SWCEO Interviews Val Webber
Blog Post Written By: MelRose Michaels
How are financial discrimination and content moderation impacting the adult industry and the lives of sex workers today?
In a recent Twitter Space, MelRose Michaels sits down with Val Webber, a seasoned researcher and advocate, to explore the challenges and resilience of sex workers navigating evolving regulations and systemic bias.
MelRose Michaels: Today, we’re diving into an insightful conversation with Val Weber, a researcher and advocate with over 15 years of experience in the adult industry. Val’s work explores pornography, public health, ethics, and the regulation of sexuality. They’re a postdoctoral fellow at the SHaG Lab and the board chair of PASS. Val, thank you for joining us!
Val Webber: Thanks for having me, MelRose. It’s a pleasure.
MelRose Michaels: Val, you’ve spent years in the adult industry and are now conducting critical research. Your chapter in Sex Work Today addresses financial discrimination and content moderation impacting sex workers. Can you share how your journey shaped your approach to these topics?
Val Webber: Sure. I started webcamming right out of high school in 2002. From the beginning, I experienced how Visa and MasterCard shaped what I could and couldn’t do online. For example, early on, we followed strict manuals influenced by credit card rules. This restriction on expression and earnings stayed with me as I moved into other areas, like fetish content and public health work. My PhD focused on occupational health in porn production, bringing all these threads together to study regulation and ethics in adult content.
MelRose Michaels: That’s fascinating. What makes Sex Work Today such an important resource for sex workers and their allies?
Val Webber: It’s a collection grounded in labor issues, bringing together sex workers, advocates, and researchers. The intersectional approach addresses impacts often overlooked, like the experiences of marginalized groups—trans workers, BIPOC creators, and people with disabilities. It’s by and for workers, making it a critical resource.
MelRose Michaels: Absolutely. Your chapter focuses on financial discrimination and content moderation. Can you give an overview of your key findings?
Val Webber: The New York Times op-ed in December 2020 accusing Pornhub of profiting from non-consensual content triggered major changes in credit card policies. Platforms implemented stricter guidelines, causing disruptions to sex workers' income and well-being. Marginalized creators, especially those producing kink or niche content, were hit hardest. These rules not only slowed content approval but also led to account closures, income loss, and increased stress.
MelRose Michaels: That’s deeply impactful. How did these disruptions affect creators' health and well-being?
Val Webber: The pandemic heightened the strain. Many were forced to return to in-person work despite health risks, including COVID-19. For creators with disabilities, the shift to more physically demanding jobs was unsustainable. Financial precarity led to anxiety, housing instability, and even difficulties affording basic needs like heating.
MelRose Michaels: I can relate. Managing finances, even as an established creator, is incredibly stressful. Your survey data from creators is so valuable. Can you explain your research methods?
Val Webber: I created a concise survey using Qualtrics, ensuring it was secure and easy to complete. It included multiple-choice questions and text boxes for detailed responses. The survey captured the immediate effects of new credit card guidelines, and the combination of quantitative and qualitative data provided a comprehensive view of the impact. I shared it on Twitter and through creator networks, which helped gather diverse responses.
MelRose Michaels: Were there challenges conducting this research?
Val Webber: I’m fortunate my university’s ethics board expedited approval, considering it part of my existing dissertation on pornography and occupational health. Community support on Twitter and other networks was crucial for distributing the survey.
MelRose Michaels: MasterCard’s 2021 guidelines were a focus of your chapter. What were the most significant ways they disrupted sex workers’ livelihoods?
Val Webber: Verification processes became burdensome. Creators had to re-verify old content, often requiring ID from collaborators they no longer had contact with. Kink and fetish content faced harsh moderation, with previously approved material flagged or removed. These disruptions led to income loss and increased labor for creators.
MelRose Michaels: Financial discrimination disproportionately affects marginalized communities. Can you elaborate on the intersections of race, gender, and ability within the industry?
Val Webber: Automated moderation systems often reflect human biases, disproportionately targeting marginalized creators. Systemic racism and transphobia further limit access to financial safety nets, compounding the effects of these policies. Regulation tends to uphold a narrow, white, cisnormative, heteronormative standard of sexual morality, harming anyone outside those norms.
MelRose Michaels: Despite these challenges, your chapter highlights resilience among sex workers. Can you share examples of how the community pushes back?
Val Webber: The Acceptance Matters campaign was a powerful response, bringing together creators and allies to protest MasterCard’s policies. Organizations like the ACLU filed complaints, and community-based research continues to provide critical data for advocacy. Mutual aid networks among performers also help navigate these challenges by sharing tips and resources.
MelRose Michaels: If financial institutions were listening, what policy changes would you recommend?
Val Webber: Policies should focus solely on ensuring content is made and distributed consensually. Creators must be involved in designing verification processes to ensure they’re respectful, secure, and efficient. Credit card companies shouldn’t regulate sexual content beyond verifying consent.
MelRose Michaels: Another topic in the book is the "whorearchy." Can you define it and explain its impact on solidarity within the community?
Val Webber: The "whorearchy" ranks types of sex work based on stigma, often dividing workers. This lateral oppression weakens solidarity. However, recent years have seen more unity, with creators recognizing how criminalization and regulation affect all forms of sex work.
MelRose Michaels: What do you hope readers take away from Sex Work Today?
Val Webber: I hope they see sex work as an interconnected labor issue and understand the importance of centering sex workers’ voices in discussions about their realities.
MelRose Michaels: Thank you, Val, for sharing your research and insights. Where can people find the book and your work?
Val Webber: The book is available through NYU Press or your local independent bookstore. You can find me on BlueSky and my website, valeriewebber.com, where I share my research and other projects.
MelRose Michaels: Thank you, Val, and thank you to everyone who joined. Don’t forget to check out Sex Work Today and join us next week for a conversation with Kaytlin Bailey on the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. See you next time!
Some parts of the above interview have been condensed or edited for clarity. For the full interview, listen to the entire Twitter space.
Find Val Webber on Twitter.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the interview are those of the guest speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SexWorkCEO or MelRose Michaels. Anything said or written is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone else.