The Utah Review: Lauren Caster’s Plan C
Social media platforms such as OnlyFans and JustForFans are fertile ground for many budding entrepreneurs, especially those who find sex work a worthy option to build up financial momentum and find some peace of mind in financial stability. And, the audience demand has plenty of kinks and fetishes involved which content creators are happy to oblige. Pregnancy is one of those common fetishes. For example, a Danish woman who has more than 195,000 fans on Instagram discovered that followers enjoyed photos of her while she was pregnant and decided to open an OnlyFans account where subscribers gladly paid money for more alluring and provocative pics. While some media reports have attempted to be judgmental and critical of such practices, many pregnant content creators have found understanding audiences and advocates who applaud them for their practical skills as entrepreneurs and for helping spread body positive messages.
Lauren Caster’s short film Plan C, which premiered at the Utah Arts Festival’s Fear No Film program in June, offers an excellent, witty, sensitive treatment on this social media phenomenon. Among the 71 films featured in this year’s Fear No Film’s slate, Caster earned a Grand Jury Honorable Mention for Bold and Honest Filmmaking. The film is slated to screen next at the Portland Film Festival, which has Comcast as a sponsor (Oct. 12-22).
Caster, who was seven months pregnant at the time of filming, stars, along with her co-writer Angie Simms, who plays her best friend. Undoubtedly, the writing and the acting emphasize why the nod for bold and honest filmmaking was justified. The story starts straightforwardly enough: A single unemployed woman finds out she is pregnant and is having terrible morning sickness. The father of the baby has no interest in living up to his responsibilities. She is trying to sort out her options with her friend who lives at the other end of her country. Her friend is financially secure and her career is going well but it is the friend’s casual mention that she once sold photos of her feet that sparks an idea.
It is midway through the film which runs just under 15 minutes when she decides to launch an OnlyFans account. At first, she appears on video with a wig and users are tipping her because they find her thick figure alluring but then when they discover she is pregnant, they are disgusted. Changing course, she decides to present her pregnant self in her most natural state, a move that obviously stimulates subscribers who instantly send tips and ask for more content. Encouraged by the affirming reaction, she decides to put her baby registry online for her fans to purchase items.
But, as Caster makes evident in the character she portrays, it is not just about business or financial survival but also about the pervasive stubborn taboos that prevent honest discussions about pregnancy. This includes depression, feelings of disconnection from friends and work colleagues and stress about body image confidence. As she explains in her director’s statement, “I was left feeling bamboozled from what I knew from other narratives because it was supposed to be a happy perfect time, right? This made me realize that we aren’t talking about it enough. What is actually normal and part of pregnancy is made to feel like you’re doing it wrong because of this lack of discussion.”
Caster, who lives in southern California, works as an actor as well as writer, producer and director. Donor Baby, which she wrote, produced and starred in two years ago, is available on Amazon Prime. The film is based on her own experiences of locating the donor father who contributed his sperm used to conceive her. Plan C marks her directorial debut.
In 2021, she won a competition for a development deal to make an original Lifetime TV movie, as part of a Pitchfest presented by The Wrap and Lifetime for emerging female filmmakers. The film is You’re Not Supposed To Be Here, a thriller featuring a lesbian couple who have just learned that they are pregnant and have decided to have a vacation at a cabin in the woods. It is in preproduction with Lifetime and A&E networks.
