“There comes an hour when protest no longer suffices; after philosophy there must be action. The strong hand finishes what the idea has sketched.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
Nature is now an angry woman. She has been exploited, devastated and used to exhaustion, surpassing her limits. We are all guilty, even when we do not notice how harmful our practices are. However, we are not the worst offenders, the spin doctors that have shaped our thoughts are now also trying to capitalize on the crisis, our practices have been naturalized. That COVID-19 is nature’s revenge for the last 40 years of unsustainable development and now it is impossible to keep ignoring her. We are all grounded and left to think about our actions. This begs the question, which side of history are we on, to fight alone for one’s survival regardless of the others or to start to take into account the collective in every action and plan we make for the future.
Understanding that our actions have consequences is a great reflection of this moment. Despite everyone being afraid of leaving their comfort zone, changes are needed and inevitable because the world we used to live in is unlikely to be possible, and now we will need to adapt to a different one. How different will the world be during and after this crisis? Let’s discuss the changes that are already affecting the live camming business and lives, taking into account social practices, guided by critical thought according to the New Camming Perspective’s analysis.
Common Sense vs. Critical Thought
Common sense is that profitable camming entertainers are people who can make fun of everything (no matter what or how they are feeling inside) and a good marketing campaign should only show the bright side of things (even if the world is falling apart). For instance, the following campaigns have been going on recently: asking models who had been infected with COVID-19 and were still camming to share their stories, and asking affiliates to make the best of it, by watching their earnings increase while they relax at home.
Thus, social sciences allow us to question and see the complexity of things while trying to understand the subjectivity of the world. First, let’s ask ourselves: Why are people at home? Are they on vacation or quarantined to try to preserve humanity, or at least, the older people they care for?
We are well aware that we are living in a moment of exception, the pandemic is not fake news or post-truth. Reputable news sources such as the Guardian quote the health minister of the USA, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who points out that the total death toll in the USA could be as high as 200,000. Besides, historians and health scientists are comparing the COVID-19 outbreak with the Spanish Flu, a pandemic that infected the whole world from 1918 to 1920, with an estimated 50 million death toll, according to the CDC.
At this moment necessities are somewhat like those of war moments. Governments are uncertain of what they should do and people are even more. Just like people’s lives, the economy is also not going to go back to “normal” any time soon.
Having said that, let’s try to better understand how this pandemic might affect our market in short, mid and long-term, regarding the human element in the equation and not only the bottom line at any cost.
Let’s go over the effects on the camming business now
These are moments that people are isolated from social life and faced with few entertainment options. Then pornography and camming are some of the first things that cross the mind of the average man because people are deprived of things they would usually do to unwind. They're away from most of the things they enjoy and being bombarded by tragic news that makes them feel like things are getting worse and worse. They are scared and one of the consequences of the fear of death and uncertain future could stimulate trivial acquisitions and thus the vicious cycle of more marketing campaigns stimulating binge consumption. Therefore, business as usual, trying to profit from people’s fears and desires.
Furthermore, such a scenario of constant stress almost always leads to two very different kinds of responses, according to the individual: anxiety and/or depression.
• Anxiety: The inability to wait and cope with a given situation could be quickly alleviated by indulging in pleasure-inducing activities which liberate dopamine, such as alcohol, drugs and sex. Since real sex is off limits for single people who respect the quarantine, virtual sex is not only an alternative, but one of the few options. While different men have different physiology, in general the increase of heart rate related to anxiety has the effect of better distributing oxygen through the body. With prescription medicine such as Viagra, the male body will respond by increasing its libido. The camgirls who are attending the NCP training program have been reporting that their members have been drinking and using drugs in the vast majority of the sessions―a kind of behavior that did not happen so often before quarantine.
• Depression: Panic affects the libido of men and women. Meanwhile the feeling of loneliness increases. Working on coaching and consultancies, I have had access to inside info that does not reveal an increase in earnings for everyone because those who are seeking this service more than before are those who are in solitude. Thus, the camgirls that are making more money from this profile of customers are those who have good communication skills and a great sense of empathy for others.
Is it all good to the business and easy to predict?
To assess the economy and more specific market segments is no easy task. Neither is to understand the relationship of human behavior regarding the projections and expectations related to their buying power—especially in the midst of a pandemic when every aspect of life becomes harder than ever.
So, given the reasons to consume sex or companionship, why isn’t the money pouring right in? A human life cannot be reduced to entertainment. Thus, it is important to remember that while more people are getting depressed and/or anxious from staying more at home, there are many married consumers who are at home with their wives and kids, worried about their jobs and future. For example, in the first two weeks of quarantine, 10 million lost their jobs, which is the same as the total population of Portugal.
Another thing to take into account is that the camgirls are apprehensive, anxious and in panic, and not necessarily motivated to work 40 hours/week such as the industry’s recommendation for this business. After all, how do you sell entertainment while feeling so fragile, powerless and unsupported? Since the vast majority of them live double lives and cannot count on their families to ease the burden.
Final Considerations
Models, members and affiliates/industry execs are human beings who have to face this chaos and are also under pressure like everyone else in the world. Only the powerful ones (proprietors) are allowed to “simply sit at home watching everyone’s earnings grow." This pandemic is causing death, financial stress and social isolation worldwide, which means that it would be very irresponsible for anyone in camming to make fun and try to capitalize on the suffering of others.
No virus can be the teacher of a more cooperative world, but it forces us to reconsider the things that we take for granted, thus, stimulating critical thought. While reflecting alone will not save us, the results of it might: actions that make sense for a less harmful and destructive existence. A future is only possible if we are able to make it through this moment, but we could make it through so much more after this learning if we take advantage of the change responsibly—and do our best to support those who we care for. Sorority and solidarity are key ideas that can only be learned by those who are willing to.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Priscila Magossi is a journalist (Mackenzie-SP/Brazil, 2002-2005), with a Master’s Degree (2006-2008) and a Ph.D. (2010-2014) in Communication and Semiotics (PUC-SP/Brazil). Since she has started her journey in the communication field, she has been studying the impacts of the mass media and the cyberculture in the post-modern society, focusing primarily on the social bonds’ dynamics.
Regarding her main activities in the camming industry, Magossi is the author of the New Camming Perspective (NCP): a formal study about camming, a struggle for human rights in Adult and a training program for premium models.
This new approach is centered on the main concepts of (1) Building Connections between models and members through the (2) Social Aspect of Camming, which is only possible to be developed when in touch with access to the (3) Social Traffic.
The sum of these factors leads to the idea of (4) Mainstream Camming: a huge harm reduction that allows models to present themselves socially, which results in female empowerment and better earnings from the repeat customers that treat them in a more humane way.
