From left, Calvin Klein bra and Affinitas Intimates underwear; Calvin Klein bra and underwear; Affinitas Intimates bra and underwear; Fleur of England bra and underwear; Verameat ring.

The girls-on-film business has come a long way, quickly. Think back to the ’80s and ’90s, when the hottest thing on television was scrambled cable porn. Then came home internet; after your dial-up buffered for six minutes, you could ogle a racy photo. When high-speed connections arrived, anyone with a router could see highly produced, perfect bodies copulating in pristine settings with just one click. It was enticing, but there was something terribly inauthentic—and it wasn’t just the silicone.

Enter the webcam. The thinking is that as soon as a new type of technology appears, the first thing people will do is find a way to have sex with it. As texting swiftly begat sexting, webcams turned into vehicles for peep shows 2.0. Webcam shows are the most intimate form of sexuality on the net; viewers aren’t watching a girl gyrate on a soundstage; they’re seeing her in her happy place—a place that includes her band posters, her Hello Kitty comforter, and her very own wardrobe. There is no guy holding a boom microphone and no one sitting off-screen barking orders. If you log on, you are the director; and if you’re nice, you can ask the girl to act out your fantasy.

Webcams can also be better for those on the business end of the camera: “Camming allows you a lot of freedoms, like making your own schedule, being able to work in the comfort of your home, and having full control of who you communicate with,” says cam girl xoEve.

Fellow internet star Kaylee Danger agrees. “I like webcamming because I can build a relationship with my fans all over the world from the privacy of their own homes.”

“I was a dancer but grew tired of the club environment. I needed something to do to save up to start earning my masters, so I Googled camming,” Emma Ink says. “It felt so natural. I have never hesitated or felt strange while broadcasting.”

Webcamming has also given stodgy, buttoned-up folks a chance—while playing fly on the wall—to appreciate body art. xoEve says most of her onlookers are not tattooed. “A lot of people tell me they never liked tattoos before they saw me,” she says.

Emma Ink uses her tattoos as her calling card. “I love when I have a clean-cut businessman type that doesn’t have any tattoos confessing to me that I’m the sexiest woman alive.”

Kaylee, however, doesn’t see her fans, so she had to ask whether or not they had ink. “I thought there were a few … so I started asking them, and more than I thought do have tattoos!”

But just because these women share a similar look and, possibly, some of the same fans, that doesn’t mean they’re competitive. “My coworkers are sexy, amazing, like-minded girls,” Emma says. Let’s meet the click clique.