'I make $38k a month creating adult content. But I'm slut- and fat-shamed daily.'

Audrey Aura gets most of her work done after 8pm - after she puts her three-year-old son to bed.

She never saw herself as someone who fit the regular 9-5 workday. The 24-year-old used to work in administration, but struggled to find balance, burning out regularly after “putting too much effort in and not really seeing the benefits back,” she told Mamamia.

But now, Audrey works around six hours a night and her wage is better that ever before.

In January alone, she earned $38,000. 

And she actually enjoys her work too. 

“Because who doesn’t enjoy an orgasm?”

This Is What 'Slut-Shaming' Looks Like: Techniques as seen on Married At First Sight. Article continues after video.

So, what’s… the work?

Audrey arrived at OnlyFans - a site where people can pay for original content via a monthly subscription - after hearing about a friend who gave it a go as a creator. The content? While not exclusively, it tends to be adult photos, videos and live streams, most of which are available for additional purchase. Subscribers - or fans - can also privately interact with the content creators. 

Audrey didn’t stick around for long though. She was self-conscious about her photos, and “wasn’t in a good place mentally”, so she quickly deleted her profile. 

But in March 2020, after losing some weight “and really feeling myself”, she decided to log on again. Audrey markets herself extensively across social media platforms - carefully navigating stringent restrictions.

She is now a top 0.4 per cent OnlyFans model. 

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Aside from creating explicit videos, Audrey fields additional custom requests, and engages in sexting. 

“I have a lot of submissive fans who are into being told what to do,” she tells. 

“Some of them have a ‘mummy’ kink, so they like to call me ‘mummy’, which took me a while to get used to, because I do have a child so [it felt] kind of weird [at first].”

And the most common requests?

Masturbation, squirting and sex tapes. 

Audrey says she has also been taken aback by the amount of fans she attracts with fetishes.

“One of the main things that I was surprised about was how many people have kinks about farting and peeing,” she revealed.

But sometimes, the request is as simple as a slow motion video of Audrey jumping around or “jiggling my boobs”. 

My husband is ‘super supportive’

Audrey says her husband has been “super supportive” of her work from the beginning. She shares that in the first six months, she constantly checked in with him to see if he was okay with what she was doing. 

“And then it got to a point where he's like, 'Just stop asking, and if I have an issue, I will tell you.',” she explains. 

At 22, Audrey’s husband was diagnosed with autism. Ruminating on his understanding and support, she reflects, “Weirdly, a part of it comes from his autism because he sees the world in a kind of different way.”

“A lot of social norms he doesn't see as correct or understand, and so he just sees it as a normal job. And I’m very thankful for it.”

As for the rest of the family, Audrey says that almost everyone knows of her career choice; her parents, siblings and cousins. Everyone except for her grandparents - “I don’t think it would go over well”.

While Audrey says her parents were concerned at first - mainly for her safety - they felt reassured by the protections she has put in place: a stage name, undisclosed location and no in-person meetings.

Having recently launched the Audrey Aura Academy to help coach other young women navigate the industry, Audrey tells, “Once they saw how seriously I took it as a business and the opportunity to grow and start other businesses, they were quite on board - particularly my mum”.

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But the slut-shaming is real.

It hasn’t all been positive though - “and that can be quite triggering and get to you sometimes,” concedes Audrey. 

Most of the hate she receives is on social media - every time she posts. 

In her first viral Tiktok video - garnering no less than six million views, thankyouverymuch - Audrey spoke candidly about her earnings. 

“And it was insane how many comments were telling me that I didn't have respect for myself and no one was going to love me and I wasn't going to be able to get married [even though she already is]."

“But my weight is always the first thing that people comment on.”

Audrey is astonished by the level of virulence, with trolls tracking down and reporting her other social media accounts, “because they don't think that we belong in the world.”

As a result, on multiple occasions, Audrey has faced the suspension of her various social media accounts, and had to amass her followings from scratch, all over again.  

“It’s baffling… I think some people pay to subscribe to me just to send me hate. I've had people send DMs, just going out of their way to send hate after hate and telling me I’m a slut every single day.”

“Personally, it’s okay to be offended, but just keep to yourself and move on. I'm not hurting anyone.”

When asked what she believes is at the core of the ugly sentiments, Audrey suspects it is a matter of resentment based on what she deems, "the biggest misconception".

“They think that this is not a real job. That we’re just putting our body out there, when really, there is so much more that comes with it.” 

She also thinks they are projecting, probably living a life in which they aren’t happy, and don’t know how to change 

After years of been bullied for her weight while growing up, Audrey says it’s the “hard shell” she developed which protects her now - and as soon as she sees the hate coming in on a post, she simply doesn’t look at it.

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'We hire an AirBnB, once a month'

While misconceptions may fuel the haters, Audrey says that many people don’t actually understand the reality of what it entails in being an OnlyFans model.

For her, 95 per cent of the work is behind-the-scenes, mainly consisting of marketing and administration - “kind of boring, to be honest”.

Audrey chats with fans leisurely throughout the day. At night, she schedules and organises her posts, and once a month she books an AirBnB and bulk films content and photography. 

While she has an assistant help with the softer boudoir-style photography - “Sometimes we drink wine, we put on music and dance around. It's just a lot of fun” - when it comes to the more explicit content, Audrey uses a tripod and mainly undertakes the filming herself. 

“When you're doing it by yourself, you’re not thinking about who's going to see it and you're not seeing their reaction when they're watching it… Which is interesting to think: I get naked on the internet for people, but I’m uncomfortable doing it when there's someone right there.”

'Taking everything into my own hands'

Before OnlyFans, Audrey and her husband were living week-to-week and keeping a close eye on their bank accounts before each grocery shop. Her husband struggled for work because of his autism diagnosis, and they relied on Centrelink to help make ends meet. 

“Now we are able to lend money to family and friends that are struggling, and we are saving for a house… and it’s the perfect situation for my husband because he gets to look after our house… and son.”

“Money issues are one of the most argued about things in a marriage, and it's just so relieving to not have to think about that with us.”

In addition to the financial benefits, Audrey says that mentally, she has never felt stronger. She suffered depression and anxiety since she was 11 years old, an eating disorder as a teen, and post-partum depression after the birth of her son.

“My journey on OnlyFans, started making things better, which has been really surprising to me. But I think that's because of being able to take everything into my own hands and be responsible for my own job, my own income and being able to pull the work in that I want to, without working too hard for someone else.”

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“I also love to sleep so I will sleep 12 hours a night and nap during the day. Watch TV, read a book like just relax.”

Going from a teenager who spent years hating herself - “and don't get me wrong, I still have days where I look in the mirror and I don't like what I see” - to witnessing fans pay money and subscribe to her has given Audrey “a lot of confidence”.

“It’s a big boost in thinking that yes, there are people out there that enjoy all body types and you don't need to be thin."

"It’s really changed the way I thought about beauty and sexuality because I realised just how many people, appreciate different body types as well.”

“Do what you want to do, and if that’s getting naked on the internet, then who cares?”

Keen to read more from Rebecca Davis? You can find her articles here, or follow her on Instagram, @rebeccadavis___

Image: Supplied/Mamamia.