With the advent of sexting and Internet porn, phone sex is becoming a lost art for most of
us. But for Cameryn Moore, a phone-sex operator who lived in the Boston area for the past
eight years, it's a livelihood - and a rich source of material.
Years before For a Good Time,
Call . . . hit the big screen, Moore's one-woman show Phone Whore toured the world and won the award
for Best Female Solo show at the 2010 San Francisco Fringe Festival. Currently
"a citizen of the world" on another city-hopping tour, she hopes to bring her
boundary-pushing show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August.
Want to go old-school as you woo your sweetie (or
one-night stand) this Valentine's Day? We caught up with Moore between clients to find out a few of
her trade secrets.
On phone sex's appeal "There are
always gonna be some people who respond very well to audio cues, just as there
are some people who really like listening to baseball games on the radio.
Essentially, it's dirty talk at a distance."
On setting the mood "You
want to make sure you have some time. You don't want to be rushing through it
or have the chance of being interrupted. You're going to the land of
imagination, so there's nothing more stressful than suddenly having to go turn
off the soup on the stove."
On communicating with your
partner "Some talk, not dirty talk, but meta talk before the conversation is a
good thing so you're not going into it cold but you have some ideas. ‘I'd like
to play with this role,' or ‘I'd like to try this.' Get some of the negotiation
out of the way before you do the fantasy itself. As a professional phone-sex
operator, I often have to negotiate on the fly. The calls that I feel best
about doing are the ones where it's very clear what needs to happen. Take that
time at the beginning to find out what language to use."
On getting specific "One helpful
thing for people who want to try phone sex is to be as descriptive as possible.
There is something to be said for sound effects: moans, sexy breathing. But in
setting the scene and describing actions, description is very important. Use
vivid, clear adjectives. Saying ‘You're so hot' is fine, but why are you so
hot? ‘I love to see you dressed like that, the way it's tight around this or
that.' "
On going with the flow "I think the
worst thing you can do during phone sex is say ‘Really?' You want to treat
phone sex like improv. Always say, ‘Yes, and . . . ' Hold onto the giggle
reflex. [Giggling] can have the effect of making people feel stupid about their
desires, and that's not what you want to do. If I do laugh, I'll make it a sexy
laugh or I'll make it like a knowing laugh. You can shift it mid-way. If you
can't do that, just apologize and move on."
For more on Moore, visit
camerynmoore.com.