it took me a while to figure out what made Chaturbate special

January 28, 2015 2:10 PM

Are You Internet Sexual?[NSFW]
Welcome to Chaturbate[NSFW], where live-cam performers engage in the wild and the weird. But watch it long enough and you realize that social media has created a whole new sexual persuasion. So, how “internet sexual” are you?
posted by davidstandaford (29 comments total)

I'll tell you when I'm not at work.
posted by lumpenprole at 3:39 PM on January 28, 2015

davidstandaford: "social media has created a whole new sexual persuasion"

No, it hasn't.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 3:44 PM on January 28, 2015 [13 favorites]

THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS NO
posted by Enemy of Joy at 3:57 PM on January 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Really. A form of this has been going on since, well forever. And before that there were looplines. You called a number on your landline phone and were connected to a complete stranger who had done the same thing.

People have always wanted this kind of sexual contact. I guess now it's just in HD.

Rock on you horny people, rock on.
posted by Splunge at 3:57 PM on January 28, 2015

So basically this is what twitch would be in a week if they didn't have rules. They already have people streaming, and offering to do tricks if they get enough subscribers.
posted by empath at 5:16 PM on January 28, 2015

and were connected to a complete stranger who had done the same thing.

BUT HOW DID THEY KNOW WHAT I HAD DONE
posted by dhartung at 5:38 PM on January 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

WATCH ME IDLY BROWSE METAFILTER [40 tokens]

WATCH ME CREATE AN ASKMEFI QUESTION ON METAFILTER [80 tokens]

WATCH ME CREATE A FPP ON METAFILTER [120 tokens]

WATCH ME CREATE A METATALK POST ON METAFILTER [150 tokens]

WATCH ME CREATE A FIGHTY METATALK POST ON METAFILTER AND THEN FLAME OUT [250 tokens]

WATCH ME WRITE A SONG AND UPLOAD IT TO THE MUSIC SECTION OF METAFILTER [350 tokens]

WATCH ME WRITE A FIGHTY SONG AND UPLOAD IT TO THE MUSIC SECTION ON METAFILTER AND THEN CREATE A SOCKPUPPET ACCOUNT ON METAFILTER AND THEN POST FOR A FEW MONTHS SO IT LOOKS LEGIT AND THEN POST A FIGHTY METATALK POST ABOUT IT ON METAFILTER AND THEN FLAME OUT [500 tokens]

WATCH ME LOOK AT MY BUTT [1 tokens or 3 bitcoins]
posted by oceanjesse at 5:47 PM on January 28, 2015 [30 favorites]

Stoner Boner is a 21-year-old gay man in Alabama, who joined the site in 2013 as a joke; now he has over 25,000 followers. Stoner felt that broadcasting sex on a live webcam would become like go-go dancing was in the 1960s, a youthful embarrassment for future offspring to make fun of. “This is going to be the thing with our generation,” he said. “I think cam modeling, or having a porn blog, that’s going to be the thing we did.”

.........wait I think I missed something about my generation, can we back up and explain please?

dammit I'm never going to be cool now
posted by sciatrix at 5:48 PM on January 28, 2015 [7 favorites]

I'd say it's more like the swingers' clubs of our generation, just without the physical sex.

As an aside, I'd like to mention that there used to be a swingers' show on Manhattan public TV called "Interludes After Midnight."
posted by teponaztli at 5:54 PM on January 28, 2015

Interluudes, surely?
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 5:56 PM on January 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

...and now that I've actually read it, this is a fascinating article about some extremely interesting people. Thank you for posting this!
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:29 PM on January 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I really enjoyed reading this article. It was well-written and thoughtful.
posted by Windigo at 6:35 PM on January 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

....and after clicking around the site in question, it's fascinating. I just watched an Irish fellow, lounging on his bed, hoping to jerk off for an audience valiantly fight falling asleep and ultimately losing. I don't know why this tickled me so, but it did.

Of course, isn't it like 3 am in Ireland right now, or about that?
posted by Windigo at 6:54 PM on January 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

WATCH ME WRITE A FIGHTY SONG AND UPLOAD IT TO THE MUSIC SECTION ON METAFILTER AND THEN CREATE A SOCKPUPPET ACCOUNT ON METAFILTER AND THEN POST FOR A FEW MONTHS SO IT LOOKS LEGIT AND THEN POST A FIGHTY METATALK POST ABOUT IT ON METAFILTER AND THEN FLAME OUT

I say we pool our tokens for this one.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 7:00 PM on January 28, 2015 [9 favorites]

This article is great, thanks for posting it here. Sorry to not see a more thoughtful discussion but perhaps Chaturbate users (voyeurs? casters?) are not inclined to post about their experiences here. I'm glad the author Emily Witt did. Human sexuality is weird, triply weird when mediated through communications technology.
posted by Nelson at 7:06 PM on January 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure I can bring myself to look at the website - something about seeing people fall asleep after failing to jerk off for a large audience that makes me kind of sad.

Either way, it is a really interesting article.

Also, here's a video that shows part of "Interludes After Midnight." Having sort of grown up with Manhattan public access, I was really glad that public access was mentioned - there's something really compelling in the raw, unfiltered weirdness of people.
posted by teponaztli at 7:48 PM on January 28, 2015

Great article. What a great big weird wonderful world we live in.

Years ago, I went on a few OKCupid dates with a webcam girl. Interesting person.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:48 PM on January 28, 2015

I find webcam sites (chaturbate, cam4...) fascinating and fun. I'm not so much interested in the sexy people who want tips, as in the average ones who are having fun showing off, playing, getting some safe (and sometimes very arousing) interaction. Like me sometimes. And I'm older and not slim or sexy or hung. It really can be fun and not abusive (though some watchers can be abusive, they can be shut down easily).

Endlessly fascinating. Not alway sexy, but can be very sexy. And sometimes the chat is the essential part - I've spent an hour at a time chatting with someone naked but not performing (and I would be naked and not performing).

And a couple of times I've met guys from cam chat in real life and had fun (and sometimes not).
posted by Death and Gravity at 8:37 PM on January 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

whats the problem here, really?
posted by Fupped Duck at 9:01 PM on January 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

I would be far too bashful to get naked in front of an Internet audience. But if this sort of thing is your bag, baby, I won't judge.
posted by foobaz at 1:50 AM on January 29, 2015

So, EFNet IRC circa 1995. In streaming video.
posted by echocollate at 5:48 AM on January 29, 2015

It is an interesting social dynamic in that, when you come right down to it, there are only so many configurations in which the human body can be presented and manipulated. Cosmopolitan's scientists may be working feverishly in labs to come up with nine "new" sexual positions each month, but here in the real world these cams have similar-looking people with familiar anatomy performing/simulating the same acts over and over. It's the sexual equivalent of hundreds of guitar players on a city street, all strumming and singing and asking for tips at once. So how does one stand out and grab and hold people's attention?

Bigger and more powerful gadgets? The human body has its limits, and others can do that too. Physical quirks? Sure, if you have them, but most don't. This leaves creativity and personality, which are well and good but can require an awful lot of effort.

Or there are always lawn gnomes. (lingerie shots within)
posted by delfin at 6:10 AM on January 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Really. A form of this has been going on since, well forever.

Though I'm sure no numbers exist for it, I'd be curious to know what percentage of people/society participates in this sort of thing now, versus forever. As noted in the piece, technology makes sexual exploration far easier and far safer. So it stands to reason a greater percentage of the population is taking advantage of that.

But the subtext of the piece is that another factor in this, besides the ease/technology, is the shitty economic or personal situations faced by some of the "performers." As Johnny Rotten sang, no future for you - few good jobs available for those with degrees, only demeaning and demoralizing work that pays poorly anyway. College educations out of reach for others. Others bankrupted due to illness. Others still who act as caregivers for ill partners or parents.

Libertinism, in other words, goes hand in hand with economic malaise.
posted by kgasmart at 7:21 AM on January 29, 2015

Libertinism, in other words, goes hand in hand with economic malaise.

My first thought was something along the lines of "I should get back in shape, there has to be somebody who would pay to see me naked". I mean it takes all kinds, right?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:15 AM on January 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

So, curiosity got the better of me and I checked this out for a couple of hours yesterday. I have never set foot in the world of cam performers and have never really wanted to -- it's just not my bag, plus the idea itself kind of scares me. I didn't really understand what the article even meant by "internet sexual," so I thought what the hell.

Similar to what Death and Gravity said, I didn't find the overtly sexual performers as interesting as the ones who were just sort of hanging out and chatting. The vibe strongly reminded me of AOL chat rooms in the early 90s, where you'd be horny/bored/lonely and just sort of wander around chat rooms flirting with people. It's like, these seemingly normal interactions are going on -- one guy was going on and on to a cam girl about a Winnie the Pooh movie trailer -- within this highly sexually charged atmosphere.

I think it's within this stratum of Chaturbate that I can maybe understand what "internet sexual" means. The site is almost like a dating site in a way, where you're browsing through people to find someone who is both attractive and whom you enjoy chatting with (and who enjoys chatting with you). Except unlike (or not unlike, depending on your level of cynicism) dating, you can also pay them to sexually gratify you. I guess Chaturbate is different from similar sites in that the interaction isn't necessarily 100% money-based, since you can view and chat for free, which I think conveys more of an impression of having a real human interaction. So I can see how people might choose to express their sexuality solely through this site ("internet sexual") -- how it might be more satisfying than to date IRL.

I don't know, it was pretty strange to chat with a girl about ukulele technique for a half hour and then wrap up the conversation with her abruptly showing me her butt, but I can see how this site can be fulfilling for the people who are into it.
posted by Enemy of Joy at 8:37 AM on January 29, 2015

My first thought was something along the lines of "I should get back in shape, there has to be somebody who would pay to see me naked". I mean it takes all kinds, right?

I actually had the same thought. While I have no doubt that there are people who participate in this who do feel degraded (it wasn't lost on me that many of them could be victims of sex trafficking), a lot of them definitely came across as "Holy hell, I'm getting paid to just lie here in front of a webcam listening to music." Many don't even take off their clothes. (The one I spoke with wore a hoodie and PJs the whole time.) I came away thinking, crap, if I were good looking enough to do this for a living, I would not hesitate.
posted by Enemy of Joy at 8:46 AM on January 29, 2015

After reading TFA, I'm strongly reminded of Oryx and Crake.. And that's not a good thing.
posted by k5.user at 8:51 AM on January 29, 2015

The one I've peeked into was MyFreeCams (similar to the others but no men allowed on cam, thus no m-f sex acts except with toys) and its models have similar quirks. The first barrier to entry is that anyone can watch unless someone pays for a private show, but unless you spend at least $20 once on your account you are a "basic" or "guest" user incapable of chatting unless a model specifically enables that. So if you're looking for conversation instead of just eye candy, you'll need to ante up.

Unsurprisingly, many of the models are quite mercenary about it; x tokens for y act, period and if nobody's spending they'll sit there staring at the screen silently or log off to keep their tokens-per-hour ratio rankings high. Others do their best to tease and request tips but at least chat and interact with their fans in between. Sometimes you'll see them pit tippers against one another, either "high tipper wins a prize" deals or shows where tips of one amount start an action or gadget and tips of another shut it down, so tippers spam tokens in an attempt to either enjoy their spectacle or be a trolling spoilsport.

But, yes, if you dig around you'll find some slice-of-life cams where a model is cooking breakfast, hula-hooping, playing Call of Duty, playing a piano, playing games with the chatters, or otherwise just hanging out, dressed or not. One has a regular thing where she picks out some other unsuspecting low-profile model and has her regulars rain tips on them, which is pretty cool.
posted by delfin at 12:35 PM on January 29, 2015

> I say we pool our tokens for this one
> Ogre Lawless

Eponogyresterical?
posted by ostranenie at 4:40 AM on January 30, 2015