GenderBenders.com - Hot sexy shemales and lovely lustful ladyboys!
A fine howdya-do again my good friends. As always, it sure is swell for you to be able to join me as I continue my excursions along some of the hottest paths the steamy side of the internet has to offer. Again, I'm gonna show off a little by provin' my versatility as a porn cam fan by reviewing another site that's intended for folk who like to "Bend it like Beckham" when it comes to gender. And that's the best gag you'll ever get out of me! It's intended to introduce you to my review of GenderBenders.com.
This shemales site is another one that seems to have been around forever - since 1997 in fact, and was built by VSMedia, a company who provide customised web cam comms for folk all around the world, but especially in California I guess, which is where they are based. I couldn't find much else out about GenderBenders.com because their site's set up to reject archivin', so your guess is as accurate as mine if you're going to try and guess what they have been up to all these years.
Must say I ain't too keen on "GenderBenders" as a name for the site, It's almost as bad as "BongaCams", but perhaps not quite. I know what people who "bend" their gender tend to get up, and the models on this site have more re-assigned their gender than bent it. If you're kinda puzzled why I don't use the name of the site much in the review, you can guess why.
How I found the site
First impressions time ... where is everyone? No, I don't mean the good folk readin' my review, I mean the hot shemale models I was kinda expectin' to see at the site. From the landing page, there were two sections - "Most Popular Right Now", and "Live Trans Below". There were four models in the first section, and two in the second. Then the site updated itself - and the live transsexuals (and transvestites - the site has both) simply disappeared! It doesn't really say much about the site if it seems that there are so few models online, and I was viewin' the site around 7pm EST, so there should have been plenty more available surely? Yow.
The site does look quite nice in black with highlights in neon pink and blue, and you use the menu along the top to find your way around. The "Live Chat" button throws you straight into chattin' with a random tranny sex cam model, and "Videos" which - well you can guess, but you can't watch the vids unless you've signed up. The "Profiles" page takes you to the profiles of the models at the site, but its kinda hard to tell which of the models are online or not. Also, some of the models looked ... well ... one hundred percent female. I'm sure you understand there's more ways to sort men from ladies than what they've got (or not got) swingin' between their legs (hips are a dead giveaway) so I was gettin' kinda confused by now. The other menu items are "VIP" where you can sign up for some tasty extras, and "Support" which is pretty self-evident. Oh, and the obligatory "Join FREE!" button.
Okay, so I am still scratching my head a little at the site so far, so let's get on with the cams themselves. I headed back to the landing page but there still seemed a grand total of four models available to chat with. Each model has a helpful five-star rating, and you can pick up their bio from the thumbnail view, and that's all you get. Click on the thumbnail or hit the "Chat Now" button to get chattin'. I did so, and as expected I was the only dude in the room. Nothing much seemed to happenin', and when I tried to get chattin' nothing changed, except for an ad poppin' up tell me to sign up and buy some credits. Oh well, so much for freebies ...
Special features
Well, you can watch videos (if you think there's no such thing as free porn anywhere on the web) for a price, but if you're dying to get your hands on some extra goodness, then you can pay for VIP membership. Here you get full access to the site, including preview videos and access to VIP forums. There's also a lot of "FREE" content on the site, but you can only get access to this "FREE" content if you pay for it. Erm ... sure, that makes sense. If you're a VIP you can also record your own shows and have access to special galleries and videos.
Ease of registration
There's plenty of "sign up" buttons all around the site, so it ain't too taxin' to become a full member.
Pick your club nickname, your password and type in a valid email address, and you're all set. I was hoping to indulge in a little free chattin' once I had signed up, but no luck, as all the models I tried has blocked "Basic" members from chattin'. Nice!
Types of chat
As it turns out, free chat ain't really free at the site. If you spend too long in a tranny sex cam "open room" as they call it, they boot you from the site and it's 24 hours before you can chat for "free" again! There are three types of Private Show - 1on1 shows, group shows and voyeur shows. Naturally, 1on1 chat is private between you and the performer. Groups shows are where a number of viewers can chip in to start a shemale sex chat show that they all can enjoy. A voyeur show costs a third of what the other shows cost, but you can't chat to the model while the show is in progress.
Video quality
The video quality is okay, but the chat window seems to have a mind of its own, and keeps re-sizing itself. You can actually see what is going on in live shows, but the chat window is really, really tiny. The cam action is smooth, but not always the best, and there's no mention at all of HD or anything.
Prices
You can get 120 FREE credits if you register your credit card at the site. The only other options are 420 credits for $29.99 or 720 credits for $59.99. Of course by buying credits you get a certain number of credits for "FREE" included in the cost of buying them. Alternatively, you can buy VIP membership for $39.95 a month (which renews every 30 days), plus you get 120 "FREE" credits to use.
Payment methods
Only plastic folks. If you can flash a Visa, MasterCard, JCB, Diners Club or Discover logo on your card, then you are a-ok.
Number of models
Now here's the thing - the site says that there are a 17,310 models to chat to. But I swear to the Lord Jesus that when I was doing my investigatin' for this review, there were a grand total of six online. I have no idea where the other 17,304 were - perhaps the shemale convention was in town.
Customer support
If you do get stuck at the site, then you're spoilt for choice. You can use email, or phone (both US and outside US), and there's even a mailing address, which is very rare for a sex cam site. There's also a message system, and a pretty good set of FAQs.
Pros and Cons
Pros
✔ - The site's nicely designed, I guess.
✔ - Lots of different chattin' options, including "Voyeur" mode if you're shy.
✔ - Quite a few extra bits, especially if you're prepared to go VIP.
Cons
✖ - The models. Where the heck are they hidin' ?
✖ - I admit I'm a bit of a dumb hick, but I found the site a mite confusin'.
✖ - Lots of "FREE" stuff to be had, as long as you pay for it!
Conclusion
It sure is good that I don't go in much for head-scratchin', as I find GenderBenders.com (sorry, still can't get used to that name) as confusin' as a Chinese crossword. Where are the models? I'm sure I must be doing something wrong as during the couple of hours I was on the site the highest number of models I counted was six, and at times it was down to two. It's a really good thing there's some other bits and pieces to do at the site, because you're gonna get bored pretty darn quick. The cams were okay, but the "FREE" chat I experienced was not exactly brilliant.
It's all a bit strange. I suggest you head over to GenderBenders.com and see what you find. If you do find where all the models is hidin', be sure to drop me an email, you hear?
