As Professor Mercer put it: “among a specific segment of young men, image-making and sharing is part of their construction of their social (and sexual) identities and bodies, especially sexualised bodies are important commodities with value”. “Some of the stuff I’ve done in photoshoots and video, from a straight perspective, you’d think, ‘oh aye, this guy is gay’, but, I’m not – I’m appealing to my target market” – Ryan Yule, OnlyFans performer The men who were being admired online or on the street for their appearance realised that their bodies could be put to better use than for likes on Instagram.
