LOS ANGELES — Slate.com on Wednesday published a feature article titled "The Rise of the GILF Economy" about the influx of older performers joining OnlyFans, Chaturbate, and other cam sites.
Penned by Hallie Lieberman, the piece focuses on a 71-year-old great-grandmother named Sandra and her 53-year-old husband, Christopher, who joined Chaturbate in December 2018 and left their jobs a few years later. Sandra and Christopher now have over 71,000 followers on Chaturbate and have been nominated for more than a dozen industry awards.
The piece also features Lavishlynn52, who is in her 50s and began camming in January 2024 when her retail business started to struggle. She says she now makes $2,000 to $3,000 a week selling content online.
"What I do now is completely different from porn — it’s content I create on my own terms, in my own space, with full control," Lavishlynn52 told Slate.
Meanwhile, a 52-year-old married mother named Cherry Anne, pictured above, outlines how she sold her used underwear online, began camming, and marketed herself as a MILF and a GILF until she was able to quit her job at a horse stable. She now earns the equivalent of $68,000 a year before taxes.
Cherry Anne told Slate that her daughter is aware of what she does and is "cool with it," as is her husband, though only if she performs solo or with other women. While she's willing to do stepmom content because it sells well, Sandra and Christopher avoid that genre because it "just feels weird."
Also in her 50s, "MILF Southern" joined OnlyFans in September 2020 to help pay off a $1,500 veterinary bill. Within three weeks, she made roughly $7,500, prompting her to resign from her 70-hour-per-week job.
Slate cites an AARP report that 26 percent of people 50 and over are doing gig work, and online sex work is an appealing option for many. While older performers have historically been aged out of the business, OnlyFans and other cam sites are holding space for them, even though modern algorithms favor the young, per Lieberman's findings.
Sometimes fans heckle these older performers because of their age and leave nasty comments, but most are respectful and turned on by the taboo element.
Slate also cites a December 2024 report by SWR Data that says cammers over 35 account for 54% of performers — a number that has more than doubled since 2022.
In response to this uptick, the ASN Awards will hand out its first GILF Performer honor next year.
To read the full article, visit Slate.com.
