For many men, a cam girl is the perfect companion. She titillates their senses with her intimate chat and her body language, while she entertains them with a show tailored to their every wish. For many, her charms and her desire to please are enough to make them fork over their hard earned cash to spend time with the woman they have come to know as their friend and lover.
It’s a lucrative industry, and one that has spawned entire subcultures around it. But it’s not without its dangers and the work can be dangerous for cam girls too, especially if they are caught violating the terms of service of their platform. In some cases, cam girls are even targeted with sextortion threats. Despite the risks, some women choose to pursue this career in order to help provide for their families and to achieve financial freedom.
Despite the stigma surrounding the work, many cam girls do not see their jobs as prostitution, but rather as legitimate forms of work. This is particularly true in Colombia where camgirls work legally under the same regulations as other businesses. For example, models must be over 18 years old and abide by strict privacy policies. In addition, they are required to pay taxes and adhere to health and safety guidelines.
A recent article by CNN explored the life of Valeria Mazzei, a 22 year-old who works at a professional cam studio in Cucuta, a city in northwestern Colombia. While she is not paid for sex, she earns high tips from regulars and offers private shows for clients who can afford to pay extra. She explains that her work is a form of “electual escort” and not prostitution.
Mazzei left her home country of Venezuela to become a cam model in 2023 because it was much more profitable than working as an engineer. She explains that she makes up to $15,500 a month and six figures a year. She drives two BMWs, rents a luxury apartment and pays for a manicurist on-call.
However, her work has its downsides and she feels isolated from her family. She spends most of her waking hours either on cam or answering messages from paying customers. She is obsessed with her ranking on the site and pushes the boundaries of pornography to increase her chances of becoming a top model.
In our capitalistic society, female beauty has always carried inherent value, but it has now been monetised by the use of technology. This makes it even more appealing to men who have grown up inside a digitised world, flicking through girls on Tinder and Instagram, and then turning to the dopamine fuelled environment of camsites.
A new tool called MegaCams is helping to make it easier for users to find a look-alike camgirl, by using facial recognition technology to match a person’s face with a model. However, it’s important to remember that this kind of search does not replace the need for due diligence and caution when engaging in sexual media online.