BABES4U.COM - Cyberporno on-line directed by Women
Pop~Feature
To get closer to the concept of the female coded body in the net is for most male users defined by the practice of Cyberporn. We will show a feminist Internet porn project as example, which is not affirmative to the status quo but probably has subversive potential to the social netcontext. Have a look and decide yourself.
BABES4U is a female owned and operated Cyberporn on-line service with live video. Its founders and owners Madeleine Altmann and Steffani Martin discuss their views of pornography, on-line and in real life, with Kathy Rae Huffman in their New York City studio. This is not your usual girlie place, but don't be mistaken, they are for real, and are as kinky as they come. But what they also have is a homey environment in which to work, and great communication with the women who run the Internet site, who are there almost all of the time.
Caution: the following text contains sexually explicit material. Continue only if you are 18 years old (or older).
I am 18 years old or older.....enter
BABES4U.COM is not a dating service, and it is not about relationships. It is about sex. It has nothing to do with finding the ideal deem-god/goddess that will answer all the life questions, or that age-old-question: "is this the 'one' for me?" It is about satisfying basic human sexual needs.
The on-line video and chat site BABES4U.COM is the first and only women owned and run Live-Cyberporn site on the Internet. There is no doubt as to the popularity of pornography on-line, a reality that led to one of the biggest news stories of the 1990s, including CompuServe Germany's censorship of known sites that involved pornographic material, and AOL's barring of hard-core words, and access to on-line sex sites through their Internet browser, despite the growth of their seeking partnership chat spaces. The battle for Net freedom continues today. Although various forms of control have been devised to keep kids out (Net Nanny is only one noted on the BABES4U.COM front page).
In the real world and throughout today's Internet, power relations between men and women are taking new turns. An interesting theoretical question that magnetizes many (especially female) artists and media thinkers is the issue: who controls the personal actions of the body. Likewise, now that the body has become politicized, what rights do women really have to take charge of their sexuality. Legally, in most countries, the answer is easy. Woman's body is controlled by the government (read: men). Although the jury is still out, the current (politically correct) feminist position --at least the USA-- is pro-porn. It is an intellectual position --in most cases intellectual only because few females actually indulge in pornography or acknowledge it publicly if they do. Pro-porn establishes solidarity with anti-censorship, pro-choice, and the activist feminist discourse. The position has gained prestige and has been made newsworthy through publications, artworks and public appearances of prominent personalities like Camille Paglia, Annie Sprinkle, Nan Goldin, and Lynn Hershman.
Pornography is also a recurring issue in feminist literature, from Colette to Kathy Acker, has intrigued theoreticians and philosophers for Centuries. Sandy Stone, contemporary a media theoretician who is sometimes called the Queen of Cyberspace, draws an important parallel between phone sex workers (who boil down complex behavior ....and reinvent the 'body' over telephone wires) with interactivity, in her book _The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age_ (MIT Press, 1995). She says that interactivity "...implies two conscious agencies in conversation, playfully and spontaneously developing a mutual discourse, taking cues and suggestions from each other as they proceed." Sex, therefore can be considerd by the same interactive play principles that we attribute to video/computer games or even experiencing some artworks. She remarks that over the phone, sex workers excite their clients by giving "descriptions (that) were invariably and quite directly about physical bodies and what they were doing or what was being done to them..." The world of the sex worker and their client was one "where pleasure and imagination were the important attractors." (p.8)
What Stone leads us to understand, in this remarkable account of her academic research in the 1980s, is the personal commitment to lifestyle on the part of sex workers, and their belief in the service they offer. The women understood quite fully that in phone sex (like in today's Cybersex practicioners) the power is the intellect. With the addition of video (and simultaneous sound via telephone) the "real" body is uploaded to dataspace where it becomes "virtual". This image, when detached from touch, becomes the prosthesis of perception (especially in contrast to techno mysticism) and is transformed as the object of desire, a virtual image used for the fulfillment of fantasy. With the added ability to interact with the real/virtual body, important power shifts take place between the sex worker and the client.
Feminist Cyberporno producers
Madeleine Altmann and Steffani Martin spend a lot of time in their 100 sq. meter studio on 14th Street in Manhattan, getting their new business started, working out programming bugs and training their BABES. The studio maintains a sophisticated security system, and is equipped with a 1.54 megabyte T1 connection. Connectivity is paramount in their business: streaming live video. BABES4U.COM is a real time, live interactive video porn site that was launched in March 1997. It requires no special application, only Netscape 3.0 or 2.0 that is Java enabled. With stand-by for cross platform applications, they operate with no downloads, no waiting, no making directories. It was a concern of theirs not to demand as a problem for interaction. "We are direct, just a 'click her' kinda thing..." says Madeleine, "chat apps are like mosquitoes, they function like you want to swat them".
Their numerous clients recognize their innovations, because BABES4U.COM is logging in the calls like crazy. First month statistics showed 60,000 site visits per day, with anywhere from 100-200 clients chatting daily, with a high count of 300. The 12 gorgeous BABES are definitely literate, friendly and busy, but they have incentive, like profit-sharing and health insurance. The customers recognize their enthusiasm for the site, and often send personal gifts to their favorite BABE.
Looking out the window at Nell's, one of New York's popular nightclubs, we had a lively late night discussion. Behind the partition separating the technical equipment and the video studio, Roxy, a Latina BABE about 25 years old, with a pile of books under her arm, was chatting via modem with a client. Occasionally, Madeleine would dash back to join her on camera, or informally discuss the status of the video signal, the number of log-ins, and other technical data. The coffee table in front of the family style sofa was piled with paper coffee cups from the deli on the corner, and Chinese partially full food containers from a late lunch. The mood was lively and friendly.
Madeleine....we are bleeding the bandwidth in full color.... hemorrhage the bandwidth ---blood is our bandwidth.
Steffani... many women are taking power on the Internet... .it is almost like having a gun....don't you think....
Both Madeleine and Steffani have Master's degrees from New York University. Madeleine received a second MA with honors from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. She hosted the longest running interactive television show in the world sponsored by Time Warner at NYU. She became known as "the media empress" in San Francisco because of her cable show Erotica SF, and her award winning videos. Steffani Martin has been actively engaged in the sex industry for the past 15 years, as a producer of soft erotica, and as a content provider for cable and satellite TV and on-line services. She has been on numerous talk shows and is a strong and articulate spokesperson for First Amendment and Women's Rights.
What's in it for the BABES
For both Madeleine and Steffani, business was a big motivation to start BABES4U.COM. Madeleine declares boldly: "...we need to make money .... money is power ... I want to do what I want...and we want to make money doing what we want....that is the best!"
Steffani firmly believes that "...women are strong enough to be unique...I chose sex because it sells and it is fun....but basically it is a business decision."
Their common interest in sex clicked easily, and after talking for some months, they started working together. "We were so excited to meet each other and find someone (else) who was not afraid to deal with sexuality in an open and frank manner..." Steffani, who Madeleine says was very forthcoming with information, says, "yes, when I feel I am helping somebody, then it is OK...no money at stake." Madeleine recognizes that most of her male friends have had some experience with the porn industry, either they buy magazines, rent movies, or have paid for sex....but not the women. "So we are not really liberated, yet!" she remarked.
Madeleine, although she agrees with feminist issues, realizes that men are primarily the benefactors of BABES4U.COM. "I just want to get off......and it will be easier for women to get off on porn when more women are making it..." She believes that ".. regardless of right or wrong women should be making the money." Let's cash in - girls!
Speaking on the aspect of women and victimization, Steffani believes that when this concept is used, it "basically means that women have no power, that they are children and must be protected." Madeleine, who agrees, says that "in a certain respect, it is true, women do not control the porno industry, and they are often manipulated. That is why we do what we do..." Steffani added "well, if you think of sex as having something to do with a religious experience, then you are already in trouble, OK? That is the bottom line here."
Making the connection
When the caller logs in, he must fill out an application, with credit card number. After verification, he can go directly to the live video page. A weekly schedule shows the dates and times each girl is scheduled, and a peek-show profile of their special skills and interests can be checked out.
During a call, the chat is via modem, it is talk with the BABE and with other viewers. If the guy wants to speak in person, he may make a phone call (and pay any long distance charges). What is the most popular first line? They almost always ask the girl to blow them a kiss....and are amazed to see them do it. Although there are three or four other live video services available, at BABES4U.COM, the owners also get to know their customers. They believe in their service, and give good personal service.
It costs only $1.00 per hour (billed at $20 for 20 minutes) - which sounds like a good deal compared to phone sex, which is normally around $ 2.99 per hour.
What kind of conversation might you hear from BABE4U? ...except for some private chats, typical language is: "...we are hot cyber slut fucks! we love sex, especially hot on-line sex..." BABES provides sex, and sex sells. "It is the new content of the Internet...and we are one of the few companies on-line who is making money...."remarks Madeleine, who pointed out that on-line search engines and news also make money on-line. BABES has news and sex! "We are a small company, but we have a chance, and have as much of a chance as some of the others. This business does not need so much money to start, and we tell everyone everything .... the net is democracy, and the old rules do not apply.
With regard to the pop~TOPIC of the uploaded body as a theoretical position of transcending the body, Madeleine responded, "...sexuality on-line is hotter. With sex, it is important because it is so fantasy oriented, so cerebral...so virtual. We are sex trainers in this new medium." Steffani agreed, and remembered when she first started communicating on-line, that she could see that people could be really free in this environment, "..the Internet by itself without the visuals was totally is embodied ... you came on as a pure, cerebral essence. Now, somehow, individuals float somewhere in between."
"You know what this is ... this is basically the medium to finally fucking liberate sexually restraints. Basically, people are under-educated about sexuality, especially in America ... and this is a way for them to explore their sexuality in a sane environment. So, we have 28 year old guys as the average age of our customer, who is not able to satisfy his sexual needs in reality. These guys are sexually frustrated! They don't know what they want."
Responding to the question about how programs like BABES4U.COM can be marketed to women? Madeleine replied, " Girls are not "allowed" to enjoy porno, so how do you train your sexuality in this day and age? Most people also feel inadequate in discussing sex, so we become a sex education service. The politics of being an intelligent women is, if I go up to a guy and say Fuck Me I have a good chance, girls who want to fuck will fuck ... but too many women have been conditioned to fear sex and fear sex ... pornography and all that is just normal.
Steffani recalled that in the movie porn business, men originally demanded to see the 'cum shot', or else they didn't believe that the guy really got off. That kind of pornography is not happening in our live show, even though the medium is currently focused on women for men (and men for men on the gay channels). This is what is demanded on-line because women can always get sex....lesbians or straight women....straight men generally can not, so easily get what they want. It is all culturation.
In conclusion, Madeleine and Steffani remarked, "we are educated and intelligent, and our clients are not turned off by this, rather they get off on it. We created this Internet site because on-line sex is the most important frontier to explore. We had other options! But, we believe we are doing something good! It is truly elemental....and fantastic."