For those who have long been mesmerized by the therapeutic charm of ASMR, audio porn may be love at first sound.
While conventional porn usually comes with graphic photos or videos, audio erotica does away with visual stimulation completely. Instead, sultry voices lure users into a sensual aural experience where they’re free to fill in visual gaps with their own fantasies. The same audio track can have you frolicking with a partner by a lake or doing the dirty with a stranger in a movie theater — your imagination is the limit.
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Audio porn has been praised for its refreshing inclusivity when it comes to gender and body types, and since experiencing a surge in popularity during the pandemic, the medium has become the new favorite bedtime buddy for many. There’s no denying that the golden age of audio erotica has come.
Anyone can enjoy audio porn but it is especially popular among women for its focus on foreplay and female sexuality. Caroline Spiegel, founder of audio erotica website Quinn, told VICE that there are far more female users on the platform than male users.
“It could be for a lot of different reasons,” she said, suggesting that audio erotica may be “better aligned with female desire and fantasy.”
It hits the spot for many women that conventional types of porn just can’t quite reach. “Young women are very shrewd and voracious consumers of content, yet they are underserved when it comes to erotic content,” Spiegel said.
She was inspired to start Quinn after discovering audio erotica in college and finding it nearly impossible to get turned on by conventional porn.
“Audio erotica felt like it was made with me and my desires in mind. It made me feel hot and wanted,” she said.
Since it launched in 2019, Quinn has become one of the most popular platforms for audio porn, known for content that engages listeners. In its library are cheeky playlists like “Hard at Work,” “Boyfriend Energy,” and “Quarantine Edition,” which cater to listeners of different tastes. Users can also upload their own audio porn.
“Most of the audios on Quinn are POV audios. That means that the creator is talking to you as if you are in the room having sex with them. That might sound stressful, but it’s really so hot and keeps you focused and in the moment,” said Spiegel.
Besides POV audios, other types of audio erotica can be found on platforms like Dipsea, an app that produces its stories in-house; Ferly, which has a focus on mindfulness; and Literotica, which features more fiction and fantasy content.
Despite the size of the porn industry, women are typically shortchanged as consumers of conventional, male gaze-y porn. In contrast, audio porn pays more attention to female control, a feature that users have found empowering.
“For me as a listener, it is a form of escape, particularly during the pandemic and lockdown,” Wkdfaerie, an avid audio erotica listener and budding creator, told VICE. “The creativity of the audios, the connection that I feel to the content, the scenarios that I imagine in my mind — it’s a wonderful way to explore and experience this side of my personal wants, needs, and desires.”
The lack of visuals in audio erotica also allows listeners to fill in the gaps with their imagination, often giving them unparalleled control of their erotic fantasies.
“As opposed to visual pornography, I enjoy the ability to create and imagine my own scene within an audio. It’s entirely up to my imagination and not presented like visual erotica,” said Wkdfaerie.
Audio erotica can be consumed in a variety of settings. Some listen to it first thing in the morning; some do it right before bedtime; some play it during bath time in candlelight.
With audio porn, creators have also found a safe space to indulge in their erotic fantasies.
When Wkdfaerie first became an audio erotica creator about two months ago, she started with “ramblefaps,” where somebody shares the sound of their moans and murmurs while they are getting off.
“This was the easiest genre for me to get started in as it required little to no preparation,” she said. From there, she began experimenting with improvisations (narrating her personal fantasies) and script fills (reading scripts written by other people), mainly posting her creations on Reddit.
“As a former musician, I thoroughly enjoy the creativity of erotic audio,” said Wkdfaerie. “The cadence, the timbre, the phrasing and how it can elicit feelings and responses and so much more.”
In particular, her Australian accent, spoken in what she calls her “dulcet baritone voice,” has been well-received by listeners. But that’s all she’s willing to divulge about her identity.
“I enjoy imagining the [voice artist] being someone of my own choice and likewise it’s important to me to be a blank slate for my audios,” she said, explaining why she has refrained from revealing her age or appearance to her listeners. “I want to be anyone the listener wants me to be.”
And at a time when most people are looking for an escape, audio porn has become a much-needed distraction.
“My target audience are all people who like to be out of reality for a few minutes,” audio erotica creator Sammy’s Place told VICE. “Just those who simply like to let their imagination run wild.”
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