An OnlyFans model has explained why she has decided to stop posting explicit content on her page, as well as opening up on the culture of entitlement to creators' bodies in the adult industry.
Lizzy Groombridge got into OnlyFans as a fetish account due to her height, but after agreeing to create explicit content with an ex-partner, she soon realised it had a massive effect on her.
Now, she’s only producing non-explicit content and wants to educate more people about bodily autonomy, warning that the glamorous and lucrative life of an adult creator has pitfalls and downsides that aren’t as well publicised.
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“When I first started, I found my niche and when you’ve got that it’s a standout factor. That’s what draws your audience in.
“Mine is that I’m very tall for a woman, and I managed to monetise my niche into income.
“It was like eight months in with an ex-partner that the idea of being able to make an income together [came about].
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“Seeing other couples doing it and how easy it is to make that kind of money, I started to get drawn into a much darker side of the industry and doing more explicit content.
“I didn’t actually feel 100 percent certain on it because you objectify yourself by doing things like this.
“It would be unfair to say I was completely pressurised by him [ex-partner] but the comfortable-ness came from doing it with a partner.
“I felt that I didn’t need to worry about anybody or what they thought of me objectifying myself because you consume yourself in this little bubble where you isolate yourself from people and live in your own separate world where you’re in denial that you are OK with your decision.
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“If I had carried on [making explicit content] you could be talking [earning] three to 10 grand per month, because I made it to being a top one percent creator.
“I was being asked to do much less ‘vanilla’ content with people outside of someone that I trusted, basically going into the proper side of the porn industry.
“The money would have been amazing, but then you’ve got to weigh up what means more, your boundaries and what you stand for, as well as being a role model and influencer with younger people looking up to you.”
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The money that comes with OnlyFans and other adult work can entice people in, but there are other elements of the job that can become difficult.
The hours are long, the work is hard, and you’re essentially at the beck and call of subscribers.
Lizzy continued: “In my local area, many girls have followed suit and joined OnlyFans because of my glorified impression of the site and the money I was making and how happy I would appear to be on social media.
“When I got a boob job, I felt that my entire personality became that, and I lost myself.
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“It changes you massively.
“My entire personality on TikTok was to go live with my cleavage out because I was selling myself, but then I wasn’t me anymore.
“I was just objectifying myself for the purpose of making money.
“I wasn’t a personality or a person on there that was engaging properly, I was just so focused on making money on this sexualised site and disrespecting myself all the time.”
Not happy with who she was becoming, Lizzy decided that she would take back control as much as she could and stop producing explicit content.
That meant removing all of her previous explicit content, which then lead to an online leak, which has thankfully been sorted out, but took a toll.
“It’s massively scary,” she said.
“I didn’t stop because I’m a millionaire, I stopped because I got to a point where I was going to get dangerously drawn into the industry and it would have become who I am.
“Instead of doing that I pulled back.
“It has affected me – I had my content leaked two days ago because I’ve taken it all off.
“I had to fight to get that taken down, and that obviously broke me.
“If I’d kept on that page, it’s almost like selling yourself to the devil – you’re not leaving.
“So, I took it all off but somebody has taken that and leaked all of my content on the internet, which wouldn’t have happened if I’d have kept it on my page.”
Another factor was that Lizzy wanted to move more into the world of TikTok creating, which leads to product tie-ins and brand sponsorships, as well as modelling work.
She explained: “Somebody spoke to me and said that I was limiting my opportunities by exploiting myself in the sex industry because companies don’t want to be associated with it.
“It was an eye-opener for me that I was kidding myself.
“I’d already got to the point where I was done, but I wasn’t ready to give up the money because nobody wants to give up that kind of money.
“It’s not an easy decision – you don’t know how it’s going to go.”
Now, she wants to educate other girls about the potentially harmful elements of the industry, without hiding the fact that she is very much still creating content on OnlyFans, just no longer explicit.
“Be aware of the implications of starting a page like that – the safety elements, the implications for your future, and how it can make you feel mentally.
“The money might not always be great but it can still have the same impact on your mental health.
“The expectation now is that if someone is paying a sub price, they think they’re automatically entitled to their body, and that’s not what it’s supposed to be like.”
Topics: Sex and Relationships
Tom Wood