Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
@drgesmith.bsky.social
Media studies researcher and teacher based in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mostly I write about sex work, but right now I'm working on a project about smell and identity. Views are my own.
They/them.
Mostly I write about sex work, but right now I'm working on a project about smell and identity. Views are my own.
They/them.
Pinned
Another mini intro since I've just got a bunch of new followers: I'm Gwyn, I'm a sex work researcher who focuses specifically on media about the industry. I was interested in this since it's such a key site where lots of people come to 'know' the industry
Had a really wonderful time at Lighting the Academy in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland last week: so many great speakers, such an enthusiastic audience, and really proud to watch one of my doctoral students give his first conference presentation (on the use of humour by gay men on Chinese social media)
November 12, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Had a really wonderful time at Lighting the Academy in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland last week: so many great speakers, such an enthusiastic audience, and really proud to watch one of my doctoral students give his first conference presentation (on the use of humour by gay men on Chinese social media)
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
"If women can succeed at it, the logic goes, it must be easy."
Why you think OnlyFans is easy money (when it definitely isn't)
"If women can succeed at it, the logic goes, it must be easy."
bit.ly
August 13, 2025 at 10:22 AM
"If women can succeed at it, the logic goes, it must be easy."
Great article from Mark, who spoke with me and several others about the myth that OnlyFans is 'easy money' mashable.com/article/why-...
Why you think OnlyFans is easy money (when it definitely isn't)
"If women can succeed at it, the logic goes, it must be easy."
mashable.com
August 14, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Great article from Mark, who spoke with me and several others about the myth that OnlyFans is 'easy money' mashable.com/article/why-...
New from me in Porn Studies, discussing the emergence of AI generated porn and explaining why I don't think it's a serious threat to (most) of the sector: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Pornographic aura, AI and the value of authenticity
The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools which can produce images and video from text inputs has prompted questions about the impacts of the technology on the pornography indu...
www.tandfonline.com
June 18, 2025 at 2:59 AM
New from me in Porn Studies, discussing the emergence of AI generated porn and explaining why I don't think it's a serious threat to (most) of the sector: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
New article in Porn Studies! Using Benjamin's theory of aura to explain why I don't think the live-action porn industry will be meaningfully replaced by AI porn www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Pornographic aura, AI and the value of authenticity
The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools which can produce images and video from text inputs has prompted questions about the impacts of the technology on the pornography indu...
www.tandfonline.com
June 17, 2025 at 5:10 AM
New article in Porn Studies! Using Benjamin's theory of aura to explain why I don't think the live-action porn industry will be meaningfully replaced by AI porn www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
Appreciation to the sex workers for talking to me because they knew this was in the public interest.
And I think we need to have a conversation about some of the wider issues here.
And I think we need to have a conversation about some of the wider issues here.
PM’s press secretary ‘recorded sex workers without consent’
Christopher Luxon’s deputy chief press secretary quits after Stuff investigation into allegations he secretly recorded sessions with sex workers.
www.stuff.co.nz
June 4, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Appreciation to the sex workers for talking to me because they knew this was in the public interest.
And I think we need to have a conversation about some of the wider issues here.
And I think we need to have a conversation about some of the wider issues here.
Friday afternoon reading, on the mainstreaming of drag (especially interested in the observations here about performers feeling pressured to deliver performances and styles which new audiences will recognise from mainstream media/Drag Race) doi.org/10.1080/0038...
Drag and the New Political Economy of Queer Nightlife
In recent decades, rising rents, lower patronage, and the sexual integration of nightlife have forced hundreds of gay, lesbian, and queer (GLQ+) bars across and beyond the United States to close. I...
doi.org
May 23, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Friday afternoon reading, on the mainstreaming of drag (especially interested in the observations here about performers feeling pressured to deliver performances and styles which new audiences will recognise from mainstream media/Drag Race) doi.org/10.1080/0038...
I found this really interesting, especially the detail about reliance on 'whale' clients (and how this might be more pronounced for trans performers) journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Visibility in the shadows: Tips in mainstream versus alternative streaming on Chaturbate - Emilija Jokubauskaitė, Stijn Peeters, 2025
Webcam sex platforms represent an important sector of the creator economy. Yet, there is a great scarcity of research on revenue flows and performer income. To ...
journals.sagepub.com
May 22, 2025 at 2:27 AM
I found this really interesting, especially the detail about reliance on 'whale' clients (and how this might be more pronounced for trans performers) journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
i gained 100 new followers since the last time i posted about a new publication and today is finally time to do it again! this time @best.wel.moe and i dig into the $$$ flows on Chaturbate and investigate the links between visibility and income 🐋👛📉 (pls read)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
May 19, 2025 at 8:07 AM
i gained 100 new followers since the last time i posted about a new publication and today is finally time to do it again! this time @best.wel.moe and i dig into the $$$ flows on Chaturbate and investigate the links between visibility and income 🐋👛📉 (pls read)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
Sweden just expanded the Nordic Model, or "End Demand," to the internet. But we already know criminalization, including criminalizing buyers, is harmful policy www.404media.co/sweden-sex-w...
Sweden Expands Anti-Sex Work Law to Criminalize Paying for Custom OnlyFans Clips and Camming
The Nordic Model criminalizes buyers of sex in multiple European countries (and Maine). Sweden just voted to expand its reach to the internet.
www.404media.co
May 21, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Sweden just expanded the Nordic Model, or "End Demand," to the internet. But we already know criminalization, including criminalizing buyers, is harmful policy www.404media.co/sweden-sex-w...
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
Crossposting here as well, if you aren't using Substack: gwynesmith.beehiiv.com/p/why-do-bro...
Why do brothels look like that?
This post brought to you by 23 textured throw pillows.
gwynesmith.beehiiv.com
February 9, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Crossposting here as well, if you aren't using Substack: gwynesmith.beehiiv.com/p/why-do-bro...
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
Wrote a shorter summary of one of my latest articles, looking at how many different things brothel interiors are asked to do: drgesmith.substack.com/p/why-do-bro...
February 9, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Wrote a shorter summary of one of my latest articles, looking at how many different things brothel interiors are asked to do: drgesmith.substack.com/p/why-do-bro...
Wrote a shorter summary of one of my latest articles, looking at how many different things brothel interiors are asked to do: drgesmith.substack.com/p/why-do-bro...
February 9, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Wrote a shorter summary of one of my latest articles, looking at how many different things brothel interiors are asked to do: drgesmith.substack.com/p/why-do-bro...
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
Please donate to bail out sex workers caught in Super Bowl sweeps.
Every year, around this time, the airwaves in whatever city is hosting the Super Bowl are flooded with public services announcements about #sextrafficking at the “biggest sex trafficking event of the year.” But… Is it??? swopbehindbars.org/so/ffPHQis75...
Super bowl sex worker Bailout in New Orleans
On the Super Bowl, Safety and Solidarity
swopbehindbars.org
February 9, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Please donate to bail out sex workers caught in Super Bowl sweeps.
Resharing my new article for the weekend crowd! I'm really enjoying this project and here I'm getting into a bit of the big picture of how trans, nb and gender diverse people experience and use smell and fragrance: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
“I’ve adopted it as my smell”: transgender identity and the olfactory
Smell is an often-overlooked sense within transgender studies, despite the extensive theorization of the ways that scent and perfume is categorized along gendered lines, and its links to identity m...
www.tandfonline.com
January 26, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Resharing my new article for the weekend crowd! I'm really enjoying this project and here I'm getting into a bit of the big picture of how trans, nb and gender diverse people experience and use smell and fragrance: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
In 2022/23 I spoke with some trans, nb, and gender diverse people about how they used and felt about smell, and my new article from that project is out, looking especially at identity and smell. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
January 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
In 2022/23 I spoke with some trans, nb, and gender diverse people about how they used and felt about smell, and my new article from that project is out, looking especially at identity and smell. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
Something interesting I found out was that for many people, smell was important to them realizing they were trans - several people told me about borrowing someone's deodorant and having a kind of "huh..." moment
In 2022/23 I spoke with some trans, nb, and gender diverse people about how they used and felt about smell, and my new article from that project is out, looking especially at identity and smell. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
January 21, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Something interesting I found out was that for many people, smell was important to them realizing they were trans - several people told me about borrowing someone's deodorant and having a kind of "huh..." moment
Something interesting I found out was that for many people, smell was important to them realizing they were trans - several people told me about borrowing someone's deodorant and having a kind of "huh..." moment
In 2022/23 I spoke with some trans, nb, and gender diverse people about how they used and felt about smell, and my new article from that project is out, looking especially at identity and smell. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
January 21, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Something interesting I found out was that for many people, smell was important to them realizing they were trans - several people told me about borrowing someone's deodorant and having a kind of "huh..." moment
In 2022/23 I spoke with some trans, nb, and gender diverse people about how they used and felt about smell, and my new article from that project is out, looking especially at identity and smell. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
January 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
In 2022/23 I spoke with some trans, nb, and gender diverse people about how they used and felt about smell, and my new article from that project is out, looking especially at identity and smell. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
First piece of writing for 2025 is out, a review of the poppers-inspired olfactory component of Joie noire, one of the exhibitions at Artspace Aotearoa last year: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Joie noire
Published in The Senses and Society (Ahead of Print, 2025)
www.tandfonline.com
January 18, 2025 at 3:52 AM
First piece of writing for 2025 is out, a review of the poppers-inspired olfactory component of Joie noire, one of the exhibitions at Artspace Aotearoa last year: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Meri Kirihimete to those who celebrate and have a lovely Wednesday to those who don't! I know it's an expensive time of year, but for anyone who is in a position to help, Pandora is a treasured community member who's currently unhoused and needs help: givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-p...
Help Pandora Black find housing
Crowdfund to help community activist, Pandora Black, find housing
givealittle.co.nz
December 24, 2024 at 11:05 PM
Meri Kirihimete to those who celebrate and have a lovely Wednesday to those who don't! I know it's an expensive time of year, but for anyone who is in a position to help, Pandora is a treasured community member who's currently unhoused and needs help: givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-p...
Reposted by Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith
Today is International Day to End Violence Against SW - part of why my work focuses so intensively on media coverage is that we know it can contribute to stigma. I was part of the group who wrote these guidelines, aimed at journalists writing about our community #IDEVASW nzpc.org.nz/Best-practic...
December 16, 2023 at 11:44 PM
Today is International Day to End Violence Against SW - part of why my work focuses so intensively on media coverage is that we know it can contribute to stigma. I was part of the group who wrote these guidelines, aimed at journalists writing about our community #IDEVASW nzpc.org.nz/Best-practic...
This looks great 👀
Pre-order your copy of I Hate My Job today and support sex worker-run presses like @workinggirlspress.bsky.social!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/wor...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/wor...
December 16, 2024 at 9:15 PM
This looks great 👀
Worksafe have just released new occupational safety guidelines for the NZ sex industry - these were developed in consultation with local community (including me!) They take a holistic view, including things like burnout and privacy, as well as sexual health www.worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-in...
Keeping healthy and safe in the New Zealand sex industry
This guide provides practical advice on ways to identify and manage health and safety risks associated with working in the New Zealand sex industry.
www.worksafe.govt.nz
December 9, 2024 at 2:05 AM
Worksafe have just released new occupational safety guidelines for the NZ sex industry - these were developed in consultation with local community (including me!) They take a holistic view, including things like burnout and privacy, as well as sexual health www.worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-in...
FYI I tried this (going to cancel my subscription) and didn't get the option to downgrade, even when I fully called their bluff and canceled the whole thing but if you persist with their chat help for long enough you can make them do it manually
Fkn Microsoft rip-off scumbags...have just changed my subscription...share widely... www.consumer.org.nz/articles/you...
You don’t have to pay the Microsoft 365 price increase
Here’s how to keep the price of your subscription the same as it’s always been.
www.consumer.org.nz
December 4, 2024 at 10:48 AM
FYI I tried this (going to cancel my subscription) and didn't get the option to downgrade, even when I fully called their bluff and canceled the whole thing but if you persist with their chat help for long enough you can make them do it manually