Dimensions of recognition through relational labour in erotic content creation in Brazil

Abstract

Relational labour has become a critical concept for understanding the consequences of the ongoing relationship between creators and their audiences on social media. This article draws on this discussion to address Brazilian erotic content creators’ perceptions of the impact of relational labour on their sense of self and subjective identity. Combining the concept with the idea of recognition as conceived in the Psychodynamics of Work, the article explores the subjective investment and identity development involved in the continual creator–audience intersubjective relationships. Based on 31 in-depth interviews with Brazilian erotic creators, the article reveals a deep subjective investment in performing relational labour and its impact on creators’ self-esteem and self-relationship, with the potential to strengthen their subjective identity and social value. Nevertheless, the symbolic rewards of relational labour are an effort rather than a guarantee, especially in highly stigmatised work where the distribution of in intersubjective relationships is uneven.