Maya Petite talks Sex Industry, Cam Modelling & Asian Culture

In a society where sex work is both prevalent and judged, British Pakistani model and cam girl Maya Petite is part of a long list of women challenging the norm.

Born in the heart of Yorkshire, Maya and her family moved to Pakistan when she was 11 years old.

However, an 18-year-old Maya returned to the UK after dropping out of university. 

The sex industry wasn’t initially on the cards as she pursued a medical career but Maya would soon be thrust into being a cam girl upon her friend’s suggestion. 

Maya dipped her toes into the world of live webcam services in 2020. Embracing her newfound passion, she carved out a niche for herself in an industry fraught with stigma and taboo.

Sex workers or those within the industry have always had a level of negativity associated with them.

Despite growing inclusivity, understanding, and safe spaces, sex work is still seen as a ‘dishonourable’ career.

This narrative is especially seen in the South Asian community in the UK and worldwide. 

Whilst more British and South Asian women enter this line of work, they still keep it a secret due to the overwhelming view that women should have ‘respectable’ jobs. 

Unfortunately, many people view sex workers as ‘disgusting’, ‘immoral’, ‘unclean’, and ‘dangerous’. 

But, this is not the case. That’s why Maya has come forward to give a better insight into her journey as a British Asian cam girl. 

In her own words, she dives into the details of being a sex worker, the stereotypes associated with it, and the battle with South Asian culture. 

Why did you decide to pursue a cam modelling career?

I started camming part-time in 2019 and didn’t take it seriously at all.

I signed up on a whim after a drunken night with a friend, and after that, I didn’t think much of it.

I just saw it as something to do to earn a couple of bucks whenever I was bored.

What made me dive into it as a career was Covid!

I genuinely had nothing better to do during the lockdown, so I’d spend hours live-streaming in my mum’s apartment, just making friends and having a goofy old time!

I realised that the more time I spent online, the more my earnings increased and while this seems like a no-brainer now, it opened my eyes to the potential that my little online world held.

I decided then that I should take it seriously, and I started properly investing in technology to make my streams better.

My mum was struggling on a very low salary at the time, and I had no savings at all to help out, so that was a massive motivation to get me to keep working.

My family was pretty working class after my parents got divorced, so I wanted to give back to my nan and mum in the ways they tried to give to me.

What were your initial thoughts when you first went live on cam? 

I vaguely remember my first time on camera.

I’ve always been very good at talking and never shutting up, which I think is important when entertaining online!

I just hit live and didn’t stop speaking for hours and was able to strike up a conversation with even the quietest of viewers!

“I love getting to know people and the viewers were so so lovely!”

I got a lot of freeloaders or pushy people at the beginning of my career, but they quickly realised I was far from a pushover and before long, the majority of my client base were great people.

How did your culture influence your decision to enter the sex industry?

I’d love to say I had the majority of my “important” upbringing in Pakistan, and I did!

I moved there when I was 11, did most of my education, went to uni there, and then came back to the UK when I was 18.

I witnessed a lot of sexual repressions initially before I had my rebellious streak in uni haha!

I was studying medicine and was appalled that so many of the women had such little understanding of their bodies.

I remember being 16, teaching these 20-year-old to-be-doctors that your vagina and urethra are two separate holes.

I’ve always been curious, culture aside, and I remember being younger and my dad stapling the reproduction pages of my massive “book of questions” shut and prying them open because I NEEDED to know what it was all about.

There is such a taboo surrounding sex and our own bodies in Asian culture.

I think that spurred me to break out of the mould and show people that we aren’t repressed at all.

Coming back to the UK, I was also faced with lots of stigmas…people assumed I would be submissive and malleable, even my family members!

I think a lot of it stems from sexual repression.

I could talk about the topic regarding Asian culture for hours but from the get-go, I didn’t want to be put in a box. I wanted to break the stigma as much as I could.

What made you drop out of medical school?

I dropped out of med school for a variety of reasons.

My parents’ divorce was a pivotal point in my life where I began to realise that I genuinely had no idea what I wanted in life at all.

I had just been blindly following everything my parents had been saying without really thinking for myself.

I went on a massive drug, sex and alcohol-fuelled bender before I pulled myself together and realised that I just didn’t want to be a doctor.

I had become pretty famous at my university to the point people would come and ask for autographs, want photos, stare at me, and follow me, all because I was known as the “kutte waali”.

I’d look after the stray dogs because it was the normal thing for me to do. But all the extra attention meant that I was also overly sexualised.

Guys would take photos of me bent over feeding the dogs, and say I was in doggy, it was just horrendous.

I didn’t fit in at all and stuck out too much than I was comfortable with. So, I left. I prefer a quieter life anyway!

“My mum and nan were both super supportive when I returned to the UK.”

It was meant to initially be a brief visit before I’d go back to Pakistan but I realised that I didn’t want to leave, and tried finding my footing in the UK instead!

The rest of my family wasn’t supportive at all, they saw it as me ruining my life because I wouldn’t be a doctor or get a good husband.

Now here I am earning more than most top specialists, while only working 20-hour work weeks.

Life has a way of working out if you’re true to yourself!

Another main goal of mine was just to be financially free, so the thought of working my life away as a doctor was not appealing at all.

I want to earn as much money as possible, as quickly as possible so I can retire early and LIVE!

As a British Asian woman, how have you dealt with stigmas?

The number one stigma is that South Asian women are submissive and have no idea about sex.

I think I break this down with every single breath I take. I’m so in tune with my sexual being that my friends find it somewhat embarrassing.

Nothing is too out there for me to talk about, and I think the more you talk about sex in a natural and open setting, the healthier your understanding of it is!

There’s also the stigma that it isn’t a real job and blah blah blah…

I used to argue with people on Twitter about this but now the conversation is just so boring to me.

There is a reason why those people are stuck in 9-5 jobs they hate. They don’t have the initiative to adapt to change and embrace the extraordinary.

I do, and my limited company and investment funds speak for themselves in that regard.

There’s also the stigma that my family don’t support me or I come from a broken family.

I was privately educated for most of my life and excelled in my education to the point I was on track to being Pakistan’s youngest female doctor.

That’s just a path I didn’t want to take, and that’s completely okay!

My family support me and loves me, and I have quite a few adoring friends.

People look at sex workers as some sort of anomaly but the truth is we are just extremely normal people, who are offering certain services.

Chances are you wouldn’t be able to tell who a sex worker even is on the streets.

Most of us dress pretty conservatively, don’t show a lot of skin, and barely wear makeup. Your own mother could be a sex worker for all you know!

The only stigma that I can’t break is the one that sex workers are ditsy. I am, notoriously, incredibly ditsy! Haha!

Do you feel a responsibility to advocate for others from similar backgrounds?

I regularly get told that I’m the only Pakistani cam girl people know of and I genuinely think that’s true.

With sex in our culture being so taboo, it’s no surprise that Pakistanis wouldn’t dare sign up to become a cam girl.

“The repercussions would be too severe.”

I don’t see myself as a representative because I understand the dangers that come with it.

But I do hope that a lot of Asian women can gain confidence and at least a little bit of insight into their own sexuality and how they can embrace it, even if they don’t want to share it with anyone else!

Have you faced any backlash?

I’ve received A LOT of backlash from the community about my job.

I’ve been told that I wasn’t raised as a proper Muslim, been sent death threats, and I’ve been told I’m not welcome in Pakistan!

I find it funny because these are usually the same people who stroke their d*cks to me with one hand while typing hate with the other.

It all stems from that lack of male control, I think.

The agenda is that women can only be seen as sexual if the man has the power.

The fact that I am aware of my sexuality, how I can control it, and aware that these men are unable to make a woman cum even if the directions to were written right in front of them…it scares them.

I’ve had people from my university, who I know have had sex before marriage, slut shame me for what I do.

It just boggles my mind how hypocritical these people can be.

If you want to watch porn, someone has to produce it, you know?

Muslim countries are some of the biggest consumers of porn in the world.

It’s human nature to get horny, and if they can’t casually hook up, of course, they’re going to masturbate and need content to watch while they do it…so f*ck knows why they hate me so much! 

What kind of acts/services do viewers tell you to do? 

My sessions vary so much that it’s impossible to say what people ask me for on average.

I get asked for relationship advice, to recite the bee movie script in a bee costume, to rub oil on my feet, to wear a hijab and berate them in an Urdu accent.

“Then I also get asked to just plain old masturbate with them.”

Of course, I’ve been asked to do extreme fetishes and I’ve even been asked to do illegal things.

The only limits I have are nothing illegal, obviously, but other than that I’m open to talk about anything!

Has becoming a mother impacted your view on your career?

I don’t think my perspective on my career has changed at all since becoming a mother.

If anything, my respect for the immense amount of luck I have for having my profession has vastly increased.

I’m able to be such a present mother because I don’t have to rush off for a 9-5 every day.

I can stay at home, have slow mornings with my family, get out of bed on my own time, go to the farmer’s markets, bask in the sun whenever I want to…and then work when everyone is asleep.

My job has given me the one thing that I’ve always wanted – freedom.

I don’t have to pay for anyone else to look after my child, I can do it with my family.

I can go on holiday with them whenever I want to and never have to miss a big day for my job.

It’s just so lovely being able to be there whenever I have to be. It’s also allowed me to be able to breastfeed, which is so important to me!

I’d have to give up if I went back to work after a year, but I can keep going until I feel we need to stop!

The financial freedom this job has given me is perfect for being a parent.

What advice would you offer to young women?

I think if you’re hesitant because of societal pressure and taboo, my advice would be don’t join the industry at all.

I think it’s naive to think that being empowering will suddenly change the entire culture around sex in the Asian community.

It’s something that needs to be dealt with slowly and in the correct way.

The pure fact of the situation is that your porn WILL get leaked, you WILL get doxxed, your family WILL find out.

Whoever is thinking about going into porn needs to understand that it’s not a matter of if it’s a matter of when.

So if you’re not willing for your family and the Asian community to completely cut you off… then don’t do it.

“It’s also so easy to be blackmailed as an Asian creator who isn’t out to their family and friends.”

The most important thing is to have a good support network.

If you think your family is liberal enough to accept it, then go ahead! But don’t just jump in head first, it’s foolish.

What do you believe are the biggest misconceptions about sex work?

The biggest misconception is that we don’t have a real job.

I’ve spent so much time arguing with incels on Twitter about this that I’m just tired.

If you don’t think it’s a real job, carry on thinking that.

But I’ll enjoy being retired at 45, working on my silly little hobbies because my “not job” allowed me to do so.

The majority of established sex workers pay an INSANE amount of tax – national insurance, income tax, corporate tax, and VAT.

Then we have all of our business expenses, our rent, utilities, toys, and costumes.

Then all of our filming equipment, lighting, aesthetic setup, filming time and editing time.

I think with the rise of OnlyFans too, people think it’s so easy to just make porn.

One 30-minute video takes about a week to plan, strategise, gather costumes for, prepare a script for, film, set up, take down, edit, and produce trailers for.

Not to mention the fact that people have employees!

I employ my partner for my business, there is just always so much work to be done! It’s never-ending haha! But so much fun!

Maya Petite’s journey illuminates the intricate interplay between individual choice and societal expectations.

Through her candid reflections and unwavering authenticity, Maya challenges us to reconsider our preconceptions about sex work and cultural taboos.

As Maya continues to navigate her path, her story serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of self-determination and solidarity in the face of stigma and prejudice.

We move closer to a more inclusive and compassionate society by amplifying voices like Maya’s.