A former female livestreamer shares her story of sexualizing herself to attract big-spending clients
Our narrator today, Xiaoxiao, was a female livestreamer who entered the business this January. It took her only three months to go from making 2 RMB a day to making 100,000 RMB a month. On the outside, this seems like an outrageous figure—but this income all depended on the “big brothers”: fans with deep pockets on the other side of the screen.
The top “brother” is the viewer who sends the largest amount of virtual gifts to the livestreamer, which they can redeem for cash through the livestreaming platform. The brothers are the key to striking it rich in the streaming world.
So how was Xiaoxiao going to catch the eye of one of these lucrative viewers?
The answer might lie in roleplay: In this world, those who can perform their roles well can have what they desire.
Below, we follow Xiaoxiao’s account of her experience with the ups and downs of the livestreaming world.
Founded in 2017 by Kou Aizhe, Story FM is one of the most renowned podcast in China. Each episode focuses on ordinary people’s lives and viewpoints, including the difficulties of marginalized people. Through intimate and private interviews, Story FM digs out first-person experiences and lets listeners immerse themselves in another person’s voice and feelings. You can listen to their podcast in Chinese on Ximalaya, Qingting FM, Apple Podcasts, and the 故事FM mini-app on WeChat.
