CLT workers and public servants become adult content creators to supplement their income

This is the case of Snow, 21, who is a federal employee in the south of the country. After his routine at work, he produces sexual videos and photos for a platform.

The young man believes that he leads a double life in two worlds without conflicts of interest. "I don't see that content production is something that will harm my professional performance", he says in the report.

He says that the erotic content generated money for trips that he would hardly have made with formal work alone. However, the financial gains in the erotic sector, says Snow, do not exceed his salary. "When I post a lot and promote it, I earn around R$3,000. But, if I don't update much, it's around R$1,000."

Publicist Lucas, 31, also produces for erotic platforms and estimates that his earnings are lower than what he receives at the company he works for. "In the best months, I can earn around R$5,000 with this content."

Lucas started recording adult videos about three years ago as a way to earn extra income. "I spent sleepless nights doing freelance work to supplement my salary at the time, so I started producing this content." Even with a recent promotion at work, he continued with erotic content. "When I get promoted to a position with an even better salary, I intend to stop."

Lucas and Snow (fictitious names at their request) consider these productions as something uncertain and temporary, mainly because of the stigma that usually accompanies the topic.

WORK AND FAMILY

For these workers, anonymity becomes an important ally to avoid jeopardizing formal employment. They often adopt pseudonyms on adult platforms. However, they do not treat the fact exactly as an absolute secret.

Lucas talks about the content to friends and co-workers, but avoids talking about it to his bosses. "I don't even know if I would be employed if they knew about my profiles. As I work in the corporate world, in a traditional sector, I believe I wouldn't be looked at favorably", he says.

Snow says he knows the risks of exposing himself online, but says he wouldn't mind if family or co-workers found out. "I'm not doing anything wrong."

"If they find out, it's something I won't mind. Maybe my parents would be angry and sad, but I would sort it out with them. I don't think this is the end of the world, I don't need people to accept what I do for a living", he says. Being a public servant, says Snow, there is security in doing these activities without being fired. "If it were another type of work [regime], I would be more afraid, but I think I would still do it", he points out.

"I have acquaintances who work as teachers, for example, and gave up selling content, because they knew it would be more complicated to combine with the profession", says Snow.

One of the strategies adopted by those who have this kind of double life is to avoid sharing adult platforms on personal networks. To publicize sexual content, they usually create a profile exclusively for that purpose.

THERE IS NO ANONYMITY TOTALLY

Social scientist Carolina Bonomi, who researches gender and sexuality, points out that the production of adult content is full of prejudice. She states that anonymity in these cases becomes inevitable for those who have a formal job.

Bonomi believes that this search for extra income should be considered similar to that of workers who use delivery platforms or private transport also for economic reasons.

"But sex work has a lot of stigma, so this can go down badly in the place where the person works, for moral reasons. Many people can lose their jobs because of this. This happens out of pure prejudice, because the law itself says nothing that a person cannot have this way of supplementing their income", he states.

The researcher warns: there is no fully guaranteed anonymity in these cases. According to her, there are risks such as these images being leaked or even someone you know discovering the content.

RETIREMENT

These contents represent just one phase of life, says Lucas. "I never saw this as something lasting, because people want to see a beautiful body on these platforms and I know that the body ends one day. My focus is on my career."

There are those who have balanced work and adult production for some time, but have now stopped producing erotic content.

Writer Lara (fictitious name), 34, considers that this topic is almost no longer part of her life. “It got to a point where it stopped being so much fun and started being tiring,” he says.

She began producing these materials in 2019. In 2023, however, the activity became her only financial resource, after being fired.

Her closest friends knew about her activity. "In my personal life, everyone always knew, but for safety's sake I preferred never to expose myself too much on the internet or at work. I know there is a huge stigma about this."

Since last year, she stopped producing new content because she decided to dedicate herself to a new job in the marketing area. However, her profile remains active. "But nowadays what I earn on these platforms doesn't even reach 30 dollars [around R$150] a month. In the past, I earned around 500 or 600 dollars a month."

The lack of this content considerably reduced Lara's monthly income, but she says she has no plans to publish any new ones. "I'm in a phase of other priorities and I don't think it fits like it used to."

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