A young woman who opened up about her career as a cam girl has hit back at trolls who labelled her ‘uneducated’.
Rosie Renee, a 22-year-old from Queensland, quit her job as a personal trainer to enter the lucrative ‘camming’ industry and decided to share her story to break down sex industry stereotypes.
But after reading comments from critics claiming she needed to ‘go to school’ and that she ‘can’t possibly be proud’, Ms Renee took to her Facebook page to address them directly.
‘I’ve worked harder and have done more than just about any other 22-year-old I know,’ Ms Renee wrote.
Rosie Renee, a 22-year-old from Queensland, quit her job as a personal trainer to enter the lucrative ‘camming’ industry and decided to share her story to break down sex industry stereotypes
But after reading comments from critics claiming she needed to ‘go to school’ and that she ‘can’t possibly be proud’, Ms Renee took to her Facebook page to address them directly
‘I built, owned and operated a gym, I’ve managed restaurants, I ran my own cleaning business, I PAID out of pocket to get an education after high school and yes I am proud of what I do because I’ve worked damn hard (I’ve worked harder as a cam girl than I have in even the most hands on vanilla job I ever had).
Sex work should not overshadow someone’s accomplishments.
‘Sex work doesn’t change who someone is. I’m the LAST person anyone would have expected to do this.. and that right there has proven to me (and many others in my life) that sex workers ARE NORMAL PEOPLE!
‘We are driven and work hard, we can have goals and degrees and families and passion for what we do beyond the good money we can sometimes make and so much more.’
Ms Renee concluded by questioning why it is people felt the need to comment on her life.
‘I’ve worked harder and have done more than just about any other 22-year-old I know,’ Ms Renee wrote
‘We are driven and work hard, we can have goals and degrees and families and passion for what we do beyond the good money we can sometimes make and so much more,’ she said
‘You don’t know someone’s history, where they have come from, what motivates them, so I don’t know why some people act like they do.’
Speaking to Be, Ms Renee said she had never ‘hit back’ before but ‘wanted to make it crystal clear for anyone who doesn’t quite understand’.
‘I can’t tell you how many intelligent, genuine, hard working, and kind people I have met in this industry,’ she said.
‘Sex work should not overshadow someone’s accomplishments or good characteristics, and I’m hoping more people will begin to realise that.
‘Thankfully the majority of people I’ve ever come across have been completely supportive.’
‘Sex work should not overshadow someone’s accomplishments or good characteristics, and I’m hoping more people will begin to realise that,’ she said
Speaking to FEMAIL on Wednesday, Ms Renee said she decided to try out being a cam girl after seeing documentary on the topic
Speaking to FEMAIL on Wednesday, Ms Renee said she decided to try out being a cam girl after seeing documentary on the topic.
And a year and a half on, she is doing everything from bathing in a kilogram of beetroot to covering herself in pancake batter and setting her nipples on fire – all in front of a live camera. She can also earn up to AUD $12,000 a month.
In her own words, ‘it’s not just getting naked and going online’.
Ms Renee first went on camera after she watched a British documentary about cam girls on the Internet:
Among her strangest requests is covering herself in a kilo of beetroot (pictured)
Ms Renee shops for her outfits all over – including sex shops, Gumtree and the High Street (pictured in costume)
‘I didn’t know much about cam girls then,’ she told Daily Mail Australia. ‘At the time, I thought they were all pre-recorded videos done way ahead of time.’
After ‘some extensive Googling’, the 22-year-old discovered that the industry was in fact alive and well in Australia:
‘At that stage, I still thought it would be a scam, but I decided to give it a try,’ she said.
Just one month later, Ms Renee received her first pay cheque – upon which point she explained her ‘mind was blown’.
‘I was nervous, of course, at the start, but I also found it exciting,’ she recalled. ‘It took me a while to find and create my niche, but once I did, I felt comfortable, natural and had a lot of fun.
‘These days, I want to laugh and have a good time. You’ve got to do what comes naturally. In my time, I’ve covered myself in pancake batter and lit my nipples on fire.’
The 22-year-old explained that, in her line of work, many of the girls have a ‘tip list’ which includes what they will do for ‘tokens’
‘I always have the permission to say no, however, it’s very easy to do so. All you need to do is block someone and you don’t see them,’ she said of declining requests
The 22-year-old explained that, in her line of work, many of the girls have a ‘tip list’ which includes what they will do for ‘tokens’:
‘For instance, it can be 1,000 tokens for something and 50 for something else,’ she said.
‘I always have the permission to say no, however, it’s very easy to do so. All you need to do is block someone and you don’t see them.’
Ms Renee said that while many people might assume that being a cam girl is ‘easy money’, she said she has to work very hard
Ms Renee said that while many people might assume that being a cam girl is ‘easy money’, she also has to work ‘very hard’ to earn the $12,000 she did in one recent month.
‘It’s a full time job,’ she said. ‘I put in up to 70 hours a week on cam doing all sorts of things.’
But not only this, but the 22-year-old also said there are different aspects to being part of brand Rosie Renee – including all day spent talking to people, prepping graphics and videos, marketing and social media.
‘Recently, I made a cardboard lighting system for my room,’ she said – ‘which took a lot of work’.
‘The marketing is a huge part of it – and the travelling to expos. I travel around Australia to expos all the time, you find the most bizarre things at expos – including costumes.’
Ms Renee said she also sources her outfits from places including Gumtree, Bras’n’Things and sex shops.
Speaking about her finances, Ms Renee said that working as a cam girl requires her to have a huge grip on what she’s pulling in – because if she doesn’t work, she doesn’t earn
‘I’m lucky because my family supports me 100 per cent,’ Ms Renee added – saying she wants people to start seeing camming ‘as not this underground seedy thing’
Speaking about her finances, Ms Renee said that working as a cam girl requires her to have a huge grip on what she’s pulling in.
‘If I don’t work, I don’t earn,’ she said.
‘There was one month recently where I only worked one day. While I did earn $1,300 that day, that is obviously considerably less than if I work for a full month – so you obviously have to be prepared for that instability.’
Among the strangest things she’s done for people include dumping ‘a kilo of beetroot over myself’ and conducting a ‘private Skype session with someone where I wrote my name in Vegemite across my chest’.
‘I’m lucky because my family supports me 100 per cent,’ Ms Renee added.
‘I’m not ashamed of what I do – it’s really important to me that people are starting to see camming as not this underground seedy thing.
‘Sex workers are normal people, too,’ she concluded.