Young Venezuelans turn to adult content to survive crisis, onlyfans, 10x site growth during pandemic

#Venezuela #Onlyfans #Poor #Rich #Money #Patriarchy #Men #Women #Morals

Like many other young Venezuelans, Valery Lopez has found a way to survive the South American country's crippling economic crisis: through online s***** content.

Lopez, 20, loves her body and by exposing it online she has found a way to avoid joining the exodus of five million migrants the UN says have left the country since 2015.

"I was desperate to go ... because I wasn't living well ... Now I want to stay in Venezuela thanks to OnlyFans," Lopez told AFP.

OnlyFans began as an online platform meant for celebrities and "influencers" but has morphed into a hub for adult content.

Launched in Britain in 2016, OnlyFans is a subscription service that pays 80 percent commission to its content creators.

For Lopez, that was an attractive potential source of income.

"I can pay for my teeth (and) buy clothes," she said, referring to dental work.

"Who else is earning $500 or $1,000 a month right now? No one."

Venezuela has the world's highest inflation levels, it's been in recession for seven years and has regular shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicine.

Lopez's channel has more than 50 subscribers -- mostly foreigners. Each one pays $10 a month: a figure six times the minimum salary in Venezuela, where the currency is constantly depreciating.

It's a point highlighted by psychologist Abel Saraiba, who is also the coordinator of a non-governmental group focusing on the rights of children and teenagers.

"In other countries where there isn't a humanitarian emergency there has been an increase in consumption" on platforms such as OnlyFans, said Sarabia.

"But in our context we can give them an extra dimension ... To what extent would someone adopt such a risky (line of work) if they had other work options?"