Only Fans stories: a happy life?
One person's words suggest not
Not a week goes by without a viral story about someone who has given up their mundane job to earn eye-watering money through Only Fans. I’ve been looking at the words used but haven’t seen much to get my teeth into apart from a downplaying of the porn aspect and some solid promotion for the accounts.
One story did catch my eye this week. The headline said someone was making £50,000 a year through selling their tights on the platform.
However, the in the words of the story, Lizzy says she's selling 10 pairs of tights a fortnight at £45 a pair. Which is a long way from earning £50,000 in a year. Which got me looking at the other words she used to see what was going on in this story.
Let’s break it down
I enjoy it and I don't care what others think. Their opinions don't pay my bills.
In the first quote from the article, I see a sensitivity to the opinion of others from Lizzy. She mentions their opinions twice, so they are important to her, although she may disagree with them.
Lizzy’s first words are “I enjoy it”. There is some distance here with her using the unspecific “it”. She doesn’t say specifically what she enjoys, or what she enjoys about “it”. This is a theme which runs through her words.
The idea came about when people started approaching me on TikTok. I do a lot of videos relating to my height and I wear tights in them. I had people messaging me asking if they could buy them from me.
There is more distancing language in this part. Lizzy doesn’t say “I had the idea…” or “the idea came to me…”. Instead, Lizzy’s words suggest the idea came from somewhere else, with “the idea came about”. She doesn’t feel she has ownership of the idea.
“I had people messaging me” also deals with events being outside her control. If she had said “I received lots of messages…” or “my inbox was full of requests…” I’d have a picture of someone more in control of the situation.
Compare that wording to how she describes the videos, she has ownership here, “I do a lot of videos relating to MY height and I wear tights in them”.
Self-reliant
I'm reliant on myself, I thought I'd run with the idea and see how it went.
Lizzy introduces the thought of isolation with these words “I’m reliant on myself”, this is another theme she will return to.
Once again, there is no ownership of the idea. She owns the action “I thought I’d run with…” but it is still “the idea”, not “my idea”.
And once more, we see the lack of control with the “and see how it went”. These words show she was relying on the actions of others to decide her own actions.
In the space of a fortnight I sell around 10, but it can vary. It's opened my eyes up to areas of desires I never knew existed, but I'm open-minded.
As I said in the introduction, this scheme of selling tights isn’t making much money. If we take the figure of 10 pairs a fortnight that is £11,700 a year income, but there are costs associated with that.
With the line, “it’s opened my eyes up to areas of desires I never knew existed” it’s hard to know if she is referring to the demand for tights, or further areas of desire. The fact she says “desires” and “areas” as plurals suggests the latter.
Lizzy attempts to imply she’s fine with these areas of desire by saying, “but I’m open-minded”. However, “open-minded” can mean being open to considering ideas, it doesn’t mean they are always accepted or that she’s fine with them.
If she had said she is “broad-minded”, then it would imply she was welcoming to these desires. “Open-minded”, says she is less welcoming.
Alone?
I'm a mum and supporting three children isn't easy. I've no one I can really turn to. I do enjoy it. However, it has its hard moments.
“I’m a mum and supporting three children isn’t easy. I’ve no one I can really turn to” gives a sense of loneliness again. Lizzy doesn’t say she is supporting three children on her own or doesn’t say “I’m a single mum” which is often used in stories like this. There is the possibility she isn’t supporting her children alone.
I would like to know why Lizzie didn’t say “I’ve no one I can turn to” but instead said “I’ve no one I can really turn to”. If I said, “there’s no food in the house I can really eat”, it would imply there is food in the house but for some reason it’s unsuitable, or I don’t want it. Is there someone Lizzy can turn to but doesn’t want to?
What is clear here is Lizzie owns this thought, saying “I’ve no one I can really turn to” rather than a more generic “there’s no one I can really turn to”.
Once again Lizzie says, “I do enjoy it” with all the distance that implies, and again she doesn’t tell us what she enjoys about “it”. Instead, she says what she doesn’t enjoy. “It has its hard moments”.
This part is all hardship, hardship of supporting children, hardship of being lonely, hardship of Only Fans.
Overwhelming
I'm only human, I become overwhelmed with requests or I have days where I have personal hang-ups but I use my platforms to push me and give me more confidence, but also show others that you can go from the ground up. I'm showing others you can reach your dreams and take risks because you only live once and it's worth it.
Overall, in this paragraph, it feels like she’s being contradictory. She starts by saying she is only human and gets overwhelmed and has hang-ups. She ends by saying, “you only live once”.
If “you only live once” is your life motto, would you really spend time in that precious life in a situation that you can find overwhelming and which brings out your hang-ups?
What is clear is that she has no trouble raising the drawbacks to her being on Only Fans … she gets “overwhelmed”, she has “personal hang-ups”, it is risky. At the end she says, “it’s worth it” which implies that she feels you have to endure a lot to get the end result.
Her pronoun use is interested in this section. Lizzie takes personal ownership of the hard parts using the pronoun “I”, “I’m only human”, “I become overwhelmed”., “I have days where I have personal hang ups.”
She has less ownership of the good parts, “YOU can reach YOUR dreams”, “YOU only live once”, “IT’S worth it”.
Note as well that the drawbacks she lists are quite specific “overwhelmed with requests” rather than just “overwhelmed”, “personal hang-ups” too. The positives are generic and vague, “you can reach your dreams”.
“Take risks” is revealing. There’s little financial risk in Only Fans or selling a few tights, so which risks is she talking about? Is this the risk of other peoples’ opinions? Being overwhelmed?
I only want to be able to provide for my kids and let's face it where am I going to have the same opportunity to make money. This is my full-time job now, and I'm hoping to get in the top 0% of TikTok accounts now that I've had my boob job.
Again, we see the fact she is fully aware of the drawbacks. If you are offered a job with a good wage doing something you are competent at, would you say “let’s face it, where am I going to have the same opportunity to make money”?
If you had the chance to achieve your dream job, say a footballer or singer, would you say “let’s face it, where am I going to have the same opportunity to make money”?
I wouldn’t. It’s now clearer to see why Lizzy uses distancing language around Only Fans and can’t say what she enjoys about it.
I don’t understand the “0%” mention, (I suspect a typo) but the meaning is obvious. She’s hoping to be a top TikTok account now she’s had her boob job.
Apart from this sentence making me feel sad that someone feels they need to have cosmetic surgery on their body to achieve a goal, this shows Lizzy’s lack of control again. “I’m hoping to get in..” shows that she feels her achievements are in the hands of others.
I'm making a separate page to help other women get started and how to promote etc, as I get a lot of people turn to me asking how I've done it and grown so quickly. So I can help others gain more financial control of their lives too.
Often with people who aren’t happy with what they’re saying or doing, they will tell a story of how they plan to benefit others. Frequently it’s a justification. I feel this is the case here.
The last words echo what we’ve seen elsewhere, “gain more financial control of their lives”
She doesn’t feel she has total financial control, just “more financial control” suggesting she feels like she has “some financial control”.
“Financial control of their lives”. This is strange wording, why not just “financial control” why has “of their lives” been added at the end?
Why use the word “control” at all? This could have been stated as “financial independence”, “financial freedom”, “better finances” or “more money”. For me, control (or the lack of it) has been running through these words.
Conclusion
When people talk, the words and concepts they repeat reveal what is important to them. These words suggest to me that Lizzy feels isolated and isn’t thrilled with her life on Only Fans. It’s clear she doesn’t feel she’s in control.
These words make me worry. She doesn’t feel in control, she alludes to being alone, but I did note she doesn’t say she’s a single mum, and she did only say “I’ve no one I can really turn to” rather than “there’s no one I can turn to”
Is there someone else involved in this endeavour that is pulling the strings? Is there some exploitation going on here?
I hope I’m wrong and Lizzy is independent and learning as she goes. But there are numerous signs in her words that make me uneasy.
Get updates, suggests words to look at, see bonus posts and discuss what you see in other people’s words on the Facebook page here
Oh dear, she is selling her used tights to perverts. Well, well. I pass no judgement on her for that, hey, why not, if somebody likes that. On the other hand, if she has money for a boob job, she isn't really strapped for cash.
The thing is, now she has placed herself into a niche that will be hard to get out of. Her language is very defensive, so she probably is aware of that dilemma.