A webcam model colloquially , camgirl , camboy , or cammodel is a video performer who streams on the Internet with a live webcam broadcast. Once viewed as a small niche in the world of adult entertainment , camming became "the engine of the porn industry," according to Alec Helmy, the publisher of XBIZ , a sex-trade industry journal. As many webcam models operate in the comfort of their own homes, they are free to choose the amount of sexual content for their broadcasts.
The conceptual artist Jenny Ringley is considered the first camgirl. Her webcam was located in her dorm room and automatically photographed her every few minutes. Ringley viewed her site as a straightforward document of her life. She did not wish to filter the events that were shown on her camera, so sometimes she was shown nude or engaging in sexual behavior, including sexual intercourse and masturbation.
These images were then broadcast live over the Internet. Also in , a commercial site called AmandaCam was launched. Amanda's site, like Ringley's, had multiple cameras around her house, which allowed people to look in on her. A camming website acts as an intermediary and aggregator by hosting independent models, and verifies that all are at least 18 years old. Viewers in private chat rooms pay the performance by the minute. In free chat rooms, payment is voluntary in the form of tips. Tips are electronic tokens that viewers can buy from a camming website, and then give to the models during live performances to show appreciation.
Tokens can also be used to buy access to private shows, operate a Teledildonic device that a model may be wearing, or buy videos and souvenirs from a model. The website provides the transactional platform and then collects and distributes a percentage of the tips to the models. In the United States , webcam models are considered as self-employed workers, and their tax rate is Performances can be interactive in both public and private video chat rooms, as viewers and performers can communicate with each other using a keyboard, speech, and two-way cameras.
Camgirls will frequently read and respond to the scrolling viewer comments. This is not the first time conversational interaction has become a boon for the erotic entertainment industry. In the early 20th century, sociologist Paul Cressey noted that within the hundreds of taxi-dance halls of America, "the traffic in romance and feminine society" would become available when taxi dancers would offer their companionship and "the illusion of romance" for ten cents a dance.
