The term camgirl describes girls and women who use audiovisual digital media to communicate with public audiences, often engaging in sexual behavior in exchange for financial compensation. Initially referring to the tech-savvy livecasting pioneers who put their daily lives on display, the term camgirl today more commonly refers to performers who engage in sexual behaviors in front of the camera for an online audience. This encyclopedia entry discusses the multiple ways that these sex workers interpret their careers, and how they interact with their audience online, both in public chatrooms and private messages and texts.
When Katlyn Carter began working as a cam model in 2014 she was swayed by the promise of steady work and a stable income. She joined a network that broadcasted from a nondescript studio in Van Nuys, California, where fans paid virtual tokens to watch the models strip and masturbate in real time, with the option for viewers to request private shows away from other viewers at a higher price.
After the first few months, Mazzei found her groove in the online chatroom, earning thousands of pounds a day from regular tippers and a handful of whales. She invested her earnings in new lingerie, sex toys and a home gym, spent hours researching tipsters and their kinks, and invested time crafting shows to bring back repeat viewers, encourage newcomers and attract whales.
The discussion in this forum, and many others like it, was marked by a neoliberal feminism that presents these women as empowered independent contractors who get paid to have orgasms. It reveals how the dangers of camming force these sex workers to develop an ethos of resiliency and a self-reliance that they believe allows them to manage the risks and enjoy the pleasures of their jobs.