God Save the OnlyFans Models

 

Living between Spain and the rest of Europe, we at Hotshots observe a phenomenon every day that is as fascinating as it is hypocritical. We often find ourselves, like everyone, browsing mainstream social networks like Facebook, and we cannot help but stop at Italian pages where the vast majority of comments, whenever the topic of OnlyFans or adult content in general is touched upon, cross the line of vulgar insult and demonization.

The core of these comments sums up an old and false cliché: "Italians know better,". At the same time, they exalt "trash" productions from the past—works with embarrassing acting, scenography, and overall cinematic quality—as if they were masterpieces. All of this is surreal.

In Italy, if you are an actress who starred in "commedie scollacciate" (raunchy comedies) in the 70s, with repetitive plots and vulgar irony, today you are considered a cult icon, celebrated with nostalgia in TV talk shows. But if you are an indie creator who manages her own body on OnlyFans today, you are submerged by an avalanche of moralizing insults.

Why this cultural schizophrenia? Why do we rehabilitate trash and condemn digital self-determination?

1. The Alibi of the Laugh vs. The Seriousness of Desire

In Italy, sex has always been accepted only if accompanied by a vulgar laugh. The "Commedia Sexy" allowed nudity for decades under the alibi of "we are just joking."

But let’s take masterpieces of adult production, like the visionary Zazel, Scent Of Love by Philip Mond or the dreamlike Dream Quest written specifically for a superstar like Jenna Jameson. Or The Fashionistas by Joe Stagliano, a stylish and baroque work that marks the return to "high" aesthetics in porn. All the way to a true blockbuster spanning comedy, fantasy, and adventure like Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge, produced with a budget of over 8 million dollars, which also has a soft version for the mainstream market. It was the peak and simultaneously the swan song of an absolutely "Hollywood" porn industry.

Take any one of these films and compare them with 'Pierino colpisce ancora' or 'L’insegnante al mare con tutta la classe'. They possess a photography, a direction, and an aesthetic care that humiliate the vast majority of that trash cinema. Yet, because these works take themselves seriously and seek to explore desire without the mask of a joke, they are labeled as "degradation" by those who still laugh at a gag by the late Alvaro Vitali.

2. Geopolitical Stigma: The European Comparison

While Italy remains anchored to the "it is done but not said" mentality, the rest of Europe moves on different tracks:

• France: The border between eroticism and art is fluid. Directors like Gaspar Noé bring explicit sex to Cannes. The stigma is minimal because eroticism is culture.

• Germany: Pure pragmatism. It is an industry that produces taxes and jobs. They discuss labor rights, not "sin."

• Spain: The homeland of the Movida has embraced a sexual freedom displayed with pride, making the average Italian commentators seem like ghosts from the last century.

• UK: Tabloidism and the Double Face. The UK lives a conflict similar to Italy but with Victorian/Puritan roots.

  • Perception: Tabloids (Sun, Mirror) live off the stories of OF creators, alternating between scandalous and celebratory tones ("She earns 100k a month and bought a house").

  • Tolerance: There is a very strong "trash" culture. While Italy rehabilitates Alvaro Vitali out of nostalgia, the UK celebrates "glamour models" (like Katie Price), turning them into pop icons. Stigma is strong in the conservative middle classes but almost non-existent in the working classes.

• Nordic Countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark): The Post-Ideological Model. In these countries, sexuality is extremely de-stigmatized at an educational level, but there is a different paradox:

  • Feminism and Pornography: Stigma is not religious but often political. In Sweden, for example, there is a strong abolitionist feminist current that sees pornography as a tool of patriarchal oppression. The "hate comment" there might not be "you are a sinner," but "you are fueling a system that oppresses women."

• Eastern Europe: The Normalized Industry. In nations like Hungary, Romania, or the Czech Republic, the porn industry has been a real part of the GDP for decades.

  • Pragmatic Acceptance: There is less online "shaming" because the industry is so rooted that almost everyone knows someone who works or has worked in it. It is seen almost as a manufacturing or service job.

• Asia (Japan): Honor and Censura. The Japanese example is paradoxical:

  • The Paradox of Censorship: It is mandatory to censor genitals (pixels), but the industry produces the most extreme and creative content in the world.

  • Perception: Working in the AV (Adult Video) is not "illegal," but it is an indelible stain on family honor. Many actresses use stage names to avoid being discovered by their parents, because the stigma is not religious but linked to social respectability.

• USA: The Mecca of Porn Under Siege. We cannot ignore the United States, the global engine of the industry. Here, the paradox reaches extreme heights. On one hand, the USA is the land of freedom and profit (if you make money with OF, you are often respected as an entrepreneur); on the other, we are witnessing an unprecedented offensive by the radical religious right. Under the banner of "God, Homeland, and Family," an alliance of conservatives is pushing for restrictive laws that threaten digital freedom. It is a crusade that uses morality to control bodies, while simultaneously the very states promoting these laws are among the largest consumers of hardcore content. A power struggle where creators are used as scapegoats in a violent cultural war. However, a large part of the American public respects profit. In the USA, if an OnlyFans creator earns millions, she is interviewed by business podcasts. Stigma exists, but it is often canceled out by economic success. The typical comment under a post is not just "Shame on you," but often a mix of fiscal curiosity or support for "freedom of enterprise."

3. The Psychology of the "Keyboard Moralist"

Who are those who insult creators on social media? Statistics are clear: they are often the same ones who fuel the traffic of adult sites. It is Projection Theory: the insult serves to distance oneself from a desire they do not know how to handle.

In Italy, public morality is still a tight suit worn to hide what is desired in private. The aggression toward those who "put their face out there" is the scream of those who would want that same freedom but lack the courage to admit it. Those who insult and comment vulgarly, or make squalid jokes like those of their cinematic idols from the 70s and 80s, are just dumb, mediocre people, conscious of their own mediocrity. They would like to be free but don't have the courage to admit it.

Then there is also the conspiracy-theory thread, overtly far-right, people who owe their fifteen minutes of fame to social media and who, without Facebook, would be labeled as the "village idiot." The era of digitalization, unfortunately, has its pros and cons, but it is undeniable that these "humans" (placed voluntarily in quotes) are gaining ground because they are the lifeblood for certain politicians who rely on hate and create new enemies to be heard by those who understand no other messages. And increasingly often, OF creators—along with other influencers or YouTubers who do not publish adult content but still have thousands of followers—end up in the ranks of the "new enemies to fight." And do you know why? Because they are entrepreneurs of themselves and owe nothing to anyone.

4. From the Diva to the "Girl Next Door"

As has happened in the past, every time we have touched on general topics that went beyond porn, there will be protests against us as well. But truly, we couldn't care less.

Returning more strictly to the adult industry, it is actually the first to have suffered the shock of creator independence and platforms like OnlyFans. But my friends... porn has existed for decades and, compared to any other sector, it has the foresight to ride changes and, often, to anticipate them.

From the end of the first decade of the 2000s to today, the industry has changed radically. With the aforementioned Pirates II, an absolute record of economic investment for an adult film, the era of big budgets has set, and with it, the perception of consumers.

The advent of platforms like OnlyFans has shifted the axis of desire: we no longer look for the polished; we look for the real. Porn has left Hollywood sets to enter bedrooms, becoming more authentic, less filtered, and incredibly close. It is precisely this "next-door reality" that triggers the rage of the moralizers: today's creator is not a ghost on a film reel; she is a real person, with a name, a voice, and a financial autonomy that directly challenges the dogmas of patriarchal society. Today's demonization is the disjointed reaction to a desire that is no longer confined to a dream but walks among us.

Less hypocrisy, more intellectual honesty.