Producing BDSM content on porn platforms: a day in the life of Countess Diamond

Abstract

This article explores the case of Countess Diamond, a BDSM adult content creator who wears the hats of both producer and performer within the gig economy where adult content creators distribute pornographic material via the mediation of porn platforms. While Countess Diamond is self-employed, her business is very unstable due to the arbitrary changes made by porn platforms over what content they are willing to host and sell. The platforms control and monitor core aspects of Countess Diamond’s work reality, placing her in a limbo where she is unsure of whether her work will be sold to clients at her own rate. I argue that although adult content creators are self-employed and might wish to remain so, they could operate in a more stable working environment and invest more in their business if given labour rights as workers for the porn platforms.