actual person underneath is a stark reality of what life online is like for many women, regardless of whether or not they’re an OnlyFans creator. Bonnie Locket says that she believes that within online spaces, there is a culture of exaggerating (or inventing outright) derogatory stories about women in order to build a persona, or foster attention. Says Bonnie, “The problem is that women then have to deal with the consequences of those stories, even when they’re not real. It shows how easily women’s names and reputations can be turned into content.”
Bonnie also corroborated Kit Barrus’ point on women needing to be the ones to tell their stories. Bonnie said, “For me it just reinforces how important it is that women speak for themselves and keep control of their own narrative, because otherwise someone else will happily write it for them.”
If hypocrisy makes your blood boil to the point of not being able to be a functional human, maybe skip Manosphere after all, because it’s there in droves. Says Bonnie, “The idea of profiting from women on OnlyFans while saying you would disown your own daughter for doing it says a lot about how society still sees women’s autonomy. If it’s acceptable when it benefits you financially, but unacceptable when a woman in your own life makes that choice, then the issue clearly isn’t morality. It’s control”.
OnlyFans gives women a powerful vehicle to carve out something for themselves, and wherever there are independent women, there are Manosphere influencers ready to try and grab a piece of a pie they had no hand in making. Says Bonnie, “Women are realising they don’t need permission anymore. Whether it’s building businesses online or deciding what kind of life they want, that independence can make some people uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable” is putting it mildly, apparently. Says Kit Barrus, “These men feel like they’re victims of society and they’re clawing for any power they can get. Men love us when they get to use us. They hate us when we have money because it puts us on their level and they have less control.”
Kit pointed out that manosphere influencers are clearly reacting to the fact that women have financial options other than “go find a man,” and some men are clearly handling that less well than others. Says Kit, “Women couldn’t even open bank accounts decades ago,” she said. “Now a lot of women are making more than men. The world has changed, and I think these guys are afraid of that.”
Alix Lynx, another OnlyFans creator, also weighed in on Manosphere, with particularly biting commentary on HSTikkyTokky. Says Alix, “This guy totally sucks. He’s just a little boy; I wouldn’t go near his type, ever. He’s the type that has a flashy car and would rev it next to a bunch of women. It’s small dick energy, you know what I mean?”
Lynx also pointed out that the hyper-masculinity exhibited by manosphere influencers usually hides some very deep-seeded insecurity, saying “All I see are super insecure men who seem like they’re compensating for something or lacking something. If he were truly confident, he wouldn’t have such a problem with girls on OnlyFans”.
If nothing else, the documentary made a powerful case for matriarchy. Alix Lynx says, “We gave the patriarchal model a chance, and look what happened. Women are like natural-born leaders. You give a mom with two kids tasks to do, it’s going to get done in a day. If women were in charge of countries right now, there wouldn’t be any wars. We would sit down. We would have conversations.”
While viewers are still watching Manosphere, and experiencing shock at learning exactly how so many of these men view women, that attitude is nothing new to sex workers who work online. According to Summer Robert, the same men will spew slurs and abusive language on her Instagram, and then turn around and pay for her content. Says Robert, “Men like this spread hate on sex workers publicly and then support us privately. It’s the sad reality.”
Robert has opts not to engage with these men, saying “They want attention. They want people talking about them. And they want to be hated so they get more views, but eventually people like this get their karma.”
Despite the manosphere, and the rise of men abusing women online for views and clout, creators say they fully expect the wider cultural shift towards female independence to continue. Says Bonnie Locket, “The world works best when men and women respect each other’s freedom. The problem isn’t women making their own choices. The problem is people who think they should get to make those choices for them.”Will the manosphere crumble anytime soon? Probably not, but we can cross our fingers and hope that they collectively forget to pay their WiFi bills. Here’s to women making more of their own choices, men feeling secure sharing a world where women are independent and choose to be with them because they want to, and everyone moving forward with actual respect for one another.
