Latina Sex Workers on Twitch: Between Pleasure, Work, Vulnerability and Marginalization

This study examines how Latina women who combine Twitch livestreaming with erotic and sexual work experience gendered, racialized, and sexualized marginalization within gaming culture. Its central argument is that the female body on Twitch is ambivalent: it is both a central asset for content creation and a source of exclusion, and for Latina streamers this tension is shaped by expectations of sexualized presentation rooted in hegemonic white, heterosexual masculinity. The authors position their work as an addition to existing research on women, people of color, and non-Anglophone streamers, and they argue that cross-platform use of Twitch and OnlyFans can intensify rather than alleviate these forms of marginalization.

The research draws on a qualitative approach combining social network analysis and digital ethnography. The authors examined the social media presence and Twitch livestreams of nineteen self-identifying Latinas based in Central America, South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean who produce sexual content on OnlyFans and promote it across their networks. The analysis tracked which platforms were most active, the types of content produced, the amount of time devoted to video games, and whether gaming functions mainly as a draw for male audiences. The authors hypothesize that the link between gaming and pornography has long been present in how both industries have been presented as exclusively male-oriented, and they suggest that gaming references may matter more for attracting attention than for actual play.

Drawing on Paula Sibilia's concept of "the visible self," the study interprets streamers' use of social media as a means of managing the relationship between gaming culture, intimacy, and adult content. The authors contend that becoming a woman streamer can involve a personal desire for open self-display and confidence, and that by presenting themselves as empowered entrepreneurs these women may challenge the dominance of whiteness and masculinity in live broadcast spaces. Their conclusions emphasize that Latina streamers are expected, and sometimes pressured, to perform a sexualized and gendered identity, while platform rules and norms create tension but also enable diverse multi-platform entrepreneurial strategies. The paper presents its contribution as a step toward understanding how these streamers appropriate and reshape video game culture.