Whilst in the process of researching for my recent post on the YouKandy collapse, I came across the following tweet by Lena Kelly:
Ive said it twice and ill say it thrice@ManyVids should give its trans girls the same bonus as regular girls. We work just as hard. I find it obscene that were paid barely even half of what cis girls get and the SAME bonus as producer MV where they arent even the fucking talent
— lena kelly (@LENAKELLYXXX) May 23, 2018
According to Kelly, trans models’ bonuses on the ManyVids platform are less than those for cis models. I investigated the thread and found other outraged people, as well as some who justified ManyVids’ position.
Too bad MV is paying far smaller bonuses to trans models than cis models…
— Mayumi Sparkles♔™ (@TSMayumiSays) June 4, 2018
3) We wont just ‘pick a different platform’. We will stay just where we are and continue to put pressure on the people in charge until they correct their error. If you’re ok with the status quo, that’s your prerogative, but don’t get in our way. pic.twitter.com/BrvxiEkiw8
— ? Karabella ? (@Karabella_XXX) May 28, 2018
Almost 13k MV Girls on the platform and all the rest combined = under 3k (2,997) doesn't it make sense that the MV girls get more of bonus as a whole they generate more income than everyone else, tbh I think you should be lucky you're getting half of what the girls get.
— Sasha King (@SashaKingUK) May 25, 2018
Sry but thats not a good argument. Its a round number BONUS therefore at their discretion/not based on any raw percentage. Top 100 trans performers probably make more than the bottom 10k of those mvgirls. Our competition is just as tough. But ok settle for less and ull get it boo
— lena kelly (@LENAKELLYXXX) May 25, 2018
Running a Twitter search on the subject, I found there is a history of issues with ManyVids and trans performers working on they platform. Many models have taken to Twitter to air their grievances.
MV only promotes thin cis girls on their main page. They gave bonuses to cis SWs for bringing trans (1/2
— MissFreudianSlit??? (@MissFreudian) January 6, 2017
you've made it clear that you're anti trans by trying to excuse an entire group as a "bonus"
— ?✨Savannah Savage✨? (@SavannahSavageX) January 6, 2017
Not saying MVG should get smaller bonus. Ts should get =!! Were girls too, put just as much on the line as vag girls & are constantly swimming upstream to get our hustle on under weights most people would crumble beneath. We deserve it. Fite me!!! (Dont fite me i have small arms)
— lena kelly (@LENAKELLYXXX) December 29, 2017
Were never featured on the homepage, theres never any fun little showcases for us. We dont get to do "takeovers". We have it harder, because of our dicks (lol). That being said tho, im appreciative of @manyvids as a platform i just think this one thing is stupid and arbitrary
— lena kelly (@LENAKELLYXXX) December 29, 2017
Exploring further, I found that ManyVids only began accepting trans content at the beginning of 2017 in response to a large push from trans performers. ManyVids also has a dedicated Twitter account for trans content — @MVTransUploads — which was started in March 2017.
Here is a tweet from March, 2016:
@NicaRiver @AdiLockheart We working very hard to allow Trans and Male talent to sale on the site. This will be live in the very soon.
— ManyVids (@ManyVids) March 24, 2016
But by summer of 2016, no changes seemed to have been made:
Hey @manyvids back in April you told me that you thought you'd have a trans category in 6 weeks…what happened?
— SugarHi ?➡️? (@PosterOfAGirrl) July 6, 2016
Then, coincident with the trans content specific Twitter account beginning in March, there appeared to be some inclusive developments:
Seems like manyvids is making an effort to better include trans performers! Check out the new trans category! https://t.co/iCkJcuvgYE
— Icy Winters (@icywinters) March 1, 2017
In the below statement, ManyVids announced they would now be separating their content into four groups: MV Girls, MV Boys (then new category), MV Trans (then new category) and Producers.
The tweet below links to a post on the ManyVids site. Dated February 27, 2017, reads in part:
Everyone using MV will be able to select their preferences within their settings and change them at any time! If you are feeling curious and want to view something that is not part of your preferences you can still see it, but you will receive a pop-up notification letting you know that it is different from your selected preference.
Once these changes are live, you will be able to use the “MV Stars” search in the drop-down menu to search within the 4 model types. We are also launching 2 brand new landing pages for our MV Boys & MV Trans in order to highlight them and give them the exposure they deserve which can be seen here when you are logged out:
Last but not least, we will also be modifying the Top Earner prizes. The Top Earners’ page will display 4 columns for all 4 MV Star types and bonuses of new amounts will be awarded tallying up to a total of $20,000 per month!
New Changes: MV Trans & Top Earners! https://t.co/h8QYb6FWu9 @sasha_de_sade pic.twitter.com/HxNKLTr9os
— MV Trans (@MVTransModels) February 27, 2017
Prior to this development in March 2017, it appears that there was no category to include trans content and so it would be deleted.
(click to enlarge)
this was before they added the mv trans section. if they signed up as mv girls yes they were banned
— Goddess Tay ? (@GoddessTayJ) September 25, 2017
Yes, it was a while back, before they created the "MV Trans" category. They banned all trans women who joined the site as MV Girls.
— Luna Sapphire (@MsLunaSapphire) September 24, 2017
Yeah they used to be straight binary but they got enough push back that they made a trans category. That they ignore 2 promote cisppl over.
— YourEverLovingMajesty (@dreagentry) September 21, 2017
Many models were pleased to see ManyVids’ addition of a trans category in 2017; however, also announced in the February 27 statement was the new bonus structure.
The ratios for ManyVids Girls are much higher than for ManyVids Trans or ManyVids Boys. This was also a ratio extended to the ManyVids Awards prizes.
(click to enlarge)
Take 40% of all earnings, profit nicely, and still feel the need to reduce Best Trans Performer prize by $300? @ManyVids Bad call.
— ? Blaze Fyre ? (@BlazeFyre) January 6, 2017
Hey @ManyVids, way to marginalize performers you've repeatedly excluded and promote a rhetoric of excusable inequality in our industry… pic.twitter.com/MA63HpORvb
— "Daddy" Dresler (@isabeldresler) January 6, 2017
I really wanted to enter the @ManyVids awards, but I'm really not about them offering less for the Trans category. It's pretty gross when
— Burger Boss ? (@FractalGG) January 6, 2017
As models began uploading content to the ManyVids Trans category, other issues related to gender identity became apparent.
Hey @ManyVids many is really appreciate it if you had a trans man award category other than trans queen I am not a girl and don't feel comfortable with the idea of being crowned queen in that category also it would be unfair to compete with trans woman for an award
— nicko Wolfe (@nicko_1434) January 6, 2018
Sign up for @manyvids frustrated by this… My content is inclusive, girls, guys & trans. pic.twitter.com/ywi7XXeofR
— The Goddess Kyaa (@GoddessKyaa) June 9, 2016
hey, @manyvids might I suggest the category "Whatever I feel like"
— Miss Kelle Martina (@KelleMartina) June 9, 2016
Hey @ManyVids why is it so difficult to search for trans girls on your site? Content preferences default to showing you 'Girls and Guys'. That means people have the option of not seeing my dick, but no way of not seeing guy dick?
— ?Kiwi Couli? (@KiwiCouli) February 25, 2018
I left MV when they begrudgingly accepted trans people onto the site but kept us separate and the site heteronormative.
— YourEverLovingMajesty (@dreagentry) September 21, 2017
A search on the ManyVids site provides their content chart which seems to suggest that trans performers can only upload trans content.
(click to enlarge)
There are many models who enjoy offering a varied range of content and working with many models, cis and trans. The way the category is presented seems to make models feel marginalized in itself.
It's not as if "Trans" is a monolithic block, either. I'd imagine the audience for trans men and women are somewhat different
— Stark Dholes Remastered (@protoprawn) February 25, 2018
It should all just be one page on one site. It doesn't need to be hidden. At the very least do it like cam sites where it's A TAB YOU CAN SEE ON THE FRONT PAGE. It's like manyvids wants to hide us in a closet. It definitely impacts sales.
— Jessica Fappit (@JessicaFappit) March 7, 2018
Many vids could go a long way on how they treat their trans models. They're very separate but equal. It's very disheartening that they hide us from the main crowd. Other sites don't.
— Jessica Fappit (@JessicaFappit) March 6, 2018
I think its completely fair to put trans in a separate tab so no one who doesn't want to see doesnt click the tab. That's completely fair. But a warning when you click the tab for trans is yeah…It's insulting.
— Jessica Fappit (@JessicaFappit) March 7, 2018
I had to go in and manually change my settings because it kept sending a warning when I went to look at videos with trans performers
— Too lazy to begin world domination. (@Android485) March 7, 2018
They actually have a warning that pops up when you go into the trans category.? It’s like they think that internet porn viewers have never seen a lady dick before. Trans porn is everywhere and very few people are that upset if they accidentally see it.
— ?️?Ruby Rapture?️? (@RubyRapture) February 25, 2018
I approached ManyVids regarding their categories, and they responded with the following statement:
Cis and trans models can work together on ManyVids, the video will be tagged as trans and appear as trans content type. You can make content with another performer of different content type however the content type has to match the account as our content preference settings are linked to the profile content type. We do however have some MV stars with 2 separate accounts for content type separation as the content and user base is different.
In relation to the bonus structure, ManyVids said:
You are speaking of the monthly “Top Earners Bonus” and we just wanted to let you know reasoning behind the bonus prizes being the way they are. The MV Girls category is a significantly larger category with over 12 thousand girls trying to get the top prize. In the other categories (Producers, Trans & Boys) the competition runs among just 500-1500 MV Stars per category. We are always trying to expand those sections and once there are more MV Stars in each category, we can revisit to make changes. However, for the time being, it would be extremely unfair to MV Girls to have to go up against 12 thousand people for the same prize bonus that another MV Star gets for competing against just 500-1000 people.
ManyVids requested that I use the full statement provided as they’re keen for people to understand the ratio is about fair competition. I asked ManyVids how the bonus ratios were worked out and they told me: “There is not an exact ratio. We evaluate the amount of MV Stars quarterly and assess their bonus amounts. This goes for every category.”
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Katy Seymour is a super-sex-positive writer in the U.K. who believes kink is life. Email her at katy@ynotcam.com.
