Sexual-Self-Experimentation in the Age of Platform and Algorithm: The Case of Sexfluencer/Wanghuang in Hong Kong

• In Event: Disrupting Big Tech: Sociology’s Role in Interrogating AI and Social Media

Abstract

In the contemporary digital era, new/social media platforms and algorithmic technologies have significantly shaped societal norms and everyday life. The advent and rising popularity of platforms such as OnlyFans, Patreon and X have revolutionised the sex industry and adult entertainment. This shift has given rise to a new form of digital sexual culture and identity, embodied in the phenomenon of sexfluencer/wanghuang—a sexual content creator who leverages their body and sexuality to produce and share sexually explicit or suggestive content online, often leveraging platforms for self-expression, presentation, performative, visibility, and monetisation.

This paper employs an exploratory qualitative and grounded theory approach to conduct semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 sexfluencers/wanghuangs to explore how the technological affordances of platforms such as OnlyFans, Patreon, and X enable or constrain individuals to utilise digital media platforms as a means of reforming, reproducing, or reshaping norms of the body and sexuality. Findings are presented in three chapters: (i) The Experiment of the Self, investigating how sexfluencers utilise digital media platforms as an agent of sexual self-experimentation to reshape the norms of body and sexuality, self-discovery and identity-construction within the algorithmically mediated digital environment. (ii) Invisible Rules of Algorithms, focusing on how the algorithm's governance of the digital media platforms imposes implicit constraints on sexfluencers, enabling or affecting their digital presence. (iii) The Politics of Social/New Media, addressing how sexfluencers/wanghaungs utilise strategies of digital migration and platform diversification to maintain their digital presence and identity, addressing the underlying risks of geopolitical tension, regional impacts, platform governance, legal and regulatory constraints, financial institutions’ pressure and payment processing restrictions, etc. These findings underscore that digital media platforms are neither neutral nor precarious, and contribute to ongoing discussions on how individuals' agency and discourse power are shaped and constrained by invisible algorithm bias, geopolitical or regional impact, and platform affordances.

Author

• Chi Fung Wong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong