by Rich Moreland, March 2019
This interview with cam star Sofia Rose offers fascinating insights into camming and porn.
Photos are credited to Kevin Sayers.
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Too Ethnic
Born of mixed ancestries, Sofia Rose is a Southern California native who gave modeling a go in her teens.
She did have some problems, though. She couldn’t make it in the mainstream business.
“They told me I was too short and too ethnic. I probably weighed ninety-five pounds on a good day! I was very, very small. But yeah, I was too ethnic at the time.”
To build a career, Sofia moved to the Northeast and worked in corporate America.
In November 2006 the thirty-something decided to resurrect her modeling career, setting her sights on the BBW market.
Sofia sums up where her career is today.
“I am a hardcore performer. I have my own website, I shoot for everybody. I’m independent and I cam.” To secure what she calls “residual money,” Sofia says, “I sell my clips, my Snapchat. So, I have my hands in all the pots.”
Changes
Describing where she is right now, Sofia says, “My main focus is performing and I do hardcore boy/girl [and] fetish.”
But changes are on the horizon.
The BBW star is moving back to her fetish work at the expense of boy/girl shoots.
It’s a return to “glamour modeling that I used to do,” she explains, and she loves the idea, particularly its practicality. “I’m getting older [and] I want to spend more time at home.”
Best of all, glamour has an appeal for her. It’s “erotic,” she insists, and is built on “artistic” photos. “Still, my clothes will be off,” she laughs. “I’m just comfortable that way. It’s actually harder to wear clothes because I’m actually trying to contain things and my boobs want to be free. So…”
Get Comfortable
Turning to my questions on camming, I want to know if a cam girl starts out as an amateur performer?
Sofia believes all cam girls begin as amateurs because they have “to get comfortable with the camera. Learn your angles and what’s the most flattering depending on what you’re trying to sell.”
But in the end, she believes, the word “amateur” is elusive in its meaning and application.
“I think the amateur term can be very subjective. I do my own content and it’s definitely not studio produced. I’m a professional performer, however it would be considered amateur shot because it looks like a home movie. Does that make it less professional [because] we made it home-style?”
I remark that for cammers, amateur means a style of shooting.
“I feel like it’s a style, yeah,” Sofia agrees. “It’s not cut perfectly and it’s very bumpy,” but that seems to be its appeal.
Trends
I ask Sofia if cam girls establish their own trends or merely follow existing ones when it comes to their content.
“Both, really,” she replies. Cammers can be trend-setters by “taking something that’s already been established and modifying it to what is unique to you.”
In Sofia’s case, it’s the plus-size community. Certain trends are important to them. She mentions Mukbangs as an example and explains what it is about.
“It’s a feeding video about eating foods that makes certain sounds. I don’t get it, but it hits my fetish audience who likes to see me overstuff myself to make me larger.
“We’re going to play into the fetish [and] make those videos that are customizable. I’ve been doing these feeding videos forever [and] it’s now like this popular trend. People pay me to eat this food!”
Porn Portal
Is camming a portal into shooting scenes?
“Absolutely,” Sofia says, but mentions that camming and shooting scenes are different.
“I think that there’s definitely some conflict between the communities, which I hate,” she responds.
“It’s a whole hierarchy of who’s better than who[m]. I feel like camming is similar to the studio-produced performing, but they aren’t the same. A cam girl walks in and is used to controlling her camera and her angle and getting her best shots. But you go into a studio and you’re relinquishing that control. And now you’re doing what you’re told within your limits and you don’t have control over all those things,” she explains.
When asked to describe a cam girl, Sofia has an insightful assessment.
“People think that camming is more innocent because there’s not contact with another person, male or female. But it isn’t necessarily.”
There’s more, she says. “Because they feel like it’s a more controlled environment, maybe it’s more innocent. It’s really not to me, it’s not any different whether I’m bringing talent to get on cam with or I’m in a studio shooting with that same talent. We’re still doing the same things, the same content, the same fluid exchanges. Everything’s happening the same way, it’s just that the camera is controlled differently.”
The Optional Fourth Leg
As for the three-legged school question, Sofia says the fourth leg is optional. In other words, combinations can change from girl to girl. They choose what works for them.
For her, choices are obvious. “I shoot, I cam, and I escort, but you’ll never find me dancing. We’re just changing which three we’re using.”
In her opinion, “it’s almost normal to escort on top of everything else. Why wouldn’t you?”
Considering that, is camming a boon for her escorting?
“Absolutely” she beams. Clients want to meet and get to know her. Once that happens, their comfort level improves and this is a benefit for her.
“It helps me,” Sofia says. “We feel good with each other. It’s way less intimidating and the nerves are way down.”
Sofia points out for a cam girl to meet one of her fans in person is an option. But keep in mind that “everybody has their limits and what makes them comfortable. Even as escorts we all do things very differently. People think I just meet random strangers and it’s not quite like that.” Background checks are part of doing business, she says with a chuckle.
Just for the curious, Sofia Rose is married and monogamous. Nevertheless, her camming and escorting is a job “and I do treat it so.”
She quickly modifies her statement to minimize the impression it’s all about business.
“The experience itself won’t feel like it’s a job. Whether I’m shooting, performing, or meeting someone privately, they never feel like it’s a job. I don’t make it feel transactional.”
In summing up her point, Sofia Rose mentions that she’s “a pretty warm person” and admits, “I think I just got fortunate with that personality [trait].”