Red, White, and Unfiltered: What OnlyFans Taught Me About Freedom

By Lila Monroe | Staff Writer, Only Fans Insider Magazine

It’s the Fourth of July in Brooklyn.

The streets are starting to hum — the slow rhythm of a summer holiday swelling with the scent of sidewalk barbecue, the whirr of box fans in apartment windows, and somewhere in the distance, a firework pops a little too early. I’m sitting cross-legged on the fire escape outside my apartment, laptop on my knees, a warm glass of white wine by my ankle (I forgot the ice).

And I’m thinking about freedom.

Not just the kind that comes with flags or founding fathers. But a different kind — a quieter, more modern revolution that’s happening one post, one DM, one subscription at a time.

A New Kind of Independence

When I first joined Only Fans Insider Magazine, I didn’t entirely know what I was stepping into. I’m a journalist, yes — with bylines at Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Cosmo tucked neatly behind me — but this space? It was new. Untamed. Raw in a way that felt both thrilling and a little dangerous.

And then I met Ryder Vale — our first staff journalist and unofficial anthropologist of the OnlyFans universe. His writing pulled me in. Not just because he covered creators, but because he told the stories of entrepreneurs, brand builders, risk takers — people who turned their bodies, voices, and digital savvy into empires. One article at a time, Ryder peeled back the stereotype. These weren’t “just content creators.” They were strategists. Business owners. Disruptors with ring lights and a following willing to pay for the privilege of attention.

It hadn’t occurred to me — not really — that OnlyFans was the platform where everyday people became influencers. And not the kind of influencers chasing freebies or gaming the algorithm. I’m talking about true influencers — people who, quite literally, influence the wallets and minds of millions. Because here's the thing:

Most traditional influencers have followers. OnlyFans creators have fans.

Fans who pay. Fans who stay. Fans who choose their creator, again and again.

That’s not just influence. That’s power.And honestly? What could be more American than that?

Fireworks and Feed Drops

As I scrolled through our site this morning, watching how our community of creators — sorry, influencers — are celebrating the Fourth, something clicked. There’s @NoaTheBadWife, chopping up red peppers and corn for her Fourth of July cooking video in a lacy apron that’s more “pin-up chef” than “Picnic Betty.” There’s @ViktoriaWinslow, our July cover model, celebrating stateside independence from her sunny perch in Australia, wrapped in stars, stripes, and strategic shimmer.

It hit me — these women (and men and non-binary creators, too) are leveraging a holiday that was once about powdered wigs and parchment scrolls to tell their own stories of freedom.

The freedom to monetize.The freedom to create.The freedom to not be told “no.”

In a world where platforms shadow-ban, where traditional media gatekeeps, and where even progressive spaces often speak over women instead of with them, OnlyFans became the back door that blew open the front.

And here, in the pages of this magazine, we’re holding that door open.

Reclaiming the Label

I’ve been wrestling with the term “content creator” lately. It feels... insufficient. Like a term handed down from some Silicon Valley executive who wanted a sanitized way to describe people brave enough to show themselves — flaws, fantasies, full stories — online.

So, today, I’m done with it.

From this point forward, I want to call them what they are: OnlyFans Influencers.

Not because it's trendy. But because it's true. These are the architects of attention. The brand builders. The people redefining what it means to be followed, seen, and paid in a world that tries so hard to flatten us into filters.

Influencers in every radical, unruly, glorious sense of the word.

Let Freedom Ring (and Rumble)

So as I finish this article, my roommates are calling from the hallway. The plan is fireworks on the roof, a cold watermelon salad, and probably a few too many hard seltzers. I’ll leave my laptop behind, but I’ll carry this reflection with me.

Today, we celebrate the idea of independence. And from where I sit — in this moment, in this little magazine with a very loud voice — I can’t think of a better symbol of that than the OnlyFans Influencer.

So thank you, Joseph Haecker and Ryder Vale, for giving me the space to write this. And thank you to every creator-turned-influencer who showed me that freedom doesn’t always come with fanfare. Sometimes it looks like a well-lit video, a confident click, and a fan who chooses you — not for what you’re selling, but for who you are.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone.

Let freedom — and influence — ring.

—L

Follow @lilawrites for more culture, commentary, and confessions from the front lines of the digital revolution. Read the July cover story featuring @ViktoriaWinslow and more creator spotlights at onlyfansinsider.com