Doing my Thesis on camming....
Starting this with an anti-perv clause...
Ok, I am a major lurker here... recently ripped down all my pics from sites, but I can still log into my mfc (although my pic is missing after you know my name it is completely google-able and the pics will still show) and would be more than willing to verify that I'm not just some creeper freak for anyone who would like me to...
So now the basics... I am working on my grad thesis and what I want to cover is how online sex workers (ie camgirls) define both their femininity and sense of control/boundaries in this completely new realm of adult work... I get really sick of hearing womens studies students talking about how degrading sex work is for women, and I really want to bring a sex positive perspective to the table, because I know that there are many cam girls who actually do love their job and don't do it out of lack of options...
This will be an ongoing project for me through like march of next year, but what I really need now is a few girls who would be willing to answer a few questions and allow me to use your responses in my first presentation next week to convince the approval board that this is a legitimate field of study.
In no way will you ever be identified in my work, and you would not even have to respond publicly if you don't want... pms are fine...
And I would REALLY love to hear from girls with a "nontraditional" appearance or niche (be it bbw, fetish, couple cam) as well as I think you have a very unique perspective.
- In what ways do you feel your cam persona feeds into traditional gender expectations or ideas of femininity?
- In what ways do you feel you resist gender stereotypes?
- How do you approach maintaining control in your room?
- Would you say that your cam persona is similar to your real life self or very different? In what ways?
- In what ways has working in the webcam modeling field impacted the way you live your "real life" (ie personality changes, lessons you have learned, an extreme desire to always have baby wipes nearby lol)
I know that this is a lot to ask, but I really do feel like this is an area that deserves serious respect in the academic world where sex work of any form is still seen as the downfall of women...
So like I said, if you are willing to answer but want proof I really have a vag and am not some crazy person pm me and I will send you my mfc model name and will be more than happy to answer a message sent there before you answer any questions...
Thanks so much for even reading this, even if you don't want to participate :)
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
I'm a newbie cammer so I don't really feel like my answers would help much but.....
I just finished my own thesis for my masters degree in psychology so I just wanted to send you LOTS of hugs because I know what a tedious pain it can be! Hope everything goes well for you!
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
Thank you so much... My main focus is gender studies, but my undergrad is in psych... This is crazy... & when I started my program it was supposed to be thesis free... but they changed the requirements after I was halfway through... uuuggghhh....
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
Oh that sucksssss! Usually they make you stick to whatever requirements were present when you came in...then again they started enforcing a deadline at my school in my 2nd year that they hadn't been before and that pushed my graduation date back a semester...so I feel your pain. Not getting enough participants pushed mine back another semester lol
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
xoxdefyinggravityxox
In what ways do you feel your cam persona feeds into traditional gender expectations or ideas of femininity?
Good luck with your thesis! :)
One thing you may want to interrogate is how different gender expectations or conceptions of feminity are resisted and accomodated in adult work...how our social locations (age, social race, geographic location) impact how we are perceived, as well as how we as individuals interact with those perceptions...perhaps the ways in which anyone not white-skinned or thin is automatically deemed part of a 'niche' category by certain sites, etc
I apologize if I'm stating the obvious...when I read your question list #1 jumped out at me, so I couldn't resist responding:)
again, good luck and have fun!! :)
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
I have done a few interviews on sex work even did a presentation on sex work in one of my classes, ended up outting myself in the proccess.
Good luck on your thesis.
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
1. it really doesn't. The only thing I change on cam is that I wear clothes (total nudist), and put up with people's bullshit for longer. I'm just myself because fuuuuck personas, I used to disassociate really badly and don't want to encourage that.
2. I do a bunch of 'tomboy' videos, in which I am a girl acting like a dude while I Do Stuff, whether it's wolfing down enchiladas, scratching my crotch while playing videogames, etc. AND I AM THAT PERSON -dun dun dunnn- (mostly. I'm pretty proper about it though)
3. Freeloader timer. They get 10 minutes to converse with me for free, after that they can either come back next time I'm on, or go private. Most, I don't care which. It is a GREAT filter for enemabags
4. See #1
5. I did not used to be tolerant of this much bullshit. Also as an agoraphobe (as an extrapolation of sociophobia), it lets me socialize more. I also have more sex toys, and my husband has more chances to embarrass me. I have also learned the value of putting up a sign or something to impromptu visitors stating that even if the door is unlocked, they probably should not come in. (Ojimashimasu my ASS)
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
Hi there! These are HUGE questions, so its difficult to give you a full answer while keeping this post to a reasonable length. I would, however, love to help you out - anything that explores different views on the porn industry and gender stereotypes gets my attention! (Also - I am heavily pierced and tattooed - not sure if this feeds into your "non-traditional" concept, but if it does, yay!)
If you want more in-depth answers, feel free to PM me. Also - I would highly recommend reading "Sex, Sin & Zen", including an interview with Nina Hartley. There are some fantastic points in this book.
In what ways do you feel your cam persona feeds into traditional gender expectations or ideas of femininity? - Well, I definitely promote the "girlier" aspects of my personality! I am always made up, dressed up, hair done, nails done...in general, fitting that traditional image of a "girly girl"..just with tattoos. (One leg is entirely devoted to girly stuff - my little pony, cupcakes, perfume bottles, etc etc) The soft, pretty, gentle side of "femininity" is clearly at play here. I try to be a disney princess of porn!
In what ways do you feel you resist gender stereotypes? At work, I don't. I intentionally become a girlier, softer, more feminine version of myself when I cam in order to appeal. The one aspect that makes me less "feminine" is a element of geekdom, as well as a love of heavy metal, which is always playing. I enjoy the juxtaposition.
How do you approach maintaining control in your room? - Its very simple. I require respect and manners. Anyone who is not polite or respectful will be asked to change their attitude/turns of caps lock so they are not YELLING AT ME/etc etc. If they are incredibly rude, they are just banned, instantly. If customers say they will tip/buy in to gold shows and then don't, I will call them on it and kick them. But this is all done with a smile, and with rewarding the polite spenders with lots of attention, and holding them up as examples of how I expect men to behave around me.
Would you say that your cam persona is similar to your real life self or very different? In what ways? The longer I work, the more I am me. I am just a sexier, hornier, and much better put together version of myself. Otherwise, everything I do and say is "real" and I don't lie about who I am/what I like/what I do. When I stripped I pretended to be much dumber, but that doesn't translate on cam for me.
In what ways has working in the webcam modeling field impacted the way you live your "real life" (ie personality changes, lessons you have learned, an extreme desire to always have baby wipes nearby lol) - The sex industry evens me out. It is a great release for the more sexual side of me so that in my day to day life I can be a lovely normal person without constantly turning the conversation to sex!! It makes me calm, comfortable and less stressed (well, the money does that!). I am also more and more prudish in "real life" over halloween, I am disgusted by women that just want the sluttiest costume possible, and respect the women that show the most attention to detail in making a costume cool and accurate. I think less of women who slut around, or get drunk and try to get men to buy them drinks with no intention of talking to them or seeing them. I want other women to respect themselves as much as I do, and be aware that being a woman has serious value, and should be treated as such.
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
This thread is a perfect example of how to get cam girls to talk to you about syrs stuffs. You girls remember that asshole writer who came in here all, "blah blah blah I'm writing a book" and left all butt hurt when we started asking questions? He could have learned a lesson or two here.
OP, I sent you a pm
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
housewench
2. I do a bunch of 'tomboy' videos, in which I am a girl acting like a dude while I Do Stuff, whether it's wolfing down enchiladas, scratching my crotch while playing videogames, etc. AND I AM THAT PERSON -dun dun dunnn- (mostly. I'm pretty proper about it though)
5. Also as an agoraphobe (as an extrapolation of sociophobia), it lets me socialize more.)
These are exactly the type of things that I am looking for :) Thank you so much
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ManyRoses
(Also - I am heavily pierced and tattooed - not sure if this feeds into your "non-traditional" concept, but if it does, yay!)
It definitely does, by non-traditional, I really mean anyone who doesn't fit the stereotypical barbie image...
I would highly recommend reading "Sex, Sin & Zen", including an interview with Nina Hartley. There are some fantastic points in this book.
I added it to the ridiculously long list of books I want to read while working on this research... I'm also a religious studies nerd, so this is right up my alley... in fact I may just get the kindle version and read myself to sleep tonight...
I try to be a disney princess of porn!
OMG!!! This is my quote of the day... and makes me want to google to see who's doing clips with 7 dwarfs and glass slippers..
Quote:
Originally Posted by
IsobelWren
This thread is a perfect example of how to get cam girls to talk to you about syrs stuffs. You girls remember that asshole writer who came in here all, "blah blah blah I'm writing a book" and left all butt hurt when we started asking questions? He could have learned a lesson or two here.
Thank you so much :) I realize how much cram cam girls deal with and how frequently things like this probably get ask by 100% crazy internet psycho freaks... This brings me to another valid option that has been brought to my attention, for anyone who would feel better talking via yahoo or skype that is completely possible as well, just PM me and I'll give you my info...
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
Maybe I'm high jacking this thread but it seemed a good place to put my thought. Hell, you might want this in your thesis.
I don't want webcamming and everything else we do to become socially acceptable by the masses. I want it to retain some of its mystery and 'shady sex worker status'. As soon as our jobs become 'a respectable way to earn a living' then how many more hundreds of girls will start competing against us too? I want some people to continue to have the belief that they are 'above doing this'.
In a nutshell, I enjoy doing this and I enjoy making money. I want it to stay like that.
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
It would take a LOT to make it a viable option for most women... I don't think a little research is going to make everyone want to run out and sign up for mfc... the privacy issues alone are enough to make most people steer clear...
Ideally, what I would like to accomplish is making people aware that while it is a legitimate business and the women involved deserve every ounce of respect possible, it is NOT something that should be entered into lightly and is DEFINITELY not for everyone... My goal is to reduce the awful stereotypes connected with women who do the job, but not to downplay the negatives that come along with the occupation. Hiding your identity for safety, the difficulty in real life personal relationships, the possible damage to vanilla careers are all real concerns and I do not want to gloss over those things in an attempt to "normalize" sex work...
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
In what ways do you feel your cam persona feeds into traditional gender expectations or ideas of femininity?
I'm naturally very feminine and I also happen to be a sub (which of course don't always go together). This really feeds into ideas of traditional gender expectations but not because I am twisting myself to fit them. In "real life" I'm a fem sub and also in a lesbian relationship. Being seen as a lipstick lesbian is actually considered transgressive in more progressive queer circles because I don't fit into the lesbian stereotype. I do use it to my advantage while on cam, however.
In what ways do you feel you resist gender stereotypes?
In my personal life, I appreciate gender play and genderqueer bodies and have a lot of respect for people who are open about that side of themselves. On a practical level I resist gender stereotypes by being an independent businesswoman, setting my own boundaries at work and some would say, living as an out lesbian is a form of resisting gender stereotypes. I'm not only interested in resisting stereotypes though. I think when we shame and degrade femininity that is more damaging. That's why, although it took me a long time, I embrace my feminine side
How do you approach maintaining control in your room?
I treat everyone with respect and expect the same in return. If I don't get respect then you get banned or ignored if I'm too busy. I've never had an out of control situation.
Would you say that your cam persona is similar to your real life self or very different? In what ways?
Both. Like i said before I am naturally feminine and naturally sub, which is the role I play on cam. However, I do try and play it up more. my voice is higher on cam and I talk differently. I'm a very intellectual person, but unless I can tell thats what a custie wants, I rarely let that show. Its not because I think guys like "dumb" girls, its because I am really focusing on selling my shows which are about sex so thats what I talk about. I don't have time to have an intellectual convo unless its what Im being for.
In what ways has working in the webcam modeling field impacted the way you live your "real life" (ie personality changes, lessons you have learned, an extreme desire to always have baby wipes nearby lol)
2 main ways: I'm more open in my personal sex life--great benefit here and more confident about sex
and the second way is I find myself lying a lot more. I have to maintain my privacy with both my custies and my family and friends so i lie about lots of things (where i work, live, how much i make, etc) and I really hate that.
If you have questions about race and camming i would be happy to talk about that. I am in a mixed race relationship and I am mixed myself. I am also a lesbian and cam with my gf so i can answer questions about that as well. hope this helps!
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
is someone getting off on reading this?
Just saying... I dont like or trust this thread.
Want to know what we think and do?
Read the whole forum, and Im sure U will find whatever u are looking for..
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
xoxdefyinggravityxox
. This brings me to another valid option that has been brought to my attention, for anyone who would feel better talking via yahoo or skype that is completely possible as well, just PM me and I'll give you my info...
::) er..... no thanks lol
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
I will be more than happy to verify any of my info for you Friday. Perhaps if you contacted me for verification before accusing me of being a creeper you would know that :) Like I said before, I am willing to give anyone who contacts me my cam info or whatever. If you are worried about someone besides me reading it and getting off then feel free to pm... Heck, I'll even be willing to point you in the direction of papers that discuss the theories I am using to frame my research...
I actually gave my first presentation to the faculty board who will be deciding who will supervise my continuing work tonight... While some seemed stressed out by the topic I got the go ahead from the majority.
Oh and the reason I'm not just reading the board and using whatever I want in my paper is that is a really big moral no-no for performing qualitative research. Those who have generally posted on the board did not do so with the intent of their comments being used in my thesis. Hence the reason I clearly identified my reasons and plans for the information I gathered.
I know that there are sick people out there, but to discredit everyone as a weirdo before even bothering to speak with them really limits your interactions...
I will be messaging you with my info Friday, just because I don't particularly like people thinking I'm a skeez... Don't expect you to talk, just don't like to have negative info out there about me ;)
Oh and the skyping was requested of me by another member who had previously contacted me... it was not even on my radar before she said she would prefer that so that she knew I wasn't crazy lol
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
As someone who was once a psych major, I think the actual concept of this is really interesting. It was only after I graduated that I got really into gender identity. I have a feel that is what you are looking for answers to...
However, being a cam girl is like any other job. There are cam girls from all walks of life and all different personality types. Stereotypical traits of camgirls might as well be stereotypical traits of blondes. They simply aren't true. Everyone is different. I will say that the feminine, in shape, barbie-looking girls always make money though since its a classic look. But it is also very expensive and has to do with genetics & luck. A lot of alternative girls actually make good money too since that started coming in in the 80s. Women who are more androgynous may have a harder time since that has only recently started coming really into style. If camming exists and is still good money in 20 years, I bet androgynous girls may all make really good money. Androgy now is also a fetish, so they may do well with fetish guys.
Camming is the new porn. Porn is dead. Girls only do porn now to get their name out or because they really enjoy it. Something else will be the new camming in the future.
Just my experiences & observations. Who knows if they are actually correct or not. Something to think about though...
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
I think about androgynous girls and the industry a lot (well lately) - I think you're spot on
Re: Doing my Thesis on camming....
actually I am just now hitting the irb stage for my work & these are not the questions that will be used :) these are the question my topic review board wanted answered to convince them that there really could be something worth studying. I agree they are definitely loaded... but I NOW that they have said that there might be something interesting there to study I can actually begin my research...
And I am totally down with overkill verification... am actually GLAD to do it.. just pm me & let me know what you want... I thought about asking the verified group to review me, but figured since I stopped for the semester it would be inappropriate.