We sat down with "naked philanthropist" Kaylen Ward to talk about selling nudes for a cause — both the benefits and the backlash.
Ward went on to explain she wants to help emerging sex workers by providing the tools they need to be successful. While little information is known about LA Dream Girls as a company, it’s impossible to know whether the business will come to fruition. On the other hand, it does hint at the growing popularity of sites such as OnlyFans, suggesting such ‘sex work’ is becoming more socially acceptable.
Ward went earlier this year trading nudes for donations to Australian Wildfire Relief, but this campaign is striking people as significantly more sketchy. For one, inviting a bunch of girls to a house to teach them to be sex workers sounds an awful lot like pimping.
The Problem With Kaylen Ward’s (the naked philanthropist) Onlyfans Influencer House
According to Ward, her intention is to help emerging sex workers by providing tools they could use to be successful. While it’s difficult to parse whether her LA Dream Girls company is in fact illegal until it gets off the ground, the controversy illustrates one of the challenges sex work faces as it becomes more socially acceptable in mainstream society, as the line between those who engage in it voluntarily and those who are being exploited remains blurred.
‘Naked Philanthropist’ Kaylen Ward inspires other sex workers to offer photos in exchange for donations to bushfire relief
In four days, 20-year old Kaylen Ward estimates she has raised more than $700,000 for the victims of Australia’s bushfire crisis – by sending nude photographs of herself to anyone who donates more than $10 to one of her chosen charities and sends her the receipt.
Ward’s efforts have inspired other sex workers to offer naked photographs in exchange for donations to Australia’s bushfire relief funds.
Katie Day, a Vancouver-based sex worker, says she saw the Naked Philanthropist’s tweet and “thought it was a really great way to encourage people to donate”. She tweeted on 6 January that she was joining Ward’s efforts. She hoped to raise a couple of hundred dollars, and has already surpassed that goal, raising more than $1,000 in 24 hours, mostly from “people I’ve never heard of before”.
Dozens of sex workers on Twitter have adopted the same nudes-for-donation fundraising model, and told Business Insider they’ve raised thousands of dollars in just a few days. Ward’s approach isn’t necessarily new:
But sex workers who spoke with Business Insider say the negative reactions Ward faced are somewhat typical of their industry. They shared stories of their faces showing up on dating apps, their identities getting leaked to family members and employers, and their nude photos shared freely without consent. Many referred to the stigma that their industry faces from those who don’t see sex work as a real job, and make it a point to slut-shame them across the internet.
