Women in the Indian Army: Supreme Court calls out sexism
Defence
Breaking the glass ceiling that lasted for 65 years, the Supreme Court declared that women can also sit for the upcoming National Defence Academy (NDA) examination. It held that the policy restricting their entry into the elite institution is based on “gender discrimination.”
The court was hearing a plea filed by Advocate Kush Kalra, seeking directions to allow eligible women candidates to appear for the NDA and Naval Academy Examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
In its interim direction, the bench asked the UPSC to admit to this blunder and correct it. UPSC is also supposed to “give due publicity so that the intent of the order is translated into effect.” It, however, said that the admission of women candidates would be subject to the final outcome of the petition.
Government’s appeal
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati from the Ministry of Defence said that there are three modes for recruiting officers into the Army: NDA, Officers’ Training Academy (OTA), and Indian Military Academy (IMA), and women are eligible for entry through the IMA and OTA. She also said that prohibiting women from joining NDA is a policy decision and the court ought not to interfere by passing an interim order.
SC termed it gender discrimination
Rejecting the “policy decision” argument made by the Union government, the court responded in its order: “This is a policy decision based on gender discrimination. We expect the army and the government to take a more constructive view of the matter...”
“Even if it is a matter of policy, you are allowing women’s entry through two sources. Why should you say that one more additional source of entry is closed for women? It is not just a gender principle but discriminatory otherwise too,” said Justice Roy.
SC slammed Army too
While also condemning the Army in this matter, Justice Kaul stated that “the Navy and the Air Force are more forthcoming”, while “the Army seems to have a bias not to implement”. He added that his impression from the time he served in the high court was that the Army doesn’t believe in doing things voluntarily but acts only after a judgment is passed.
Army’s response
Meanwhile, sources in the Army said discussions to allow women into the NDA were on even before the Supreme Court’s interim order. A senior Army officer said the Service Chiefs from Army, Navy and Air Force were already scheduled to visit the NDA on August 20 “to review the training and administrative arrangements for women cadets”.
The officer continued that Army Aviation has also recently been inducting women officers in training and in the lower ranks of the Corps of Military Police. He added, “Gender equality has been an issue which has been actively debated and found a positive response in the Services.”
OnlyFans - Opening this Pandora’s box
Startup
What is OnlyFans?
OnlyFans is a content subscription service. Founded in 2016 by British tech entrepreneur and investor Timothy Stokely in London, OnlyFans is a place for content creators to offer exclusive content their target audience can pay premium prices for. Creators can lock their content behind a paywall, allowing fans access for a monthly fee or one-off tip. Today, OnlyFans has more than 50 million registered users and more than 1 million content creators.
Content by sex workers
While OnlyFans was ideated to be home to writers, poets, inspirational speakers, authors, artists, chefs, etc, the site is more commonly known for being a content hub for sex workers, porn stars, and more. Since OnlyFans lets people post content that would get them banned on other social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, it's also widely used by sex workers and amateur pornographers who upload videos and images and interact with their fans using direct messages.
Earning potential of content creators?
Creators create accounts for free and can set their page to be free or paid for fans to access. When they earn money from the platform OnlyFans pays out 80%, keeping 20% of the earnings as a fee.
OnlyFans has set the range for the monthly subscription from $4.99 to $49.99. Creators can also set up tips or paid direct messages for a minimum of $5.
1000 paid subscribers for a $10 monthly subscription translates to $100K in annual earnings for the creator and roughly $20K for OnlyFans. The challenge for the creator lies in acquiring this audience and retaining them.
OnlyFans rich list
Boom of the subscription-based social media
Since the global Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020, searches for “onlyfans” have increased tremendously on Google and OnlyFans reports that between March and April the site saw roughly 200,000 new people subscribing to the site each day, resulting in a 75% increase of new users.
Only time will tell if this upward trajectory will continue for OnlyFans but what is clear is that subscription-based social media is a viable and thriving answer to social distancing and our increasingly digital world.
Astonishing statistics
50 million registered users
1 million content creators
OnlyFans has paid out more than $2 billion to creators
Bella Thorne earned more than $1 million in her first 24 hours
Most accounts take home less than $145 per month, while the average earning is $180
The top 1% of the accounts make 33% of the money
15 million new users per month - thanks to pandemic
7,000 to 8,000 new content creators per day
Recent content guidelines debacle
It is no news that sex sells, with the platform providing leverage for its creators to multiple profits. Since 2015, the internet has seen many companies exert their dominance and monopolize the sex industry, with MindGeek being the biggest player, having its crown jewel “PornHub”. Their banking partners and payout providers require the website to comply with their policies as well. Last year, VISA and Mastercard had briefly stopped operation with MindGeek due to hosting the “revenge porn” category on its platform.
“In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of our platform, and continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans, we must evolve our content guidelines”- OnlyFans
Will it tumble like Tumblr?
In 2018, Verizon banned porn and most nudity on Tumblr and made initiatives to transition the platform into a PG-13 version, which led to the site losing a major chunk of its platform. Most artists left, with Tumblr losing about 30% of its traffic within a matter of a couple of weeks.
Top creators like Tyga have already deleted their OnlyFans account and issued statements to launch competitor “myystar”. This could result in an exodus of content creators to this new, less strict platform - leading to the downfall of OnlyFans.
Interesting times ahead…
OnlyFans was uncertain of the short-term hit that would result from the shift, but directors have estimated a potential revenue drop of 25 per cent over the next few months.
Tim Stokely, the CEO of OnlyFans, has always hated the niche his platform has become. Recently OnlyFans launched a new app, where it doesn’t show any of its sexual content, due to Apple’s app store policies and its own initiative to promote other creators. Currently, OnlyFans aims to raise funds through investors, aiming to shrug off its NSFW image on the internet. How this ban will age for the platform will be very interesting.
Like what you read? Share this article with your friends and follow us on:
Instagram | Medium | LinkedIn