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Is adult content latest entertainment entrepreneurial gig?

Monday, June 28th, 2021 00:00 | By
Huddah Monroe.

Areola for payola, slay kings, online strip clubs, and nudemania. Is adult content the latest entertainment entrepreneurial gig you might be missing out on? Jackson Onyango explores.

Before technology advancement, adult entertainment was discreet. Hidden in the dark. But when phone cameras, screenshots, social media apps such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram’s direct messaging and Facebook’s messenger emerged, you may have to be wise about that message or picture before uploading it.

Today, private communication is easily dished out in the open, and many find it entertaining to reveal their intimate conversations with the advent of innovations such as Insta Live, YouTube Live, and more.

Through these innovations, there is the allowance for a video call between two people that also permits an audience from both parties’ followers to join in, including viewers and strangers that are anonymous to both parties to participate and be involved in the conversation in real-time, as long as one has access to the media channel.

This is just one of the strategy by big tech companies that has enabled them draw traffic into their platforms and eventually serve them ads and rake top dollar in revenues.

Entertainment is big business for these platforms. And premium content, in this case, entertainment content that goes beyond the usual cliché and conservative leisure activities, to encompass adult content that is raunchy and dangerous such as the liberal nude art that challenges our beliefs and core values, is earning content creators premium top dollar.

Financial freedom

Today, Kenya boasts of adult entertainers parading themselves all over social media that include the likes of Shakilla and Jenny Audiger among many others.

Shakilla.

Such individuals have leveraged their sexuality and this has made them popular, famous and maybe wealthy, to the extent they have become a major influence to the younger people encouraging many to follow suit and ditch the desire for the normal office jobs and rather opt to become influencers and online celebrities.

“I’m the queen of the streets. I date a lot of men for money, and from it I own a house, and I am comfortable.

This is a job for me and a girl has to get paid. I’ve been doing this for a long time now,” Shakilla informs us of her ventures.

Interestingly, it is not only women who are getting sexually playful and adept at a time when social media and sex can connect to create financial freedom.

Some few weeks back on Instagram at the height of the pandemic, one Herman Kimani had a whole live session where young women requested to appear for not just casual banter, but to show off their frames for some petty cash.

Herman is a serial participant in this practice, once hopping on media personality Betty Kyalo’s Insta Live to offer her Sh100,000 to twerk, which she obviously and blatantly refused.

On his account however, he asks women to specifically reveal their nipples and if they impress him, he offers to send them a cash prize for winning his heart.

Girls call in over five times and still get shamed in addition to walking away with nothing to show in their pursuit of loose change and fame.

“A lot of soft porn is on display in certain social media live platforms,” says rapper Taio Tripper.

Before Herman’s shows, there were episodes of Club Covid social media shows that pioneered revealing how many daredevils were willing to risk going all out erotic for some pocket money.

Vera Sidika’s Sin City, Tory Lanez’ Quarantine Radio and Swarmz’ Live proved that during the pandemic, entertainment went a notch conspicuous from private exchanges to an actual trade in the digital public domain.

In this regard, adult subscription app, OnlyFans launched in 2016, allows users can sell and/or purchase original content—typically of the pornographic variety was created for this very reason.

Nude photos and videos are the product and this was branded when American socialite Blac Chyna unleashed a snippet of what to expect on her Only Fans account that was preceded by a sensual advertisement on her Instagram page.

Locally, Vera Sidika set the bar with her monthly subscription fee of Sh3,000 while Huddah Monroe charges Sh2,000.

Late last year, Huddah revealed she made Sh1.8 million on Only Fans and stated, “Don’t be embarrassed of your hustle. When you are broke, very few people will come to rescue you.”

Backlash

Recently, 18 year-old American rapper Danielle Bregoli joined Only Fans and shocked the world with her staggering Sh100 million gross in only six hours of joining the adult entertainment app.

After revealing her net worth, she attracted a lot of backlash from conservatives, religious, and parental communities due to her actions.

“Honestly, I don’t care what others looking on from the outside have to say or think,” she told Music Feed.

“To me, nudity is the most natural and beautiful state of being, but for a long time, it wasn’t. I had to unlearn the heavy shame that is created around nudity in our society.

In my explorations of sexuality and nudity shame, I found that many of the stigmas we carry about our bodies are not only rooted in the patriarchy, but also in colonialism and racism,” creative director and body positive activist Lauren Torres tells Spice.

Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has been strict on cracking down on adult content, with many creative such as comedian Eric Omondi finding themselves on the wrong side of law due to the “explicit” nature of their content.

Hence, many artistes are boycotting mainstream regulated media for the likes of digital platforms such as YouTube.   

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