RAGE-BAIT EROTICS VOL. 3 - Click-Bait Porn in the NSFW Economy. AI Art in The Uncanny Valley

Editor’s Note: 

Call it what you will — Porn Stars in the Attention Economy, Rage-Bait Erotics: How Porn Became Late Capitalism’s Favorite Hustle, or Click-Bait Porn and the AI-Generated Art Revolution. Either way, this is not your grandmother’s erotic revolution. 

The new economy of sex is a messy ménage-à-trois between porn, pop culture, and algorithms. It’s porn not as fantasy, not even as art, but as the most clickable, memeable, rage-inducing hustle of our times..

makefilm.ai  nsfw AI art generator tool

Click-Bait Porn in the NSFW Economy

Here’s the trick: desire alone doesn’t fuel today’s NSFW economy—controversy does. Every viral leak, every scandal, every “banned on OnlyFans” headline is clickbait candy. Porn today is designed not only to arouse but to divide: moralists vs. libertines, feminists vs. misogynists, “sex work is work” vs. “think of the children.”

A768 Adeline (2015) Drawing, Pastel on Paper by Etienne Bonnet

Etude-feminine 4 (2014) Acrylic on Paper by Jean Philippe Dufau

New Wave - Erotic nude (2020), Drawing Ink on Paper by Salamanderlovers on ArtMajeur

Nabrojuice углем (2023) Drawing Charcoal, Pencil on Paper by Wiktoria Burdeiko

Each outrage cycle generates free publicity, more clicks, more subscriptions, more power for platforms that thrive on extremes. Porn becomes less about bodies in bed and more about bodies in conflict. The hottest erotic currency today isn’t arousal—it’s rage-bait. 

In this new marketplace, eroticism thrives on scandal: a pastor’s leaked nudes, a politician’s Grindr DMs, an OnlyFans meltdown gone viral. Desire circulates through fury. People don’t just watch—they comment, repost, and moralize. The NSFW economy isn’t about orgasm anymore. It’s about engagement.

Efflorescence (2011), Drawing Indian ink on paper by Salamanderlovers on ArtMajeur

Etude-feminine 1 (2014) Acrylic on Paper by Jean Philippe Dufau

Sans titre ca 2008, Drawing Indian ink and charcoal on paper by Salamanderlovers on ArtMajeur

Sans titre ca 2008, Drawing Color Ink on Paper by Salamanderlovers on ArtMajeur

Hustle Culture, Erotic Edition

The real porn of late capitalism isn’t just what’s on Pornhub. It’s the hustle itself. It’s the endless stream of OnlyFans entrepreneurs, cam models, TikTok thirst-baiters, and self-styled “digital courtesans” selling not only erotic imagery but curated intimacy.

AI Deep Dream Generator Art by Deepak Sharma

AI Deep Dream Generator Art by Teniayo Akande

Shadow @Whiteburn61120, Wonder gal - Gal Gadot Hyperrealistic Portrait, Digital Art, 2023

Shadow @Whiteburn61120, Wonder gal, Digital Art, 2023

This is “porn-adjacent” branding—the sexy-but-not-quite-nude influencer peddling lingerie hauls, ASMR whispers, or parasocial fantasy. Everyone is playing the same game: packaging the erotic self into consumable, bite-sized content. 

The paradox? Sex, once taboo, is now both everywhere and nowhere. It’s ubiquitous, but stripped of danger. Branded, monetized, algorithm-approved. Eroticism has become a platform hustle: a never-ending loop of attention, outrage, and clicks. 

A812 (2016) Drawing, Pastel on Paper by Etienne Bonnet

A493 Le baiser 2 (2020) Drawing, Conté on Paper by Etienne Bonnet

A730 Les amoureuses (2022) Drawing, Pastel on Paper by Etienne Bonnet 

Porn as Pop-Culture Currency

Porn is no longer the sticky VHS tape hidden under a teenager’s bed. It’s brand strategy, PR, political currency. 

Paris Hilton’s One Night in Paris leaked in the age of paparazzi tabloids. Kim Kardashian’s tape catapulted her into billionaire goddess-dom. Even scandals become assets—from The Fappening celebrity nude leaks to OnlyFans stars marketing themselves as entrepreneurs of intimacy. 

Desire has always been for sale, but in the 21st century, the sale itself is the spectacle. Porn isn’t hiding in the shadows anymore; it’s dancing in the algorithm, optimized for clicks, likes, and outrage.

Become a Premium member now and check out the extended version of this publication including, among other things: 

• Porn as Pop-Culture Currency
• SIDE SALAD: Top Rage-Bait Porn Moments of the 21st Century
• Porn as Mirror, Porn as Warning,
• Click-Bait Porn Meets the AI Art Revolution
• AI Art in the Uncanny Valley Do You Believe in Love After AI?,
• and 55+ compelling pics
• in Premium you can also find the fourth and final installment  of the series

Click HERE for the first volume o the "Rage-Bait Erotics" series

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