Wendy Lozano, webcam model in Bogotá, on April 26th. Ivan Valencia
The walls of the room are red and black. It’s the colors that stand for sadomasochism for Wendy Lozano, 20. She herself painted them in this color during a broadcast. Lozano dropped out of her literature studies a year ago because she had to support her family with household expenses. A year earlier, at the age of 18, she had decided to try herself as a webcam model. “The first six months were very tough as everyone I knew thought I was working as a babysitter. In the first studio I worked illegally in, they tried to sexually abuse me,” he says.
Six months ago, Lozano came to the Dharma Studio. In this place he was able to create his own character, which brought him regular customers. Rose Black, black rose in English. This is the woman she transforms into every day when the camera turns on. His specialty is sadomaso: he loves to play with leather whips, belts, sex toys and chocolate sauces. “Rose and I are two different people. I never take it home with me. Rose is outgoing, crazy and aggressive, and I’m the complete opposite,” explains the webcammer.
In a single street in the center of Bogotá, you can count five studios dedicated to the business of webcam models. They’re camouflaged between dormitories and a college down the street. The company name is not visible at the entrance, so the aspiring models approach somewhat unsuspectingly. In the end, 20-year-old Cindy finds the doorbell and shyly pushes it. He found out about the study via social networks and was encouraged to do an interview.
After an hour, in which the local psychologist María López takes her on a tour and explains the working conditions, she accepts. Colombia is the second country in the world with the most webcam models after Romania. “Since the pandemic, business in the city has grown exponentially. Right now there are maybe more than 5,000 studios in the country,” says Ernesto López, 48, the owner of the place where Cindy works.
Rose Black is Wendy’s character on the shows. Ivan Valencia
This studio, as López calls it, is dedicated to hiring women to do erotic models in front of the camera from their rooms on websites. The men who watch them pay for what they do in their sex shows with tokens, virtual currencies powered by blockchain technology. Broadcasts can take place in open spaces with more than 20 people or privately, where 12 tokens are paid per minute. In this business, you earn for the time the model manages to keep her client connected.
López’s is a family business. After a lifetime working as an accountant advising clients on the most efficient way to set up businesses in the country, López thought of starting his own business. The idea of owning his own webcam studio seemed a bit strange to him at first, he admits: “The topic is still very taboo.” But after much thought with his wife, they decided to go into business. They took advantage of López’s knowledge and wanted to legalize everything, although it was complicated on the matter due to the lack of regulation in the country: “They didn’t even allow us to open a bank account,” he explains. Today the business is run by the couple and their daughters.
Unlike pirate or illegal studios, López’s is registered with the mayor’s office, has its contracts in order, pays the appropriate taxes and, of course, doesn’t accept minors either as customers or as workers. The company’s idea is to establish itself as a safe space where the models can work in peace without being disturbed by anyone, not even the business owner, who says that he does everything possible not to fall into the building with them so as not to disturb them. Webcam payouts are of course guaranteed. “A lot of the studios that work in the city do it underground because they give their professionals very poor conditions,” he explains.
In an unprecedented ruling in Colombia last year, the Constitutional Court recognized the rights of an employment relationship in the webcam modeling profession. The Court pointed out that although commerce is not regulated in Colombia, this does not mean that companies engaged in this activity can do whatever they want with their workers, who are in any case recognized by the Constitution .
Laura Velandia, webcam model in Bogotá Iván Valencia
The ruling highlights the reality of many women who “enter the sex industry in a state of vulnerability due to situations of poverty and lack of opportunity,” the ruling says. In any case, it is a complex issue. Experts say the activity is still unregulated in the country, as theoretically no contract and terms and conditions can be set for anything affecting a woman’s intimacy and sexuality.
In other words, it cannot be regulated because doing so would open the door to the legalization of sex work, a profound debate that has stalled in Colombia for decades. Therefore, women like Velandia and Lozano, who earn their living every day with their bodies, still have to wait until theory and practice, laws and daily reality find their way to meet to see their situation fully recognized.
A room of a “webcam” inside
On the second floor, each room has its own theme. Lozano has several rituals every day before starting work: “First I prepare the playlist that I want to use during the show, usually it’s blues songs because they seem very sensual to me. Later, I put on a specific song that makes me happy, and then I’m ready to hit the button and go on the air,” he says.
Lozano has had a hard time telling his family what he does and thinks is his passion. Her mother’s first reaction was to think she was a prostitute. However, he says, over time he has understood what the business is about. Today, Lozano says, the mother is even considering joining her daughter and dedicating some time each day to erotic dancing, such are the economic benefits that the daughter’s work brings to the family.
Laura Velandia is a music student and works as a webcam model Iván Valencia in her spare time
Most of its customers are foreigners and 90% speak English. The best hours for her are from 1pm to 7am and the profile of her clients are males over 40 years of age. “Often they just want to talk and I don’t even have to undress,” he explains.
Lozano says he can make a million pesos ($250) on a bad month. However, he’s had months where he’s made ten million ($2,500). The studio he works at keeps 45% of his profits.
In the room next to Lozano is Laura Velandia, 24. He studies music and does a webcam in the studio in his free time from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Her character is the complete opposite of Rose: she plays a tender and innocent girl. Her room is painted all pink and she personalized it with her photos: “I used to work as a makeup salesperson but I didn’t have enough money so one day I saw an ad for this studio on Instagram and I was hooked. Over time, my family accepted it because they see that I’m fine,” Velandia explains as he fixes the lights to start his broadcast.
There are nine rooms in López’s studio, although the largest on the street has 20. “I’m proud to be able to create jobs for women who have a lot of economic difficulties and who can work in a space that they end up not having contact with anyone,” says the lawyer.
Laura Velandia at the Dharma Studio in downtown Bogotá.Iván Valencia