Catieosaurus Isn’t Selling Cookware on MostlyPans.com

(Originally Published July 5, 2022)

Everyone should understand that free social media sites are still businesses, and you, the user, are the product. Ostensibly, they make money through advertising, but even without selling your personal data, you’re still the product. How? Content. No one is going to visit a social media site that doesn’t have good content up.

Few sites have mastered turning people into products quite like TikTok. There are some brilliant creators on there who are essentially working for free. Now, TikTok does have a way to monetize views, but that’s a hurdle some can’t reach. Even if you do, the payout versus effort math doesn’t pan out for most people.

That was one of the problems Catieosaurus (she/they) ran into. Catieosaurus’ videos cover various topics, from D&D to ADHD management tips. Since the bulk of their content is about “accepting yourself, loving yourself, and advocating for yourself,” they most often get compared to people like Mr. Rogers, LeVar Burton, and Bob Ross. With their 1.6 million followers, they qualify for TikTok’s Creators Fund. But the pay rate is laughable, at best.

A creator on TikTok can make 2 to 4 cents per thousand views, which means your TikTok could get a million views, and you’ll net a whopping $20 to $40.

There are other ways to make money on the internet. The average monetized YouTube channel can earn around $18 per thousand views. And there’s Patreon and several other sites that allow people to support the creators they enjoy. But TikTok has a nasty habit of suppressing content when creators mention another site.

“TikTok is happy to have me working for them for free,” Catieosaurus says. “But if I even mention the word podcast, they make sure no one will ever see that video.”

Given that their wheelhouse includes sex education, they also run into another bind with TikTok’s general disfavor of all things remotely sexual. And then it gets even worse when they try to talk about mental health. TikTok also suppresses content that mentions depression, suicidal ideation, and other such terms.

But Catieosaurus has still managed to form a community around these topics through creative language usage. “On TikTok, this shorthand code has developed where sex becomes seggs or seccs. There’s a code that we use when we talk about depression: spicy sads.” On TikTok, sex workers have referred to themselves as accountants, in reference to a song by Rocky Paterra, which states, “Nobody asks you questions when you say you’re an accountant.”

This shorthand has allowed Catieosaurus to work around TikTok’s suppression and promote their OnlyFans, where the bulk of their income is generated.

Mentioning OnlyFans faces the double suppression of pushing you to another service and being about seggs, so it is often referred to as things like OnlyFerns, LonelyPants, and MostlyPans.

After a few glasses of wine, this gave Catieosaurus the idea to snatch up the domain name MostlyPans.com — a single link redirect to their OnlyFans.

And while they have other reasons for having an OnlyFans, one of the primary motivators has been trying to make ends meet while still being able to do the thing they really love.

It is just so frustrating to be in this position with TikTok, where I found this thing that I’m good at. I’ve found this community. I found an incredible opportunity to advocate and educate. And to find my way into the public sphere. Places like roll20 have reached out to me about making their service better for neurodivergent people. So, there’s this legitimate sphere in which I operate, but TikTok says, “You don’t get to make money from that.”

While TikTok still engages in an impressive amount of digital cock-blocking, having MostlyPans.com gives Catieosaurus a better chance of transferring some of the TikTok audience to their OnlyFans.

A lot of people sign up to satisfy what Catieosaurus describes as:

…a very normal and natural curiosity that comes with finding out a creator who gets compared to Mr. Rogers has an OnlyFans. People say that it’s sort of like finding out that your teacher is at the kink club. “What do I do? Do I look? Do I not look?”

Some only stick around long enough to satisfy that curiosity. And that’s totally fine with Catieosaurus. There is bonus content for those who set their subscriptions to renew automatically. They’re still making enough to pay the bills after the pandemic swallowed up their job as the entertainment director of the Georgia Renaissance Festival. As an actor and stage manager, Catieosaurus’ entire industry was rocked by the lockdown.

And if people are surprised to find out that a person who could look at home talking about ADHD with Elmo on Sesame Street has an OnlyFans, they’d be shocked to know this isn’t the first time they ventured into sex work. “I put myself through grad school earning money as a professional dominatrix.”

Being a professional dominatrix and an OnlyFans creator has been very different for them. When acting as a dominatrix, visual content wasn’t the primary focus. There was a lot more written content. “It’s a very different type of work because when you’re engaging in kink, you’re negotiating with people and having conversations.” They’d spend a lot of time emailing back and forth with clients and potential clients before ever meeting up.

With OnlyFans, if I get bored right now, I could take a picture, post it, and then it would just be there for everybody to see. It’s navigating a very different type of relationship and a very different type of work.

Affirmative Porn

As for what those pictures focus on, Catieosaurus says their OnlyFans is a “body-positive, kink-friendly, grab bag of content.”

They do have ADHD, after all. And while they post at least once every Friday, what they’re posting is whatever strikes their fancy at the moment. This includes edging videos, gentle affirmative masturbation encouragement audios, pin-up shots, and “Final Feet Fridays, where on the last Friday of the month, I always do feet content. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s a very common fetish.” And if that’s not your thing, just wait around a while, and they’ll post something else.

“The comment I get the most is that my content is very authentic and that people like that they actually get to know me a little bit better because I’m very honest.” Part of that authenticity comes from how Catieosaurus uses their content to continue their core mission.

I try to really educate with my content. I try to really advocate with my content. And I just try to show people there’s no shame in being who you are, and there’s no shame in embracing yourself, however you look, whatever your imperfections — real or perceived — may be.

Also, having a space dedicated to embracing, celebrating, and sharing their sexuality means they know anyone seeing their spicy content is doing so knowingly.

For me, consent is so vital and so important. I rarely ever post thirst traps on TikTok, and if I do post a thirst trap, it is a tongue-in-cheek thirst trap. Part of that is because you don’t know the age of the person watching on TikTok, and I don’t feel comfortable making thirst traps on an app where younger people could see them.

While navigating the internet and social media apps always comes with some risk of seeing things you don’t want to see, Catieosaurus knows not everyone on TikTok is looking for that sort of content.

“Having a space where I can consensually be sexy and be sexual is really valuable. It’s really important to me because it keeps everybody safe.”

Additionally, OnlyFans has become a bit of an ADHD and depression management tool for them. “I always joke that sometimes the only reason I shower is because of OnlyFans.” Though, it’s only half a joke. When they’re deeply depressed, they think, “I can take a shower, earn a little bit of money doing it, and also know that I’ll be clean and taking care of myself. Or I can lay in bed and have to worry about a bunch of back orders.” They like how “embracing this world has allowed me to take better care of myself.”

It’s also allowed them to justify certain purchases, such as their recently acquired Sybian, and they can support their friend’s boudoir photography business. “Every six months or so, I save up my dollars and hire her to do a series of photosets for me.” They’ll have their hair and makeup done and bust out some of their fancy lingerie. “It’s one of my weird things nobody ever expects because I’m a yoga pants and hoodie type of person, but I own an illogical amount of lingerie.”

These shoots are some of their most empowering because “I look so good, and I’m not used to looking that good. It reminds me that it is okay to feel sexy. It is okay to feel beautiful.” Though, they also understand a more relaxed look has its own appeal.

But sometimes I think it’s a little bit sexier, and it’s a little hotter to just grab my phone and take pictures like I’m texting a boyfriend or something. I think there are pros and cons to both. But that’s why I like my OnlyFans cuz I can do both, and it’s totally cool.

It’s been a journey for them since they grew up in a very conservative, sex-shaming environment. “I come from a very religious upbringing. My relationship with intimacy is fairly complex. Part of that is because growing up, I was told it’s wrong and bad to masturbate. It’s a sin.” Now they masturbate for an audience.

The Work Continues

While Catieosaurus continues to post on TikTok, they have taken a step back due to their frustrations with the platform. “I cut back because I realized how unhealthy it was. At my peak, I was working seventy hours a week for TikTok for free.” Their break allows them to work on other projects, like their YouTube channel, where they’ve started posting long-form videos discussing ADHD, kink, and sexuality. If you’ve enjoyed their TikToks and would like to support them, consider subscribing there, signing up for their non-spicy Patreon, or their spicy MostlyPans.

They remain passionate about education and working on behalf of their community, even if it means jumping through some hoops.

I’m great at this job. But TikTok is actively working to make it as difficult as possible. So, I have to do weird shit like buy MostlyPans.com, so I can make a living and still be able to do the advocacy I want to do.