Servicing smiles: Exploring emotional labour in the digital sex work industry - a comparative analysis of female OnlyFans content creators and customer service workers

Walls, F. (2024) Servicing smiles: Exploring emotional labour in the digital sex work industry - a comparative analysis of female OnlyFans content creators and customer service workers. Undergraduate theses, University of Chichester.

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Abstract

This study explores the influences and effects of emotional labour on female OnlyFans Content creators in comparison to women working in customer service roles. Despite extensive research on emotional labour across various work contexts, the realm of online sex work is relatively unexplored. With the new phenomenon of OnlyFans, and over 2.1 million content creators (Lindner, 2023, & Daniel, 2023), it is crucial to understand how emotional labour manifests within this new context. Applying Hochschild’s theories, this research examines emotional labour within conventional and unconventional job settings. My initial hypothesis proposed that OnlyFans content creators endure higher levels of emotional labour than women working in customer service jobs because of the continuous sexual demands of OnlyFans, the interactions with subscribers, and the inherent vulnerability associated with the sexual aspect of the role. However, eight semi-structured interviews with both female OnlyFans Content Creators and women in customer service revealed that OnlyFans content creators experienced lower levels of emotional labour, attributed to the control and autonomy they had over their work.

Publication Type: Theses (Undergraduate)
Additional Information: BA (Hons) Sociology & Criminology
Uncontrolled Keywords: Online Sex Work
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Women > HQ1101 Women. Feminism
H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Women > HQ12 Sexual life > HQ19 Sexual behaviour and attitudes. Sexuality
Divisions: Academic Areas > Institute of Education, Social and Life Sciences
Student Research > Undergraduate
Depositing User: Michelle Farndell
Date Deposited: 31 Oct 2025 10:37
Last Modified: 31 Oct 2025 10:37
URI: https://eprints.chi.ac.uk/id/eprint/8315

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