There are perhaps no two professions that would elicit entirely different reactions than law and sex work. Being a lawyer comes with a certain sense of prestige that generally evokes admiration and respect from others. In contrast, sex workers are on the opposite end of the spectrum - often garnering disdain, discrimination, and even outright hate from the general population.
Jazmen Jafar
For Jazmen Jafar, a licensed attorney who initially dabbled with OnlyFans to make some extra money while studying for the bar exam, the choice was simple.
Although she had secured a cozy job as an attorney that opened her up to a multitude of opportunities in her legal career, Jazmen instead decided to commit full-time to her OnlyFans account. Today, Jazmen is among the top 0.1% on OnlyFans and has almost doubled her income since she left her law firm a few months ago. While money was a factor in the decision, Jazmen shares her justification as one rooted in her desires for freedom and happiness on her terms.
“At the time, I was often told things like ‘You want to go from lawyer to like online sex work, like, what's wrong with you?’”, says Jazmen. “For me, the choice was to either take the safe route by following what everybody else wants me to do or take a risk and live my life per my values and what is conducive to my happiness. I didn’t want to get stuck in an office for the rest of my life, meeting my billable requirements and doing work I did not find fulfilling. I did not have an opposition to online sex work or Onlyfans. Other people may, but that reflects their values, not mine.”
Jazmen shares that the decision did not come easy for her, citing the expectations of her conservative Iranian family and the knowledge that online sex work will be closing professional opportunities for her in the future.
“At first, I was living this double life and spending most of my week at the law firm,” says Jazmen. “At the same time, I was using evenings and weekends creating content for my Onlyfans and promoting my content online. I was exhausted and saw my online presence grow larger and larger as I spent most of my days behind a desk I didn’t want to be at. While my firm was great, and I enjoyed the people I worked with, I didn’t know what I was working towards. I would look at the more experienced and accomplished attorneys around me, including my own mother, and knew I would not be happy leading that kind of life. I realized that it was okay to want something different and to be different. Eventually, I just decided to take a gamble and stop caring what other people think.
Since then, Jazmen has learned a lot about the online sex work industry and herself. When people think about OnlyFans, they often think of it as easy, mindless work chosen by those with no other options. Jazmen is living proof that this could not be any less true.
“It is full-time work,” she says. “Every day, I’m thinking about what I can do to provide quality content to my fans and boost my online exposure. I even joke that I didn’t want a nine-to-five job, so I traded it for a 24/7 one instead.”
Despite this difficulty, Jazmen says she is happy to work towards something she wants for herself - not something her family or society tells her is acceptable or “normal.”
“Even more, I think OnlyFans improved my confidence immensely, not necessarily in how I feel about the way I look, but in my ability to go against the grain and succeed,” she says. Now, when people warn me that online sex work is short-lived or unsustainable, I don’t worry. I know that if this doesn’t work out, I can start another business and I’m confident I can make it happen. Who knows? Maybe somewhere down the line, I can return to law and use my degree to help women in this industry. I mean, who else is in a better position, right?”