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The camgirl ahegao is a very specific facial expression used by female pornographic performers. It’s often seen with a dangling tongue and crossed eyes, drawing a combination of spit, snot and tears. It’s also a popular face in animated hentai works. The term is derived from the Japanese word ah-hega-mu, which means “a body of pleasure.”
As the popularity of the ahegao has grown, it’s been incorporated into various memes and even featured in a T-shirt design. It’s so recognizable that it has its own subreddit and an official Instagram account where people share pictures of themselves wearing the shirt.
While some critics have argued that the ahegao is sexist because it glorifies an unrealistic depiction of female pleasure, others have pointed out that women are just as horny and orgasmic as men. Khursten Santos, an Asian studies and manga expert, says that the original ahegao depictions were designed by — you guessed it — men to show that a woman could lose her control over orgasm in a way that was different from traditional representations of feminine pleasure.
Many camgirls earn a large portion of their income from men who are known as whales, or “big spenders.” These rich men will enter a chatroom, leave enormous tips and then immediately exit. For the girls, it’s a high-stakes game of eliciting as much dopamine from them as possible. They’ll use ego-stroking language to try and make them feel like they’re the hero of the night, or some kind of champion.
A lot of the time, this will result in a camgirl using her full range of body art, spit and tear drawings to really sell the fantasy. This is all backed up by the fact that most camgirls’ primary audience are gay men. This is not to say that straight women don’t exist as an audience, but they simply don’t tip as much as the whales do.
Ultimately, this whole game is just a form of addiction exploitation – the same way that video games make money from addicts who can’t stop playing. And, just like a gambling establishment, the majority of camsite profit comes from exploiting a minority of addicts who will pay hundreds and thousands of dollars for female attention.