The Female Creator Safety Tax

Issue #315 | Feb. 13, 2025

Being a woman on the internet is not easy, no matter how famous or unfamous you are. But in a recent interview, Imane Anys, the most-followed woman on Twitch, also known as “Pokimane,” opened up about the substantial financial burden she bears to ensure her safety.

In a discussion with YouTube duo Colin and Samir, Anys revealed that she spends over five figures a month on various security measures. The money goes to protect her from myriad threats, including doxxing, deepfakes, unauthorized use of her likeness, and stalking. Anys has hired teams to scour the internet for personal information. She’s even renovated her living spaces to prevent recognition from leaked photos.

“To be honest, there are just new problems now that didn’t exist five years ago,” Imane said. “I didn’t have a problem with people misusing me in AI or even using my voice in AI in ways I didn’t consent to, or commercial uses or what have you.”

“I literally have people that I have to pay monthly to essentially scour and see whether my address is online anywhere and then take it down,” she added. “I wish that wasn’t the case.

Imane, like many creators, has had to radically alter the way she lives to prevent harassment and stalking. She said she can’t live in a house alone because she doesn’t have the security resources to make it safe. “As much as I wish I could live in a house or live with other people, I just can’t,” she said. “I have to live in a building with some level of security or front door, or what have you. …anytime I move into a new apartment, I have to hire people to take down every single photo of that apartment that exists anywhere.”

Though male creators also deal with security threats, female creators attract far more scrutiny. They’re also often forced to bear extremely high financial costs of protecting their safety. And despite the growing prominence of many female creators, widespread safety solutions tailored to their needs are severely lacking.

This absence forces female creators to shoulder what can be termed a “safety tax.” The female creator safety tax represents the additional, often substantial, financial and social costs required to protect themselves from threats that disproportionately target women.

The creators of “The Bop House,” a collective of OnlyFans models, had to hire security due to fans showing up uninvited at their residence. On Monday, a deranged stalker of one of the Bop House founders, an OnlyFans creator named Sophie Rain, was arrested after a standoff with a SWAT team and the Coast Guard.

The financial and emotional toll these incidents take on creators is no joke. Ignoring threats or misjudging safety protocols can have devastating consequences. In 2016, YouTuber Christina Grimmie was fatally shot by a stalker after he spent months tracking her online.

Until the public and law enforcement agencies begin to take threats against women seriously, women creators will continue to shoulder the burden of increased safety costs. And right now, things aren’t looking good.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling declaring that certain types of stalking were perfectly legal, devastating advocates who have fought for better protections against such behavior. “The majority of the court simply can’t even imagine what stalking is like,” Mary Anne Franks, a professor of law at the University of Miami, who filed an amicus brief on behalf of the victim in the Supreme Court case, said at the time. “They have no idea about the terror these victims are living in.”

In the meantime, creators seeking to protect themselves should take steps to limit the amount of identifying information that can be found about them online. This can include using third-party tools like DeleteMe, which scrapes thousands of online data brokers and automatically files takedown requests.

It could mean buying a home security system that’s monitored remotely. You can also request that your home be blurred off of Google Maps, making it harder for stalkers or online trolls to find you.

And if any threats escalate, always reach out to law enforcement. Even if the local police decline to take action, it will establish a record that may make obtaining a future restraining order easier. Stay safe out there!

– Taylor Lorenz, Passionfruit Contributor

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