If you’ve watched the Amazon Prime series Four More Shots Please, you’ll relate to the quirky, audacious, and inclusive character of Siddhi Patel, the one that also embraces the message of body positivity alongside other fun traits. In the first season, Siddhi created a profile on an adult website in the course of her self-discovery and received sexual validation that she didn’t receive from society being a plus-sized woman. Siddhi also reflected on a much more complicated discourse as to why many users may utilise such platforms in the first place.
Whatever may be the fate of the user once a profile is created, such platforms not only have risks of showcasing explicit content but are today both being seen and used as a source of income for many.
Whatever may be the fate of the user once a profile is created, such platforms not only have risks of showcasing explicit content but are today both being seen and used as a source of income for many. Cammers use live video chats to connect with the online user. While some use it in a hidden disguise others pursue it while prioritising pleasure both for themselves and for an audience.
In a society like ours that highly stigmatises sex, naughty brands like IMbesharam, India’s No. 1 adult store, are selling vibrators and massagers disguised as lipsticks and mascaras. Post Covid, in a world that observed lockdowns, when everything was shut down, social media became people’s only social self. This virtual social self became more relevant in embarking on one’s social status even in the real world. The social media bubble boomed more than ever.
Here we are today, where such modes are seen as convenient to connect for both users and audiences, resulting in rising demand and space for such platforms in the digital world. India reported a 95% spike in traffic to adult sites during the 3-week lockdown.
Rise of explicit content streaming platforms
One such site is OnlyFans, which helps creators utilise it to earn income from home. The platform operates on a freemium model, in which anyone can create an account to access some content for free. However, access to exclusive content rests in the hands of only the subscribers who pay. This sense of exclusivity encourages fans to subscribe to their favourite creators.
It gives fans a chance to enter their creators’ private space where many others cannot. Today such platforms can indeed offer freedom to users and even a potential for six-figure incomes but all at the cost of investing long hours into content production and even building relationships with strangers. Most creators who start from scratch are their own sales team and have scarce downtime. For many, despite all these commitments, there’s no guarantee of instant financial gains.
Unlike popular assumptions, the platform doesn’t just showcase sexual content but is open to all content creators. Foodies, gym enthusiasts, musicians etc too. Largely pornographic, the content on OnlyFans is most commonly made by women and majorly viewed by men quite similar to how most sex work is practised for men. Data released by market research platform Gitnux, in 2023 observed that men make up only 29% of the Only Fans content.
Like regular pornographic content that is accessible to anyone on the internet is mostly made by women for men keeping aside the aspects of female pleasure in mind. The platform has made and paid out billions of dollars since 2019 with more than 50 million users, and 5,00,000 “new” accounts made every day. Another platform called ‘Stripchat’ is home to many models who go above and beyond to bring in an ultimate erotic experience.
Stripchat is also an international adult entertainment platform like OnlyFans that features free live-streamed content through webcam performances that display explicit content? During COVID-19, the platform observed a 25% surge in the US and UK with a massive boost in traffic for a vast number of free strip chat cams, affordable private shows, and high-quality cam shows making it one of the most popular adult websites. There are paid features like controlling interactive toys, private ticket show access, and entering a fan club for more model-specific content.
Apart from Stripchat, other platforms like LiveJasmin involve activities like striptease and erotic talk. 360° degree virtual reality live stream is an interesting feature that is becoming popular among viewers. Websites like Camsoda were the first to offer such features for live streams.
Booming market for sexual health and wellness products
With the rise in such platforms across the globe and even a surge in viewership in India, one may ask whether this may change the perception towards sex workers across the world. Can the legalisation of such explicit content streaming platforms in many countries be viewed as a subtle pathway paved for legalising sex work and destigmatising it? As, for India, sex is a taboo subject in the country and usually conversations around it are hushed.
As, for India, sex is a taboo subject in the country and usually conversations around it are hushed.
Despite this, the market for intimate wellness is growing in India. According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the Indian sexual wellness market generated $1.15 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $2.09 billion by 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 5.8% from 2021 to 2030. The report also showed how the sex toys segment garnered the largest share of India’s sexual wellness in 2020. It indicates growing interest even amongst the millennial population towards sexual wellness and how sexual pleasure is viewed in the country.
Since sex toys can be used with or without a partner, it is expected to promote its usage among this population. Even adult stores like IMbesharam observed high sales volume since COVID-19 for long-distance sex toys like Lovense Lush 3, Domi 2, Edge 2, Max 2, Kiiroo Keon, and Pearl 3, etc which are popular among and used by several camming creators. In the past, sex products were only available offline and the internet wasn’t a big factor in the accessibility equation.
However, with the rise in purchasing power of Indians, the internet is now a powerful resource for people looking for sexual health and wellness-related products. The fact that 60% of India’s population is under the age of 35 also plays a big role in the emerging market for sexual health products. Rising access to information and education and breaking of traditional social barriers have led to a scope for growth towards sexual openness and exploration.
Destigmatisation of sexual wellness In India post COVID-19
Privately viewing of porn in India is not a crime. However, the use of pornographic media can be a criminal offense in certain regards, as provided under the law. Even so, OnlyFans is legally accessible in India and such platforms, even Patreon for instance, aren’t new to the Indian market. Few Indian Celebs like Sheryln Chopra have established themselves on Onlyfans but the platform remains inaccessible for the majority of Indian women.
Women are either judged as immoral or demonised for such practices due to cultural and religious expectations placed on them. All sorts of obscene judgments are marked and rooted in our notions of morality. The purity of a woman’s ‘character’ is sacred to us. This is directly associated with protecting one’s family’s honor and reputation.
For a woman or a queer individual, it may come at the cost of stomping on one’s own life choices, interests, and opportunities of seeking pleasure. But brands and entrepreneurs are becoming more aware of their audience’s needs in a market like this, some like IMbesharam are prioritising female pleasure too through sex toys for women as well.
Keeping in mind the sexual wellness of everyone regardless of the societal taboos and stereotypes, as suggested by collated data from the website, the company’s 54% buyers of pleasure products are women.
Keeping in mind the sexual wellness of everyone regardless of the societal taboos and stereotypes, as suggested by collated data from the website, the company’s 54% buyers of pleasure products are women. Sex toy sales have bombed especially post-pandemic leading to a phenomenal rise in the demand for products like adult sex toys, and condoms in the sexual wellness industry. The sector saw a whopping rise in inquiries and also in sales with an almost 24-28 percent rise in revenues.
This indicates how India is continuously paving the way for the upsurge in the demand for the products sold by such Indigenous brands that promote sex positivity. Experts and popular educators like Seema Anand in this industry are of the view that for the longest time, women’s pleasure and even thoughts have been someone else’s property, which is what led her to look for literature that spoke of sexual agency pro-women.
She admits that there has been some change over the last few decades and applauds the efforts of the many players in the sexual wellness industry, who are working hard to change the landscape. ‘The fact that even one person out there is ready to say ‘this gives me pleasure’ is fantastic‘, mentions Seema in a report by ZeeZest.
Moving back to Siddhi Patel from FMSP, with more explicit content streaming platforms emerging, companies like IMbesharam are rapidly establishing their roots in the Indian market, and conversations about self-love through sexual wellness are also escalating to people’s regular conversations.
Other References:
- https://yourstory.com/2022/02/imbesharam-growth-investing-india-homegrown-femtech-startups
- https://www.firstpost.com/health/coronavirus-outbreak-indians-make-most-of-lockdown-as-libido-conquers-social-distancing-at-homes-sales-of-adult-toys-zoom-over-100-8191801.html
- https://www.bebadass.in/post/can-only-fans-destigmatize-sex-work-in-india
