"Porrstjärnornas krig"

Sammanfattning

This study examines how Onlyfans and its content creators are portrayed in Swedish news media in the context of the 2025 amendment to the Swedish Sex Purchase Act (Sexköpslagen). Using a quantitative content analysis, the study analyses 114 newspaper articles published between February and July 2025 in four major Swedish newspapers. The analysis uses theories of stigma, representation and stereotyping in portrayals of sex work. The results show that Onlyfans workers frequently emphasise vulnerability, trauma, and victimhood, resembling mass media representations of prostitution. Onlyfans is portrayed as less inherently problematic than both pornography and prostitution. Pornography is less often associated with trauma and stigmatization but more frequently framed around harm to young people. Through its theoretical framework the analysis finds that the similarities between the portrayal of Onlyfans and prostitution contribute to the stigmatization and stereotyping. Conversely, within the results, there are indications of Onlyfans being less stigmatized and stereotyped, as it is less often portrayed as problematic.