INTERVIEW by MOLLY SIMMONS
Arabelle Raphael and Petit Mort leave no stone unturned in this in-depth feature on this cult classic bombshell. From goddess worship, hyper-femininity, to the role and emotional labor of social media, we covered it all in our conversation with her.
PETIT MORT (MOLLY SIMMONS)
To start us off, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself—about your journey into the industry, where you started, and where you are now?
ARABELLE RAPHAEL
Prior to sex work, I was just a nude model. I became more and more interested in making more graphic imagery and content, so I applied to multiple sites and was accepted and didn’t have a particularly fun time. Right after that, unfortunately, I lost my home because of choosing to do sex work—so I had to work really fast. I was working with kids at the time and just didn’t really want that kind of… parent finding out—that drama. So I applied at the Lusty Lady, which is no longer open, it was a worker-owned co-op and unionized peep show in San Francisco. I auditioned there and started camming via—also no longer existing—King Clive. Or I don’t think it exists, at least not in the shape or form it was before. Really quickly, I realized that camming full time was not for me, and I started doing all kinds of different in-person sex work as well. So all really fast—this is all like, within like, six months.