Your Favorite Italian Pornstar! Valentina Nappi, Onlyfans and the Platformization of Porn

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between pornographic transgression and the digital platforms through which it is articulated, with particular attention to OnlyFans and the porn star Valentina Nappi’s OnlyFans profile. ​ Combining reflections on the cultural positioning of pornography with the theoretical framework and methodology of celebrity studies, as well as with a critical analysis of feminist and postfeminist discourse on pornography, this article will first provide a historical and social overview of the mainstream sphere and of feminist responses to pornography focusing on OnlyFans. This article will first provide a historical and social overview of the pornification of the mainstream sphere and of feminist responses to pornography focusing on OnlyFans. Secondly, it will analyze the construction of Valentina Nappi’s public image in the Italian context, drawing on a variety of sources, such as OnlyFans productions, trade journals, mainstream media, public appearances, general press, and social media selected for their theoretical and historical relevance. Findings show Valentina Nappi’s OnlyFans profile enables a reconceptualization of the star-as-celebrity within a historical and spatial framework, wherein the private sphere becomes a site of public and intellectual debate. In this context, the figure of the porn performer semantically overlaps with the “legitimate” public persona of the star.