"Brain Orgasms" à la ASMR Artists
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is an art form, but is it also just a term for people who want to get their rocks off yet are too prude to masturbate?
Have you ever experienced shivers down your spine in the best possible way? Well, these exhilarating tinglings can occur via someone gently scratching your scalp or that game we used to play when we were kids (crack an egg on your head, let the yolk drip down...). You get it now? Get this, these are often referred to as, "brain orgasms." By whom? I have no idea, considering I feel as though my brain orgasms all the time--- like when I get on a creative tear, and not just in the bedroom. Click bait nickname aside, we're talking Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR). So let's get into some of the different kinds, examples, and how this further solidifies the argument that we, human beings, are all overtly perverts.
ASMR cannot only be defined as something that triggers the physical sensations I described above (tingling) , but also as psychological feelings such as mood, mental state, and an overall sense of well being i.e. euphoria, calmness, sleepiness. Think of the plethora of cliche background sleep machine soundtracks of nature or running water or white noise.Those are all ASMR, but, would you imagine, that some people get these feelings from the sounds of humans eating, tapping, or cutting? Well you could, or you can just watch our featured Insta Art Video accentuating a knife making its way through a phone book. #instaartotw
There are tons of ASMR videos on YouTube that you can watch and listen to, because visual stimuli, not just physical or auditory stimuli, can result in its desired effects. And, sometimes just can't seem to pin point why. For example, the painter, Bob Ross. How do we watch him?! He's so slow and boring and there's 800 things I'd rather be streaming on demand. Yet, I don't change the channel. How does Ross just keep mixing paints, changing brushes, whispering so slowly, and people keep watching, as that bush gets a little bit bigger, and over the course of an hour, finally turns into a tree. ASMR is why. ASMR is very similar to hypnotism in my mind. All of these are examples of external stimuli, however sources of pleasure can be aroused internally by simply just imagining Bob Ross painting or meditating.
Whether or not Bob Ross was intentionally trying to put us under hypnosis with his soft spoken and brush stroking attitude...? Maybe, at some level. So who are all of these people purposefully recording high quality sounds of themselves eating for 3 hours or washing the dishes to entrance us? Well, they are called ASMR Artists, or ASMRtists. ASMRtists are creating (with their own individual flair) something to please the masses, aka all of us ASMR junkies, and I commend them for that. Some artists just have a knack, some a practiced and developed skill, and some are born with the sense of soothe. Nevertheless, I find almost all ASMR artwork fascinating.
I would further define it as recorded/streamed/documented performance art (with really great sound equipment) specifically with the intention of evoking the more pleasantly palatable or relaxing sensations on the spectrum. Don't worry, this article is sound free as I considered hearing any upon arrival might make you freak out. [Not the goal this time.]
I often induce an element of intentionally/unintentionally elicited disgust in my performance pieces, so I might not be much of a mainstream ASMRtist---my potential "ASMRtwork" landing more along an eccentric line of ASMR that would border on the edge of fetishism merely because of the percent of the population "aroused" by it would be so minute. Fuck sexism, these are the kind of double standards that piss me off, the stereotypical categorizations of alternative human sexuality that ultimately result in taboo.
Since when has desiring, seeking, entertaining, and stimulating our fancies in any form of eroticism other than genital on genital (because whatever the hell these days) intercourse not been labeled a fetish? Oh, Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. I mean there was such a roundabout demand for ASMR art that ASMRists needed to get busy on the whispering or blowing in your ear recordings like a damn phone sex operator (not that there's anything wrong with that). All I'm saying is own your shit enjoyers/art lovers, and quit hiding behind a fancier, more acceptable, or at least unpronounceable term like Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response as you jerk off with a seemingly clean browser history. It is my opinion that the "normies" not getting physical sexual orgasms from ASMR are the real suburban sexual deviants of society.
And if you're still not sold on my thesis, at least as far as calculated jargon is concerned, ASMR scenarios that are consciously created with the purpose of eliciting ASMR sensations are called "ASMR role-plays." [Think about that next time you're getting a massage at a spa]. #happyending
And I'll finish you off with some white noise brought to you by the rabbit vibrator...
Are you an ASMR expert, ejnoyer or ASMRtist? We would love to know more about your unique experiences and preferences, portfolios, and where you stand on the ASMR "fancy for fetish" debate. Comment below or via the Contact tab above.