ep. 56: How to Be a Phone Sex Operator
Like stripping, commercial phone sex is a form of legal sex work — AND you can do it from home in pajamas. But what does the job really entail? C&C called up longtime phone sex operator and CEO Sera Miles to find out how the craft works, what callers want, and why she doesn't think internet porn will replace phone sex any time soon.
FYI: This episode was edited and re-released to preserve more tape from our conversation with Sera. To learn more about this choice, see Sera’s critique (and our response) here.
Leave ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ at Apple Podcasts
Sources
Berliet, Melanie. Rise of the Stay-at-Home Phone Sex Operator. The Atlantic. Oct. 18, 2012.
Buck, Stephanie. This feminist single mom invented the phone sex business in the 1970s. Timeline. Feb. 7, 2017.
Cowie, Kim and Annie Lord. The Anonymous Lives of Phone Sex Operators. Vice UK. March 25, 2019.
Eichenwald, Kurt. Just a Phone Call Away: More Dial-It Services. The New York Times. April 16, 1988.
Greenhouse, Linda. Justices Uphold Businesses’ Right to Sell Phone Sex. The New York Times. June 24, 1989.
Grover, Lea. Adventures of a Sex Phone Operator: The Surprising Highs, the Grossest Lows, and the Lesson I Took Away from It All. Marie Claire. April 26, 2016.
Hall, Kira. Lip Service on the Fantasy Lines. From Gender Articulated: Language and the Socially Constructed Self. New York: Routledge, 1995.
Hawkins, Derek. Everything you were afraid to ask about phone sex workers—in one class-action lawsuit. The Washington Post. June 30, 2017.
Latson, Jennifer. The Woman Who Made History by Answering the Phone. Sept. 1, 2015.
Mayyasi, Alex. The Life of a Phone Sex Operator. Priceonomics.
McGreevy, Lisa. 6 Tips to Help You Avoid Phone Sex Operator Scams (They’re Everywhere). The Penny Hoarder. July 7, 2017.
Morris, Chris. Remember Naughty 1-900 Numbers? Lines Are Still Open. CNBC. Jan. 25, 2016.
Pollack, Andrew. Court Upholds Access Limits on Phone Sex Lines. The New York Times. March 22, 1991.
Push, Amanda. Kinky activism: How New Mexico sex worker Sera Miles is fighting to legitimize the industry. DGO. Feb. 14, 2019.
Selmi, Giulia. The Ordinary Nature of Fantasy: Language, Gender and Sexuality in Phone Sex Work. From Routledge International Handbook of Sex Industry Research. Oxon: Routledge, 2019.
