By Peter Berton
MADISON, Wis. – Domino Damoiselle is difficult to pigeonhole.
“I’m a stripper, phone sex operator and webcam model,” she explains on her website, DominoXXX.com “I’m pansexual, submissive and perverted. I’m not your average female. Imagine Wednesday Addams, Daria, Liz Lemon and Darlene Conner had an orgy. I’m the result.”
Despite all that, she lives a clean life: Damoiselle doesn’t drink alcohol, smoke or indulge in illegal drugs. Instead, she prefers to get her kicks from sex.
“During my young-adult years, I almost thought something was wrong with me because I craved sex so much,” she told YNOT. “Obviously, I’ve learned to embrace my sexuality and my ridiculously high sex drive.”
Here’s what else she had to say.
YNOT.com: Tell us a little about the girl behind the mask.
Domino Damoiselle: I’m a Wisconsin native, and consequently I’m a huge Milwaukee Brewers fan. I love other sports, too, but baseball is the big one. I’m 28 years old. I love to ski, travel and read historical nonfiction, and I watch a lot of movies. I have antisocial tendencies. I’m pretty boring outside of my job.
According to your bio, you got into adult entertainment because you got tired of the 9-to-5 grind.
Sort of. Part of the reason I started dancing was because corporate America was not for me. I’ve spent a lot of time working in coffee shops, and though I loved it, it didn’t exactly pay the bills.
I’m also sick a lot. I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, so working a 40-hours-a-week job reliably was difficult for me. Plus, camming and stripping were a much better fit for me. I’ve always been a really sexual person, and I’m fascinated by human sexuality.
How did you get into camming?
I broke my wrist for the third time in 2010. At that point, stripping was my only job. I had a metal plate put in — worst pain of my life! — and I obviously couldn’t dance anymore. Camming was the next best thing, and now it’s my main gig.
Tell us about camming. How do you prepare? How do you manage your business? What is camming like, from a performer’s perspective?
This is going to be a long answer.
To prepare for shows, I spend about 30-40 minutes doing my makeup. You really have to apply a lot of eye makeup for it to show up on cam, unless you’re going for a more natural look. I usually keep my hairstyle simple. I just straighten it. Sometimes, if my customer wants to see longer hair, I wear a wig. I get my sex toys within arm’s reach.
As far as managing my business, I’ve incorporated, and I’m technically an LLC [limited liability corporation]. I update my website regularly and write themed blog posts.
I keep track of my income in a spreadsheet. Any business expenses are logged in an app, and I take my 1099s and expense reports to my [accountant] quarterly. Being active on social media is a pretty huge part of being a successful camgirl, too.
It’s a lot of work. Anyone wants to get into camming because they think it’s easy money is going to be very, very disappointed and burnt out, and ultimately, they’ll fail.
Camming is touted as the next big thing in paid internet porn. Is it a lucrative and promising profession, or is it overhyped?
[The profession] can be [lucrative] if you play your cards right, like I mentioned in the [previous] answer. To be perfectly honest, the market is very saturated right now. You have to have a niche or something special about you to be really successful, at least in my opinion.
Why do you write a blog about camming and stripping?
My blog is mainly about weird sex, traveling, photos and photo shoots and updates about my personal life. I do feature camgirls periodically, when I get a submission, with similar questions to these.
Occasionally, I write about topics I think are relevant to the sex industry, like strip club etiquette, why it’s stupid to be a Hooters girl when you could just be a stripper, and annoying guys that come to strip clubs.
What do you like and dislike about your job?
The No. 1 thing I dislike about my job? Time-wasters. Guys who try to get free previews, chat without any intention of compensating me for my time and guys who try to call me on Skype without paying first.
The best thing? I’m my own boss. There’s virtually no ceiling when it comes to income, and I’m totally in charge of my business.
What don’t most people understand about what you do?
Ha! Probably the question I’m asked most frequently is “What do you do when you’re not stripping?” My answer is always “I’m a camgirl.” No one seems to know what camgirls are.
Where do you hope to be 10 years from now?
Hopefully, retaining my youth and still camming and stripping — but that’s unlikely for lots of reasons. When I’m finished stripping, I’m planning to get a masters degree in counseling and work as a sex therapist.
What do few people know about you?
I’ve lived on my own since I was 15.
