Lina spends hours curating her online presence—choosing the perfect photos, creating engaging posts, and responding to messages from her growing audience. Her profile is more than a highlight reel; it’s a space where she expresses herself on her own terms.
Through interactive livestreams, she blends performance with authenticity. Like influencers on Instagram or streamers on Twitch, she knows success depends on more than just content—it’s about connection.
As a cam model, Lina’s approach mirrors the broader world of social media, where identity is shaped through self-presentation and community building.
A study published in Sexuality & Culture explores this intersection, focusing on how cam models strategically use their digital personas to generate income and build a brand. Viewing camming through the lens of social media offers deeper insight into the ways performers fuse entrepreneurship with erotic expression.
Filling a gap in online sex work research
In “Online Sex Work and Identity Expression: Unmasking Camming,” researcher Fernanda Veiverberg highlights the similarities between adult cam sites and mainstream social media. Both enable self-expression, digital persona creation, content sharing, and user interaction.
Camming platforms also attract massive audiences and content creators seeking to monetize their work, much like mainstream social media. For example, leading adult cam site LiveJasmin hosts 20,000 unique performers a month.
Yet, most research on camming falls into three main categories:
- Economic approach: Focuses on emotional labor and the attention economy, where human attention is treated as a valuable and scarce resource. Cam models perform what is viewed as “feminized” labor, taking on roles of caregivers or companions.
- Agency vs. objectification app: Explores the tension between cam models controlling their work and being viewed as products within capitalist and patriarchal systems.
- Platform-focused: Analyzes how camming sites relate to culture and society, comparing platforms and assessing their broader impact.
Cam model observations
To bridge this gap, Veiverberg studied the overlap between cam models’ digital work approaches and social media-style identity-building on the Brazilian platform Camera Prive. She anonymously tracked the community of 6,191 performers through spot observation, without direct engagement.
Over 24 days, she closely analyzed 140 cam model profiles, service offerings, and chatroom activities. The models self-identified under the following categories: 87 as “girls,” 24 as “boys,” 21 as “transgirls,” and 8 as “transboys.” She also examined 59 YouTube vlogs from a well-known Brazilian cam model, with her consent. The age range of the cam models observed was from 18 to 59 years old, with an average age of 27.6.
“While this study focuses on a single platform, it is important to recognize that this approach is not unlike studies conducted on other social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook,” says Veiverberg.
Findings: Self-expression meets strategy
‘Name as a Brand’ approach
Many cam models use a “Name as a Brand” strategy to showcase their unique characteristics and boost marketability. These stage names often reflect the model’s offerings and cater to specific audiences.
For example, some include general descriptors like “beautiful” or “gorgeous,” while others focus on specific physical attributes, such as the size of their clitoris or penis. A few also incorporate racial or ethnic references.
Of the cam models observed, only about one-third preferred conventional names over branded ones.
Anonymity vs. facial visibility
On the Brazilian cam platform, models can choose whether to show their faces. Facial visibility falls into three categories: masked, fully visible, and partially visible—where models use under-nose or under-neck angles to conceal their features.
The majority (62%) chose full visibility, suggesting comfort with non-anonymity and the financial benefits it brings. These models typically have more followers, likes, and reviews, which likely reinforces a sense of authenticity that appeals to viewers.
However, a significant portion still opt for partial or full anonymity (under neck/under nose: 35%; masks: 3%), highlighting the importance of privacy and control over one’s image in the industry. The low percentage of masked performers suggests wearing face coverings for extended periods is impractical or uncomfortable.
Aesthetic labor
Camming involves significant aesthetic labor, requiring access to quality video and sound equipment. While some models produce highly polished content, others adopt a more casual, “Instagram-like” style. This contrast likely reflects differences in available resources to purchase higher-end tools.
Work strategies and personal fulfillment
Cam models often stress the importance of goal setting and treat camming as a regular job. One key to success is maintaining a consistent working schedule.
Around 25% of models list their hours, typically working 5 to 6 days a week with shifts of at least eight hours. Many work late nights and weekends. This pattern reflects the larger gig economy, where flexibility often leads to longer hours, which can lead to exhaustion and potential burnout.
While earning money is expected in sex work, cam models also view their work as a means to achieve personal goals. Veiverberg explains, “the allure of camming lies not only in financial independence but also in the freedom to explore desires, fulfill fantasies, and connect intimately with a diverse online community.”
Challenging traditional views on sex work
Camming, like mainstream social media, is a dynamic space where digital identity, entrepreneurial strategies, and aesthetic labor intersect.
By highlighting the structured, demanding nature of the work, the article debunks the notion that camming is a leisure activity. Yet it also reveals that cam models’ carefully crafted personas aren’t simply influenced by financial goals and marketing. Their online choices are simultaneously driven by a desire for self-expression, personal fulfillment, safety, and connection.
Future research should explore how emerging technologies, platform policies, and legal frameworks shape safety, privacy, and labor conditions. All the while, protecting the agency and wellbeing of sex workers is critical.
Veiverberg concludes: “As the scenery of online sex work continues to evolve, the importance of this research lies in shedding light on innovative strategies employed by sex workers and challenging traditional notions of sex work.”
