Abstract/Summary

This thesis analyses porn content creators’ (PCCs) employment reality in the context of the gig economy. In the spirit of pragmatist feminism, although each case is ultimately decided on its merits and the specificities of its context, my argument is that, at least in many cases, PCCs operating under the kinds of gig-economy conditions described in the thesis produce work of value and should be regarded as ‘workers’. This category of employment sits between self-employment and employee status and workers incur benefits from core labour rights – that is, some, but not all, of the rights granted to employees. My sociolegal methodological approach is based on a doctrinal analysis of UK law related to the determination of employment status, minimum wage and working time, triangulated through eight semi-structured interviews with PCCs. The interviews are combined with an evaluation of the terms of use of a selected sample of online platforms accessible to UK based PCCs. While PCCs are often treated as self-employed, my research highlights that many are operating under the control of porn platforms. My aim is to develop an argument that may assist lawyers and policy makers in appreciating how PCCs’ working conditions could be made more secure and stable by operating in line with labour law.