15.5: Camming
Camming is “the internet streaming of adult content” (Dictionary, 2022). This could include nudity and/or masturbation. Often, the person camming is available to chat with online viewers, in exchange for money. Someone may be requested to perform certain activities, often sexual, in front of a webcam for paying clients. People who do camming are referred to as cam girls/boys, or cam or webcam models. There are various online sites that host camming. Most camming is done by women.
According to Dr. Angela Jones, author of Camming: Money, Power, and Pleasure in the Sex Work Industry , through camming, people can earn money, feel powerful and experience pleasure, while doing sex work that is safe and legal. She also explores the racism and xenophobia present within the industry. Nonwhite and non-native English speaking cam models have fewer opportunities and make less money than white native English-speaking workers.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, camming became more popular as a way for people to earn income working from home. Some people who had never done sex work entered during the pandemic, frequently through cam work. Others who had been seeing clients in person switched to online as a way to maintain physical and social distancing (Drolet, 2020).