'I'm a 54 Year Old Sex Worker, I'm in The Top 1 Percent of OnlyFans Earners'

I'm a single mom by choice; I had my son on my own using IVF at the age of 42 after a long relationship ended. I knew that if I wanted to be a mom I had to do it that way. After my son was born, I provided in-home daycare for other kids, so I could be a stay at home mom. Then, when he went to school I was able to take on a sales job. But it was not a job I loved. It wasn't creative and I didn't have any freedom.

People would ask when I was going to retire, and I would tell them that I would probably have to work until I died, because I didn't make a lot of money and as a single mom, life was tough financially. I'm frugal, I'm not a designer bag person and I don't have manicures and pedicures but I worked full time and I only earned around $30,000 a year.

I began thinking about sex work after seeing two stories about moms who had started making a lot of money that way online. I don't do anything rash, so I started researching and made note pads full of notes. I understood the consequences, but it seemed too good to be true; making money from taking sexy pictures of my body. These women I had seen articles about weren't "perfect" looking and they weren't young. I thought that if I was making 1/10 of what they were making, it could change my life.

I started slowly in April 2021; sharing pictures on OnlyFans without showing my face. I also went on Instagram to attract subscribers for my OnlyFans page, without showing my face there either. My first two fans subscribed on April 4, one was 28 and one was 29. I asked them a lot of questions and I got to know them because they were my only subscribers.

I was just sharing lingerie pictures to begin with, because I was worried about the repercussions and the stigma. Then I revealed my face to my two fans and they encouraged me to show my face in my content. I started doing that, then I got a little riskier and went topless, and then fully nude.

I began showing my face on Instagram too, and by the end of April I had 10,000 Instagram followers. In the first month, I made almost as much from OnlyFans as I made in my office job each month. By May, I made almost double what I would have made from my regular job. I knew I was leaving money on the table by not doing sex work full time, so I resigned from my job.

There is such a market for mature "MILFs" and I hadn't known that previously. I have older fans, but my core fan base are aged 25-40. Once in a while a guy will say "I'm only 29!" and I'll just think, you're actually right in the core age of my demographic! I have 1,500 paying fans at the moment, but I have worked harder on my social media to get more subscribers since OnlyFans made the decision to remove adult content and then reneged on that.

I post around 10 pictures a day and a video that I make and offer to my fans. What I have found is that my fans generally have a fantasy about an older woman in their life, like a teacher from when they were younger or a neighbour. So sometimes I'm me, or sometimes I'm role playing as, for example, a "naughty stepmom.'' I suspect these younger men are not going to date someone my age, but they like the fantasy. Many of my fans say that they come here because they find me sexy but they stay because I'm funny and they like my smile. I'm a solo creator, but a lot of times fans want to see me with other people. I'm single and I'm not going to hook up with someone to film. Nobody wants to see a boyfriend my age anyway, I have done polls and fans want to see me with a younger man or a woman my own age.

Some requests are just asking me to put on pantyhose and walk around. Or, they might ask me to do a video in a particular outfit, like a white tank top. Sometimes people ask for wacky stuff and if I'm not comfortable, then I say no. I have my boundaries. I won't do anything that makes me feel too icky. This work is my choice, and it's an informed choice.

I have been asked to do video chatting and sexting but I don't. I chose to do this because I wanted the freedom; the freedom to make money and be creative. I'm mom and I have tasks to do every day. But I am already in the top 0.53 percent of OnlyFans earners and unless the earth gets hit by a meteorite I expect to be earning hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next few years.

I have told my close friends and family and they are supportive. My mom thinks it's hilarious that people are paying me to see my body. When I told her what I was doing and how much money I was making, she just started giggling. She asked if my fans would like to see an 83-year-old.

My son is almost a teenager and he is aware of my work. I talked to him before I even started, in a roundabout way, but he obviously doesn't know the full extent of the sex work I do. He understands that I am a lingerie model and he knows that I'm happier and that we can now go on vacation together once he has been vaccinated. He also knows that I'm making money so that he never has to worry about paying for college or taking care of me as an elderly person. Those are the reasons I am doing this work.

I asked him recently if he would date a girl if she was putting sexy pictures online for a living. He said yes, because that would just be her job. When I talk to his generation, I am blown away by how open minded they are. It gives me hope for the future.

I really don't have a lot of time, but have tried dating since I began sex work. I went online and met a cute professional guy around my age. I'm an open person, and when I told him what I do he began asking questions. Then he really started veering into asking for pictures and it got a bit creepy. Then I never heard from him again.

I work more hours now than I did in a full time office job, but I love it and I think I have a message that is inspiring for men and women. I've gone through a lot of rough stuff, I am also a cancer survivor, but I never give up.

Perhaps I will go further into sex work, but I think I also have a lot of light, hope and positivity to offer to the world. When I was growing up in the 70s, I used to watch Cher, Carol Burnett and Charlie's Angels on TV and I wanted to be a star. It does sound corny.

Then, I just wanted to be a stay at home mom. Neither of those things happened the way I thought they were going to happen. But now, I'm a mom and I'm getting to have a little taste of being a star. Who would have thought it, at the age of 54? I thought I was done. To think that I can restart? That's awesome.

Elaina St. James is a sex worker and single mom. You can follow her on Instagram @elainastjames or on TikTok @elainaat54.

All views expressed in this article are the author's own.

As told to Jenny Haward.