Hannah Wohl
@hannahwohl.bsky.social
Associate Prof of Sociology at UCSB. Author of Bound by Creativity. Ethnographer of culture, markets, platforms. Currently writing about the porn industry.
My latest op-ed, "The Market’s Judgment on OnlyFans Has Nothing to Do With Money," was just published in @barronsonline. I argue that the stigmatization of porn and other "sin stocks" has led investors to undervalue economically profitable assets. www.barrons.com/articles/onl...
The Market’s Judgment on OnlyFans Has Nothing to Do With Money
Any other company with these eye-popping revenue numbers would spark a bidding war, Hannah Wohl writes in a guest commentary.
www.barrons.com
September 24, 2025 at 4:46 PM
My latest op-ed, "The Market’s Judgment on OnlyFans Has Nothing to Do With Money," was just published in @barronsonline. I argue that the stigmatization of porn and other "sin stocks" has led investors to undervalue economically profitable assets. www.barrons.com/articles/onl...
I'm proud to be a member of ASA and grateful for Adia Harvey-Wingfield's leadership. A huge win for free speech and higher education. democracyforward.org/updates/foia...
Court Rules for Public Schools and Educators, Rejects Trump-Vance Administration’s Unprecedented Assault on Public Education - Democracy Forward
democracyforward.org
August 15, 2025 at 3:25 PM
I'm proud to be a member of ASA and grateful for Adia Harvey-Wingfield's leadership. A huge win for free speech and higher education. democracyforward.org/updates/foia...
Reposted by Hannah Wohl
Crucial read: eliminating tip taxes while requiring cross-platform reporting creates new vulnerabilities for the very workers it claims to help. Data flows from Venmo to IRS to ICE surveillance is disguised as worker protection. The often invisible power of platforms is profound and multiplicative.
"No taxes on tips" was supposed to help low-wage workers, but because of the platforms used for tipping and Trump's steamrolling of data protections, it may instead
have dire consequences for them.
@hannahwohl.bsky.social, Lindsey Cameron, & I in Newsweek today. tinyurl.com/yc27dah7
have dire consequences for them.
@hannahwohl.bsky.social, Lindsey Cameron, & I in Newsweek today. tinyurl.com/yc27dah7
The Hidden Dangers of Eliminating Taxes on Tips | Opinion
Instead of holding consumers accountable for sharing their data responsibly as privacy laws currently do, we must hold platform companies and our government accountable for the responsible stewardship...
www.newsweek.com
July 24, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Crucial read: eliminating tip taxes while requiring cross-platform reporting creates new vulnerabilities for the very workers it claims to help. Data flows from Venmo to IRS to ICE surveillance is disguised as worker protection. The often invisible power of platforms is profound and multiplicative.
Reposted by Hannah Wohl
"No taxes on tips" was supposed to help low-wage workers, but because of the platforms used for tipping and Trump's steamrolling of data protections, it may instead
have dire consequences for them.
@hannahwohl.bsky.social, Lindsey Cameron, & I in Newsweek today. tinyurl.com/yc27dah7
have dire consequences for them.
@hannahwohl.bsky.social, Lindsey Cameron, & I in Newsweek today. tinyurl.com/yc27dah7
The Hidden Dangers of Eliminating Taxes on Tips | Opinion
Instead of holding consumers accountable for sharing their data responsibly as privacy laws currently do, we must hold platform companies and our government accountable for the responsible stewardship...
www.newsweek.com
July 24, 2025 at 2:29 PM
"No taxes on tips" was supposed to help low-wage workers, but because of the platforms used for tipping and Trump's steamrolling of data protections, it may instead
have dire consequences for them.
@hannahwohl.bsky.social, Lindsey Cameron, & I in Newsweek today. tinyurl.com/yc27dah7
have dire consequences for them.
@hannahwohl.bsky.social, Lindsey Cameron, & I in Newsweek today. tinyurl.com/yc27dah7
New op-ed! I coauthored this in @Newsweek.com with Lindsey Cameron and @jticona.bsky.social on how the "no taxes on tips" provision actually increases surveillance over precarious workers and the dangers of sharing data across platforms. www.newsweek.com/hidden-dange...
The Hidden Dangers of Eliminating Taxes on Tips | Opinion
Instead of holding consumers accountable for sharing their data responsibly as privacy laws currently do, we must hold platform companies and our government accountable for the responsible stewardship...
www.newsweek.com
July 24, 2025 at 7:38 PM
New op-ed! I coauthored this in @Newsweek.com with Lindsey Cameron and @jticona.bsky.social on how the "no taxes on tips" provision actually increases surveillance over precarious workers and the dangers of sharing data across platforms. www.newsweek.com/hidden-dange...
I'm delighted to share that my op-ed on the dangers of requiring age verification for porn sites--as the Supreme Court will soon be deciding on--was just published in @thehill: thehill.com/opinion/tech...
Americans have been dangerously misled about porn age-verification laws
Porn has long been the canary in the coal mine for other restrictions against free speech.
thehill.com
June 24, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I'm delighted to share that my op-ed on the dangers of requiring age verification for porn sites--as the Supreme Court will soon be deciding on--was just published in @thehill: thehill.com/opinion/tech...
Methods question: Are there ethical concerns with interviewing people who are under company NDA policies (assuming they are voluntarily sharing this info and the data is fully non-identifiable)?
May 22, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Methods question: Are there ethical concerns with interviewing people who are under company NDA policies (assuming they are voluntarily sharing this info and the data is fully non-identifiable)?
I'm delighted to share that Max Besbris and I won the 2025 Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award from the ASA Consumers and Consumption Section for our article, "Relational Brokerage: Interaction and Valuation in Two Markets," published in Qualitative Sociology. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Relational Brokerage: Interaction and Valuation in Two Markets - Qualitative Sociology
Across various markets, consumers rely on brokers to help them select goods. How do brokers shape consumers’ valuation? We address this question by drawing from two independent but analogous ethnograp...
link.springer.com
May 14, 2025 at 7:40 PM
I'm delighted to share that Max Besbris and I won the 2025 Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award from the ASA Consumers and Consumption Section for our article, "Relational Brokerage: Interaction and Valuation in Two Markets," published in Qualitative Sociology. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
My op-ed on how deepfake porn is a labor issue: www.fastcompany.com/91313293/dee...
Deepfake porn is a labor issue
AI-generated porn could put hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans out of work.
www.fastcompany.com
April 9, 2025 at 7:28 PM
My op-ed on how deepfake porn is a labor issue: www.fastcompany.com/91313293/dee...
Northwestern Sociology is the best! Who else would invite me to colloquium on prospective student visiting day to talk about my porn research AND make me a book cake?! 🍰 ☺️
April 7, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Northwestern Sociology is the best! Who else would invite me to colloquium on prospective student visiting day to talk about my porn research AND make me a book cake?! 🍰 ☺️
Check out our new article in @us.theconversation.com!
"Our immersion in the porn and ride-hailing industries brought us to a Kafkaesque conclusion: Workers join these labor markets to escape 'the man,' only to find the man replaced by the often opaque logic of platforms and their algorithms." --Hannah Wohl and Lindsey Cameron
I convened a group of scholars around the theme "platform" last year. A goal was to think beyond and across individual platforms to better understand their power. In this smart piece, members of the group write about the vulnerability of gig workers across sectors theconversation.com/unlikely-bed...
January 25, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Check out our new article in @us.theconversation.com!
Reposted by Hannah Wohl
I convened a group of scholars around the theme "platform" last year. A goal was to think beyond and across individual platforms to better understand their power. In this smart piece, members of the group write about the vulnerability of gig workers across sectors theconversation.com/unlikely-bed...
Unlikely bedfellows: How platform companies shortchange porn performers and ride-hailing drivers alike
The porn and ride-hailing industries both attract workers seeking autonomy. Neither fully delivers.
theconversation.com
January 25, 2025 at 2:04 PM
I convened a group of scholars around the theme "platform" last year. A goal was to think beyond and across individual platforms to better understand their power. In this smart piece, members of the group write about the vulnerability of gig workers across sectors theconversation.com/unlikely-bed...