Camming is an interactive online streaming of intimate moments that can be an opportunity for many people in many places to make a living. Common sense is that this work is related only to the sexual/erotic activities, and the performers are supposed to do anything at any time. Nevertheless, this is a very short-sighted understanding of this market segment, one that overwhelms the human being behind the screen.
During the last few years (2016-2020), the New Camming Perspective (NCP) has been studying the camming scene in order to assess the reality of social practices and to put forward more humane modus operandi in this area. This approach considers that a very significant role of this business is offering companion (and other emotions as well) in an increasingly lonely society. The empirical assessment related to scientific literature paved the way for the following concepts:
1. Building Connections (2016) is the first principle derived from observation of the nature of the relations that take place in camming. Contrary to traditional marketing beliefs, the most competitive aspect of camming is the of verbal interaction between human beings, and it is what distinguishes from the porn industry, basically focused on explicit sexual content. That is why during the training, the need for models to focus on building connections with their members on videochat is enforced (by improving their communication skills) instead of teasing them in Free Live Chat.
2. The Social Aspect of Camming (2017) as the name implies. It relates to the necessary knowledge to understand society and from this social-cultural analysis that explain the relationships (a) between models and members, and also (b) models and industry, and (c) models themselves.
The two previous concepts applied together lead to the New Camming Perspective (2018), which is defined as a shift in paradigm in the camming industry that introduces the human condition of sociability in an environment that so far was reduced to sexuality only.
3. The lost battle against free porn forced the investigating for a new source of traffic, one that is neither from dating nor from porn, but focused on a niche that was not interested in this competition. Social Traffic (2019) is defined by a heterogeneous group of people coming from other areas of the internet unrelated to sexual content, such as the otakus and gamers. It guarantees the possibility that a camgirl can develop a relationship which takes into account these human needs: the sense of caring, affection and empathy, as well.
The application of the totality of concepts developed so far by the NCP lead to the idea of Mainstream Camming (2020): the next level of the online entertainment business, which values women because of their skills:
•empathy and desire to communicate with others;
•cultural knowledge together with verbal ability;
•caring about oneself and dressing properly for the situation, first stimulating connection and then, in private only, being sexy and playful.
The sum of these factors means a huge harm reduction concerning the difficulty of a model presenting herself socially, as well as favoring a more humane treatment from the customers.
Let’s better explain it:
How the Mainstream Camming can positively affect the cam performers?
The underlying logic is that the majority of women who work in this position live a double-life due to a worldwide lack of social acceptance that makes them ashamed of doing something that they might actually enjoy doing.
Considering the relevance of social relationships in our society, this new approach expects the cam girls to be able to present their job as an activity of online interaction between people, as an alternative to the ones that do not fit into the traditional understanding of the market that it is a sexual explicit action.
We all want to be able to refer to the fact that we can make a living, by speaking about it (the parts you want), instead of hiding it completely. So far, only the ones who enjoyed being presented as “hot chicks” were comfortable in this market.
Following the emergence of a more social style of camming that has been around and gradually increasing over the last few years. This Mainstream Camming caters to a wider audience than ever: smart, empowered and low-profile women now have their place to work and can be the stars, and not only the ones who want to be remembered solely by their ability of twerking or passivity and submission to men.
Where does the social judgment and prejudice come from?
Knowing the origin of a problem does not necessarily solve it. Yet, it is not possible to solve a problem if we do not know where it comes from. It is important to accept that the prejudice against camming is a social problem in order to develop a strategy to face it. To keep ignoring it does not take us anywhere. After all, if bigotry were not real, how come all models use a stage name? Acknowledging prejudice and the difficulty to fight it is the first step to try to solve the main issue, that is the inequality of genders.
Regarding the historical aspect, the origin of social judgement is a consequence of the patriarchal society that we were born in. Homo sapiens have been around for the last 350,000 years. Nevertheless, the first feminine rights were only achieved less than 100 years ago, when women were allowed to vote. It is important to state that this conquest and all of the others, being able to work out of home, wearing pants, etc. were due to struggle and conflict from those who stood up radically against oppression and passivity. This means that the historical debt is very high and that the barriers of social prejudice will not be overcome overnight.
Since it is very unlikely to witness a historical rupture, imposing the acceptance of the cam-girl role in the Judeo-Christian society, Mainstream Camming presents itself as an attempt to reduce some of the harm caused by performers’ double-lives. According to the NCP studies (2016-2020), the consequences of living a double-life are usually related to:
(1) anxiety
(2) depression
(3) compulsion (for food, for shopping, etc.)
(4) sleeping issues
(5) difficulty fitting in (socially)
(6) short and superficial affective relationships
(7) distancing from ones’ family
All things considered, facing these challenges alone is quite hard and it does not have to be. The NCP training program is not only business strategy to be applied to the market, but also a sense of caring for the girls.
During the last few months, more than 50 Brazilian models (19-36 yo) have attended the training and the vast majority of them had a similar request: to explain to those related to them, such as moms and boyfriends, how this job is done in order to achieve social acceptance. In general, the worries of the models’ social circle revolve around:
(1) How the girls are treated by the industry (as partners or as products)? What about customers (as a company to a moment of loneliness or as a mere sexual object?
(2) What happens to their image after a private show? What happens on the site stays on the site?
(3) What will these girls’ social life be like? Will they lose their social circle because of moral judgement? Will they need to then fit into a new community, limited to the adult world only? What community is this, supportive or competitive?
(4) What is the lifespan of this career? Is the future of a cam girl ever considered?
The live camming industry scene is definitely not a wonderland, but neither is it a purgatory. I was told many times that it is comforting for them to know that there is someone who looks into the industry with a critical outlook from social sciences, who does not ignore issues that affect the less favored in this financial operation and is able to suggest what practices/companies/people in the business are more humane and coherent.
Final Thoughts
It might not always be clear that not everything happens quickly. Those situations that directly affect us, make us want to act immediately. That is why we tend to focus much more on short-term goals. A few mid-term goals and hardly ever long-term goals, because these demand patience and reflection about the bigger picture in order to better understand the reasons why decisions are made.
Adapting one’s behavior is a really difficult thing to do but the bright side is the consequences of being able to answer the question: are you proud of who you are, and what you do everywhere you go? The Mainstream Camming is one response to this desire of being able to look back with confidence and to the future.
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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—a formal study about camming that also looks into the porn industry, the mainstream media, and social behavior in order to draw conclusions. Thus, the goal of this project is to maximize profit, retain return customers, offer better working conditions and female empowerment.
This new approach for understanding camming 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.
