English Twitch streamer Lou aka “Poopernoodle” wanted to open a new bank account. But her application was immediately rejected when she accidentally gave an ambiguous job title.
How did that happen? Content creators often don’t have it easy when it comes to explaining how they make their money. A Twitch streamer who goes online under the name “Poopernoodle” was now faced with this problem.
Because when she wanted to request a card online from a new bank, there was no option for “I’m playing Lost Ark in front of almost 500 spectators” under Employment (via TwitchTracker). So, in desperation, Poopernoodle chose the name that seemed closest to her profession – and was promptly turned down.
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Twitch streamer accidentally posed as a sex worker
What did the streamer say? As Poopernoodle scrolled through a drop-down menu of possible job titles, she succumbed to a fallacy: that, as a grown woman entertaining people online, she was an adult entertainer:
A few months ago I applied to a very popular bank that allows you to use your card abroad. I was asked about my job and nothing really fitted, except […] “Online Adult Entertainers” [zu Deutsch etwa: “Erwachsene Online-Entertainerin”] and I ticked that.
I was like, “Yes, that’s who I am. I’m an adult and I entertain people online and then it got me [das System] immediately rejected.
The streamer told Kotaku that she didn’t realize the term was a euphemism for sex work. She first drew her mother’s attention to this, to whom she described the situation.
You can watch the corresponding clip here:
Too little understanding of online work
Why is this exciting? The streamer’s experience shows that the profession of “influencer” has not yet arrived as widely in society as one might think if one moves a lot online.
It’s pretty awkward explaining the job to people. [Die Bankbewerbung] gave me a drop down list of job options to choose from and they were all socially accepted jobs like “dental assistant”. There was no option for “Streamer” or “Broadcaster” or anything like that.
Poopernoodle tweeted that she refuses to believe that other content creators haven’t already made the same mistake. Helpful users gave her a tip for the future: When in doubt, the answer is always “independent”.
Although it wasn’t the case for the streamer, the incident also opened her eyes to how difficult it must be for sex workers to open an account.
One streamer who is blurring the lines between content creator and sex worker is American Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa. She doesn’t seem to have had any trouble opening a bank account so far – perhaps she simply describes herself as a ‘businesswoman’.
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