Why We're All Getting Off To Audio Erotica

If you haven’t been caught out in public, scrolling away until you accidentally blare a ‘men whimpering’ TikTok across the office, well… you simply haven’t lived. Welcome to the age of audio erotica: also known as spoken word filth coming straight through your headphones to get you, well, coming.

Audio erotica has become a big bedroom trend in recent years. From homemade-to-order voice notes on Reddit to pay-to-subscribe apps, sexually adventurous audiophiles are embracing the burgeoning variety of steamy audio content allowing listeners to explore their sensuality and fantasies - in a discreet and immersive way.

Just this month, female-founded app Quinn raised the game with a fangirl-baiting teaser campaign, ultimately revealing All of Us Strangers/Fleabag star and all-round sexpot Andrew Scott as the voice of their latest spicy tale. At the realisation that the Hot Priest was playing  Robb The Protector, a historical hottie, the internet (and HANX HQ) collectively lost its mind.

So, why is audio porn revving up sex drives all over the world? Listen carefully…

Embracing spiciness

The rise in popularity of audio erotica is the increasing normalization of discussing and consuming erotic content. With social media platforms like TikTok driving positive conversations around sexuality and pleasure, many of us are feeling more empowered to embrace and openly talk about our desires. Not only is this shift in societal attitudes helping destigmatise the exploration of erotica, it can also help us to explore, identify and give voice to our desires - without the ick that mainstream pornography can sometimes inspire. It can be difficult to relax and enjoy porn when worrying about exploitative practices or ethically dubious production, and the limited depictions of the kind of bodies or acts that are sexy also leave much to be desired. For women, nb and queer folk, audio erotica can offer a more inclusive, exciting way to get in the mood. For instance, Quinn offers 67+ stories from non-binary voices, whilst Dipsea has a Queer Romance category featuring her + her DIY fantasies turned reality. Audio erotica leaves it up to your imagination, penchant for an Irish accent and all.

Icons of Intimacy

In the same way that our favourite podcast hosts can feel like parasocial besties, there’s a thrilling intimacy to audio erotica. Like a lover whispering, or moaning, into your ear, seductive stories, or even instructions for how to touch yourself, unfold with irresistable erotic charge, caressing your imagination. It’s little wonder that celebrities from You’s Victoria Pedretti to Grey’s Anatomy’s Jesse Williams, and now Andrew Scott have lent their voices to reading erotic stories. Where A-listers would likely have traditionally turned down content specifically linked to masturbation and pleasure, due to associated stigma, their involvement is just proof that audio porn is far more than wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am. Celebrity endorsement has cemented audio erotica’s place in our sexual cultural repertoire, and the hype only helps attract a wider audience.

Turn It Up

So, you’re sold on the concept and want to get started with a spicy story. Our advice? 

• Be adventurous. Whether you’re settling in for a night in with your favourite sex toy, or amping up date night with your partner/s, try out various stories. You might find that pure moans get you going, or a I-must-know-who-takes-over-the-kingdom historical epic with a boatload of boinking is the one for you. 
• Bring lubricant to the party to keep things moving without friction. Choose a water-based, sensitive formula as this can be used with silicone sex toys such as Cindy, as well as making sure your vagina isn’t irritated by harsh nasties.
• If, like 70% of UK women, you experience libido fluctuations, audio erotica can be a really useful to help reignite your desire. Lifestyle stressors, such as work or relationship worries, can massively impact our sex drive and it can make switching into the mood for sex tricky or even impossible. Just as making time to get your body moving or heading to therapy are normal and beneficial to your health, consider setting aside solo time to focus on supporting your desires. Audio erotica can be a low/no pressure way to focus on what tickles your fancy, with no expectation for you to even touch yourself, or reach orgasm. Note: there is no ‘normal’ level of libido, and if you’re perfectly happy with your level of desire, that’s entirely your call!
  
  

Want more?

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