Phone sex is a type of virtual sex that refers to sexually explicit conversation between two or more persons via telephone, especially when at least one of the participants masturbates or engages in sexual fantasy. Phone sex conversation may take many forms, including (but not limited to): guided, narrated, and enacted suggestions; sexual anecdotes and confessions; candid expression of sexual feelings or love; discussion of very personal and sensitive sexual topics; or just two people listening to each other masturbate. Virtual sex is a form of non-penetrative sex where two or more people gather together via some form of communications equipment to arouse each other by transmitting sexually explicit messages. ... Saucy Postcard 1905 - 1915 Dirty talk is a dysphemism for a lovers practice of using graphic word imagery to heighten sexual pleasure before and during the sex act. ... Masturbation is the manual excitation of the sexual organs, most often to the point of orgasm. ... Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness. ...

"My word! You do tickle me." – "Saucy" Postcard c1910

Phone sex exists when both in the context of intimate relationships, e.g. among distanced lovers, and as a commercial transaction between a paying customer and a paid professional. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 487 pixelsFull resolution (1058 × 644 pixel, file size: 215 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Man and woman using telephones, c. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 487 pixelsFull resolution (1058 × 644 pixel, file size: 215 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Man and woman using telephones, c. ... For the record label, see Postcard Records. ... An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship. ...

Workers and patrons

A phone sex worker is a type of sex worker and erotic actor, sometimes referred to as "phone actor", "fantasy artist", "adult phone entertainer", "audio erotic performer", or any one of dozens of other monikers. The most valued attributes of a phone sex professional are his or her voice, acting and/or sexual roleplay skills, along with the experienced ability to discern and respond appropriately to a broad spectrum of customer requests. A sex worker in Germany A sex worker is a person who earns money by providing sexual services. ... A pornographic actor or a porn star is somebody who appears in pornographic movies, live sex shows or peep shows. ... The human voice consists of sound made by a human using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying and screaming. ... Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play. ... Sexual roleplaying is the sexual behavior of playing some kind of character during a sexual encounter, in order to evoke a sexual fantasy in oneself and/or ones partner. ...

Contrary to appearances, most phone sex operators do not masturbate during every client session; rather, they may vocally simulate masturbation, sexual intercourse, and/or engage in sexual roleplaying scenarios catering to the particular sexual fetish or request of the client. Often these requests involve taboo topics that paying customers cannot engage in during real life sexual encounters due to moral and legal ramifications, psychological inhibition, lack of physical ability, unwillingness of a committed partner or the fear of social stigma. Phone sex operators or companies may, by policy or discretion, refuse to entertain certain requests. Many other services accommodate the extreme taboo market by using signifying phrases in their advertising such as “no taboos” or “no restrictions.” Phone sex and the phone sex worker thus provide a semi-anonymous outlet for such unconventional fantasies without consequence beyond the fee involved in the exchange. Sexual roleplaying is a sexual behavior between two or more people in which they take on erotic roles to carry out a sexual fantasy. ... Sexual fetishism, first described as such by Sigmund Freud though the concept and certainly the activity is quite ancient, is a form of paraphilia where the object of affection is a specific inanimate object or part of a persons body. ... This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ... For other meanings of this phrase (book and album titles etc. ... Social stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are against cultural norms. ... This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ...

The most obvious purpose of commercial phone sex may seem to be to provide people with a live masturbation aid, but a select clientele relies on phone sex as a vehicle for revealing intimate thoughts and feelings to a neutral stranger. Phone sex patrons are overwhelmingly male, and for many of these men it is important for their confessor to be a woman, especially when their confessions involve BDSM roles, cross-dressing, pegging, infantilism or homosexual fantasies. It is not uncommon for people to resort to phone sex as an alternative to revealing their secret desires to a therapist, significant other, or friend. If you are looking for the article on Domination and submission in BDSM, try Domination & submission (BDSM)! // Overview Domination and submission refers to a relationship between two subjects, who relate to each other in a hierarchical manner. ... This articles is about cross-dressing in general, that is the act of wearing the clothing of another gender for any reason. ... For other uses, see Pegging (disambiguation). ... Paraphilic infantilism is the desire to wear diapers and be treated as a helpless infant. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... Hokusais The Dream of the Fishermans Wife is an artistic depiction of a sexual fantasy This article is about psychological fantasies. ... Psychotherapy is an interpersonal, relational intervention used by trained psychotherapists to aid clients in problems of living. ... Significant other Significant Other is the second studio album by Limp Bizkit, released on June 22, 1999. ...

In effect, the phone sex worker is a surrogate called upon to serve in various roles or capacities specific to each client. In certain cases, a patron may not need a confidant for sexual stimulation, but may simply wish to hear another person's voice, or want to fulfill some other need, such as a sense of nurturing, sympathy, camaraderie, or other form of emotional intimacy. Surrogate (from Lat. ... This subject is covered in some depth at Intimacy. ...

Phone sex services primarily market to men or women of a particular sexual orientation, and focus on mainstream sexual experiences. Specialized companies also cater to clients who have a certain sexual predilection (e.g., zoophilia, coprophilia, domination/submission, humiliation) or an erotic interest in a specific group (nurses, firemen, college students, older/younger figures, ethnic minorities, etc.) It is not at all unusual for a phone sex service to employ a staff of phone sex performers to meet both mainstream and exotic customer requests. The panoply of specialized phone sex services available and the vast variety of sexual topics submitted to phone sex workers, reflect the incredibly broad spectrum of human sexual behavior, and are indicative of the general need for a sociosexual outlet which mainstream society often fails to provide. Sexual orientation refers to the direction of an individuals sexuality, normally conceived of as falling into several significant categories based around the sex or gender that the individual finds attractive. ... This article is about zoophilia, the emotional and (optionally) sexual attraction of humans to animals. ... Look up coprophilia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... If you are looking for the article on Domination and submission in BDSM, try Domination & submission (BDSM)! // Overview Domination and submission refers to a relationship between two subjects, who relate to each other in a hierarchical manner. ... This article is about sexual practices (i. ... Look up mainstream in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Depending on the service and the method of calling, phone sex can be very expensive.

According to Family Safe Media, professional phone sex generates $4.5 billion in revenue annually.

As a business

The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

Most of today's phone sex services are a managed network of dispatchers (live or automated) and erotic performers who process payment information, verify the legal age of their clients, and perform calls in their own homes on their own telephone lines. The vast majority of modern services use toll-free numbers whereby clients can dial up to request a call with a particular performer using credit cards, Automated Clearing House systems, and a variety of other billing methods. There are still some services that rely upon premium-rate telephone numbers (e.g. 976 and 900 numbers) for billing purposes, although this practice has been largely abandoned due to the high rate of fraud associated with these lines. As a direct result, most telephone companies allow their customers to block outgoing calls to premium-rate telephone numbers. In 1996, the FCC changed regulations on 900 numbers to address abuse of these services by minors and fraud concerns. Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ... A toll-free telephone number (or Freephone number in the UK) is a special telephone number, in which the calling party is not charged for the call by the telephone operator. ... A credit card system is a type of retail transaction settlement and credit system, named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. ... Automated Clearing House (ACH) is the name of an electronic network for financial transactions in the United States. ... Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers for telephone calls during which certain services are provided, and for which prices higher than normal are charged. ... Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers for telephone calls during which certain services are provided, and for which prices higher than normal are charged. ...

Another type of service is the live callback, where the customer contacts a receptionist who tries to find a suitable woman to call him/her back - hence callback.

Like other sex industries, the phone sex industry has taken on new dimensions in the Internet age. There is an ever-growing community of independent phone sex operators who engage in self-promotion. This self-promotion can involve a personalized website where the phone sex performer lists their specialties and services, various methods of advertising (via the traditional methods listed below, or on organized third-party network sites that provide a basic level of privacy for performer and client alike) and/or surfing of sexually themed chat rooms for interested clients. This increase in independent operators is largely due to the fact that information regarding the business is being filtered to the mainstream public. The once close-lipped industry, traditionally inaccessible to amateurs is experiencing a demystification period and resource sites, community forums, and reference materials are more readily available. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Phone sex service providers typically advertise their services in men's magazines, in pornographic magazines and videos, on late-night cable television, and online. Some phone sex services use state-of-the-art customer acquisition techniques such as active database marketing to reach potential clients. These advertising methods almost invariably target men, the primary consumers of phone sex services. “Advert” redirects here. ... This is a list of magazines marketed primarily for men. ... Porn redirects here. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house. ... Online means being connected to the Internet or another similar electronic network, like a bulletin board system. ... Database marketing is a form of direct marketing using databases of customers or potential customers to generate personalized communications in order to promote a product or service for marketing purposes. ... “Advert” redirects here. ...

In the past it was widely believed that phone sex services engaged in shoddy age and billing verification practices due to that fact that people often complained to telephone and credit card companies they didn't recognize the charges for these adult services. This was especially true when premium-rate telephone numbers were widely utilized by the industry. Often such charges were blamed on children illegally accessing the services, or other fraudulent sources.

More often than not, however, these reports were the result of customers who felt embarrassed when the charges appeared in print, who did not wish to reveal their activity to a significant other or who simply did not wish to pay the charges they had incurred. Today, to remain in good standing with their billing processors, most phone sex services are required to take extra care to verify proper billing identities and customer ages. However, the reputation as an outlet for fraudulent activity has remained with the phone sex industry (as with other types of sex industry professions), causing many credit card issuers and billing processors to reject or revoke phone sex businesses for merchant accounts, even where no history of fraud exists. This social stigma is furthered by occurrences on record in which public figures have suffered scandal and career damage when their phone sex activities were disclosed. Significant other Significant Other is the second studio album by Limp Bizkit, released on June 22, 1999. ... Social stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are against cultural norms. ... A scandal is a widely publicized incident involving allegations of wrong-doing, disgrace, or moral outrage. ...

Several online companies provide Internet-based phone sex lines. These services enable callers to post profiles of themselves and then engage in VOIP-based and other types of online sex.

By the end of the 1980s, nearly all of the major local phone companies, plus the major long distance carriers were actively involved in the adult chat line business. The telephone companies would provide billing services for chat line companies. Typically the telephone companies would bill callers to chat lines and then remit 45% of the money collected to chat line operators.

The telephone companies placed the chat line charges on a customers local phone bill. If a customer disputed a charge, the telephone company would usually “forgive” the charge but block the caller from calling any other chat lines.

By 2007, only Verizon, MCI and AT&T remained in the chat line business. Verizon provided billing services to calls made in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine. AT&T and MCI offered nationwide collection services, with a cap of $50 per call.

By 2007, only a few chat line companies remained active. One of the largest, The Providence Telephone Company, consolidated its operations and began to let customers call their chat lines for free. The company generated revenue by selling advertisements on its chat lines, which callers would have to listen to, before being connected to other callers.

According to the Providence Telephone Company, the average length of a call to a chat line varied by sexual orientation. Gay callers would talk for about 20-minuters per call, while straight callers would talk for about 10-minutes per call.

About 30% of all callers were physically challenged (ie) blind or unable to leave their homes.

As a type of virtual sex

"Saucy" Postcard 1905 - 1915

Phone sex does not involve physical contact between parties. Couples may choose to engage in phone sex when the inconvenience of distance makes physical intimacy inopportune. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 352 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (483 × 822 pixel, file size: 148 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Man using telephone Scanned from a (cheaply printed) postcard, c. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 352 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (483 × 822 pixel, file size: 148 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Man using telephone Scanned from a (cheaply printed) postcard, c. ... For the record label, see Postcard Records. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Technologically, phone sex is the older cousin of cybersex and sexual bluechat (text messaging via Bluetooth); however, unlike phone sex, it is unusual for someone to pay for these experiences. By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Bluechat is a direct text chat between two or more users, where every one utilizes a bluetooth device (i. ... SMS arrival notification on a Siemens phone Text messaging, or texting is the common term for the sending of short (160 characters or fewer) text messages, using the Short Message Service, from mobile phones. ... Bluetooth logo This article is about the electronic protocol named after Harald Bluetooth Gormson. ...

Due to the potential for emotional intimacy between those who have engaged in phone sex, it is a matter of some debate whether phone sex is to be considered a form of infidelity when involving a person outside of a committed personal relationship. Nevertheless, phone sex should not be confused with prostitution wherein money is exchanged for real-life sexual services or physical interactions. Look up infidelity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An interpersonal relationship is some relationship or connection between two people. ... Whore redirects here. ... For other meanings of this phrase (book and album titles etc. ...

See also

• Televised sex line
• Obscene phone call

The televised sex line (also described informally as pay-as-you-go soft porn[1] or babe shows[2]) is a style of pornographic television programme that has developed in the United Kingdom since 2002. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

• FTC 900-Number Rules - The Federal Trade Commission's comments on the FCC's "rules designed to curb abusive practices in the pay-per-call industry"

• Pornography revenue

| logo_caption = | seal = US-FederalTradeCommission-Seal. ... The FCCs official seal. ...

References