The English Twitch streamer Lou, also known as “Poopernoodle”, wanted to open a new bank account. However, her application was immediately rejected when she accidentally provided an ambiguous job title.
How did this happen? Content creators often have a hard time explaining how they earn their money. A Twitch streamer, who performs online under the name “Poopernoodle”, faced this problem.
When she tried to request a card from a new bank online, there was no option for “I stream Lost Ark to nearly 500 viewers” under employment (via TwitchTracker). In her desperation, Poopernoodle chose the title that seemed closest to her job group – and was promptly rejected.
Twitch streamer accidentally posed as a sex worker
What did the streamer state? As Poopernoodle scrolled through a dropdown menu of possible job titles, she fell into a misconception: That she, as an adult woman entertaining people online, was an adult entertainer:
A few months ago, I applied at a very popular bank where you can use your card abroad. I was asked about my profession, and nothing really fit except […] “Online Adult Entertainer” [which translates to: “Adult Online Entertainer”], and I checked that.
I thought “Yes, that’s what I am. I’m an adult and I entertain people online, and then [the system] rejected me immediately.
In a statement to Kotaku, the streamer explained that she hadn’t realized that the term was a euphemism for sex work. She only brought this to her mother’s attention, to whom she described the situation.
You can watch the accompanying clip here:
Too little understanding for online work
Why is this interesting? The streamer’s experience shows that the job description “influencer” is not as widely accepted in society as one might think when moving a lot online.
It’s quite uncomfortable to explain the job to people. [The bank application] gave me a dropdown list of job options to choose from, and those were all socially accepted professions like “Dental Assistant”. There was no option for “Streamer” or “Broadcaster” or anything like that.
On Twitter, Poopernoodle stated that she refuses to believe that other content creators haven’t made the same mistake. Helpful users gave her a tip for the future: When in doubt, the answer is always “self-employed”.
Although this case did not apply to the streamer, the incident also opened her eyes to how difficult it must be for sex workers to open an account.
A streamer who blurs the lines between content creator and sex worker is the American Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa. She seems to have had no difficulties so far in opening a bank account – perhaps she simply refers to herself as a “businesswoman”.
29-year-old explains how she coldly exploits Twitch and earns $1.7 million a month
