Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith

Why you think OnlyFans is easy money (when it definitely isn't) "If women can succeed at it, the logic goes, it must be easy."

"If women can succeed at it, the logic goes, it must be easy."

Why you think OnlyFans is easy money (when it definitely isn't) "If women can succeed at it, the logic goes, it must be easy."

Great article from Mark, who spoke with me and several others about the myth that OnlyFans is 'easy money' mashable.com/article/why-...

Thank you so much!

Pornographic aura, AI and the value of authenticity The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools which can produce images and video from text inputs has prompted questions about the impacts of the technology on the pornography indu...

New from me in Porn Studies, discussing the emergence of AI generated porn and explaining why I don't think it's a serious threat to (most) of the sector: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Screenshot of a journal abstract. Title: Pornographic aura, AI and the value of authenticity. Text: The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools which can produce images and video from text inputs has prompted questions about the impacts of the technology on the pornography industry. While there has been extensive research into the implications of pornographic deepfakes, work which addresses the impacts of generative AI images and video that do not mimic a specific person is presently limited. Authenticity in pornography refers to multiple concepts, ranging from the depiction of non-simulated acts to the representation of ‘authentic’ pleasure. Multiple types of pornographic authenticity add value to a scene and can enhance the viewers’ enjoyment. This article argues that generative AI is unlikely to significantly disrupt the pornography industry, because the material it produces lacks a kind of auratic authenticity which pornography that depicts human subjects does possess, ultimately undermining the pleasure derived by the viewer.

I suggest that conventionally produced porn has a kind of aura even though it can be reproduced, because it represents one specific occurrence of a sexual act/encounter, unlike AI porn which is unmoored in time and space. I also argue that porn has a "ritual value" (jorkin' it)

Pornographic aura, AI and the value of authenticity The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools which can produce images and video from text inputs has prompted questions about the impacts of the technology on the pornography indu...

New article in Porn Studies! Using Benjamin's theory of aura to explain why I don't think the live-action porn industry will be meaningfully replaced by AI porn www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

PM’s press secretary ‘recorded sex workers without consent’ Christopher Luxon’s deputy chief press secretary quits after Stuff investigation into allegations he secretly recorded sessions with sex workers.

Appreciation to the sex workers for talking to me because they knew this was in the public interest.

And I think we need to have a conversation about some of the wider issues here.

Drag and the New Political Economy of Queer Nightlife In recent decades, rising rents, lower patronage, and the sexual integration of nightlife have forced hundreds of gay, lesbian, and queer (GLQ+) bars across and beyond the United States to close. I...

Friday afternoon reading, on the mainstreaming of drag (especially interested in the observations here about performers feeling pressured to deliver performances and styles which new audiences will recognise from mainstream media/Drag Race) doi.org/10.1080/0038...

Visibility in the shadows: Tips in mainstream versus alternative streaming on Chaturbate - Emilija Jokubauskaitė, Stijn Peeters, 2025 Webcam sex platforms represent an important sector of the creator economy. Yet, there is a great scarcity of research on revenue flows and performer income. To ...

I found this really interesting, especially the detail about reliance on 'whale' clients (and how this might be more pronounced for trans performers) journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

i gained 100 new followers since the last time i posted about a new publication and today is finally time to do it again! this time @best.wel.moe and i dig into the $$$ flows on Chaturbate and investigate the links between visibility and income 🐋👛📉 (pls read)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Sweden Expands Anti-Sex Work Law to Criminalize Paying for Custom OnlyFans Clips and Camming The Nordic Model criminalizes buyers of sex in multiple European countries (and Maine). Sweden just voted to expand its reach to the internet.

Sweden just expanded the Nordic Model, or "End Demand," to the internet. But we already know criminalization, including criminalizing buyers, is harmful policy www.404media.co/sweden-sex-w...

Why do brothels look like that? This post brought to you by 23 textured throw pillows.

Crossposting here as well, if you aren't using Substack: gwynesmith.beehiiv.com/p/why-do-bro...

Image of a gold tap and velvet headboard, with the title "Why do brothels look like that?"

Wrote a shorter summary of one of my latest articles, looking at how many different things brothel interiors are asked to do: drgesmith.substack.com/p/why-do-bro...

Why do brothels look like that? This post brought to you by 23 textured throw pillows.

Crossposting here as well, if you aren't using Substack: gwynesmith.beehiiv.com/p/why-do-bro...

Image of a gold tap and velvet headboard, with the title "Why do brothels look like that?"

Wrote a shorter summary of one of my latest articles, looking at how many different things brothel interiors are asked to do: drgesmith.substack.com/p/why-do-bro...

Please donate to bail out sex workers caught in Super Bowl sweeps.

“I’ve adopted it as my smell”: transgender identity and the olfactory Smell is an often-overlooked sense within transgender studies, despite the extensive theorization of the ways that scent and perfume is categorized along gendered lines, and its links to identity m...

Resharing my new article for the weekend crowd! I'm really enjoying this project and here I'm getting into a bit of the big picture of how trans, nb and gender diverse people experience and use smell and fragrance: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Thank you! It's been such a fun project to work on, I've had such a good time chatting with people about it

Screenshot of the abstract of "I’ve adopted it as my smell”: transgender identity and the olfactory

Hsu posits that a collection of all the scented items used by an individual, their “self- curated olfactory ambience,” offers “abundant information about their class, their rituals of self-care, and their olfactory presence” (Hsu 2019, 25). The participants in this project were acutely attuned to the information offered by their smell, and explained how in many cases they took pains to consider how to use scent as part of the sensory assemblage which would best allow them to manage the point of tension where their internal sense of identity interacted with the rest of the world. As Sione (they/them) put it, trans people “do almost everything in advance to prepare for that moment of contact with someone who is not trusted, is not known to us.” Sione explained scent was part of how they managed these “moments of contact,” where they were “hoping that either there’ll be some sort of engagement where . . . I can actually say that this is who I am, and this is how I am addressed.” Scent is transitory and permeable, and it communicates silently,invisibly, bridging space between the self and the other. As Sione points out, it can openup the possibility for productive discussions. Simultaneously, when used thoughtfully, itmight close off the possibility of upsetting interactions by communicating a genderidentity unmistakeably

In 2022/23 I spoke with some trans, nb, and gender diverse people about how they used and felt about smell, and my new article from that project is out, looking especially at identity and smell. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Something interesting I found out was that for many people, smell was important to them realizing they were trans - several people told me about borrowing someone's deodorant and having a kind of "huh..." moment

Something interesting I found out was that for many people, smell was important to them realizing they were trans - several people told me about borrowing someone's deodorant and having a kind of "huh..." moment

I thought about the timing of walking in here saying that I have some interesting things to share about smells given the state of things, but so much of what people told me had care for themselves and from others woven through it, and that is something I want to share now

Screenshot of the abstract of "I’ve adopted it as my smell”: transgender identity and the olfactory

Hsu posits that a collection of all the scented items used by an individual, their “self- curated olfactory ambience,” offers “abundant information about their class, their rituals of self-care, and their olfactory presence” (Hsu 2019, 25). The participants in this project were acutely attuned to the information offered by their smell, and explained how in many cases they took pains to consider how to use scent as part of the sensory assemblage which would best allow them to manage the point of tension where their internal sense of identity interacted with the rest of the world. As Sione (they/them) put it, trans people “do almost everything in advance to prepare for that moment of contact with someone who is not trusted, is not known to us.” Sione explained scent was part of how they managed these “moments of contact,” where they were “hoping that either there’ll be some sort of engagement where . . . I can actually say that this is who I am, and this is how I am addressed.” Scent is transitory and permeable, and it communicates silently,invisibly, bridging space between the self and the other. As Sione points out, it can openup the possibility for productive discussions. Simultaneously, when used thoughtfully, itmight close off the possibility of upsetting interactions by communicating a genderidentity unmistakeably

In 2022/23 I spoke with some trans, nb, and gender diverse people about how they used and felt about smell, and my new article from that project is out, looking especially at identity and smell. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Joie noire Published in The Senses and Society (Ahead of Print, 2025)

First piece of writing for 2025 is out, a review of the poppers-inspired olfactory component of Joie noire, one of the exhibitions at Artspace Aotearoa last year: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Help Pandora Black find housing Crowdfund to help community activist, Pandora Black, find housing

Meri Kirihimete to those who celebrate and have a lovely Wednesday to those who don't! I know it's an expensive time of year, but for anyone who is in a position to help, Pandora is a treasured community member who's currently unhoused and needs help: givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-p...

Infographic which reads "we know stigma is a contributor to Violence. And that sometimes stigma is reinforced by media"

Infographic which reads "so our community came together to provide guidance for journalists who care about the safety of sex workers"

Today is International Day to End Violence Against SW - part of why my work focuses so intensively on media coverage is that we know it can contribute to stigma. I was part of the group who wrote these guidelines, aimed at journalists writing about our community #IDEVASW nzpc.org.nz/Best-practic...

This looks great 👀

Keeping healthy and safe in the New Zealand sex industry This guide provides practical advice on ways to identify and manage health and safety risks associated with working in the New Zealand sex industry.

Worksafe have just released new occupational safety guidelines for the NZ sex industry - these were developed in consultation with local community (including me!) They take a holistic view, including things like burnout and privacy, as well as sexual health www.worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-in...

My objection is that I don't want any AI assistant crap whatsoever and it was impossible to completely disable and remove it, if they'd let me yank that out at the wall I probably would have eaten the $5 a month tbh 🤷

FYI I tried this (going to cancel my subscription) and didn't get the option to downgrade, even when I fully called their bluff and canceled the whole thing but if you persist with their chat help for long enough you can make them do it manually