The ASMR/roleplay video “Possessive Bully Can’t Stop Kissing You” by Ubel Loss Ch. tallied up 162,230+ views between its upload date of June 25th, 2023 and July 23rd, 2023. While labeled as “M4A” (Male for Anyone), it also uses the “#m4m” hashtag and is from a channel centered largely around gay content. In many of this channel’s uploads, the speaker plays various “Dom” roles in a largely one-sided roleplay with the listener.
On July 21st, Youtube demonetized the video and removed the creator from the partner program.
A screenshot of ubelloss’s thread explaining that YouTube demonetized their channel.
YouTube did not remove the video, however. Why would they? It’s getting clicks.
Just another day for YouTube (to be hypocrites)
None of this is particularly revelatory for anyone that’s made even mildly spicy content in public spaces, particularly if it’s gay. YouTube designs its labyrinthine “Customer Service” specifically to confuse and obstruct any content creators other than the most popular view-catchers.
That part of this content de-monetization process is somewhat bog standard for YouTube. The details of this case, however, are particularly common in the ASMR community, and highlight both the wild hypocrisy of YouTube’s confusing version of a Roth test and, perhaps more importantly, a content vacuum that porn studios could (and, this author will argue, should) invest in.
RELATED: No Gag Reflex: The Joys of Aural Sex
The sound of offending content
ASMR, an abbreviation for “autonomous sensory meridian response,” refers to a sensation of tingling or goosebumps that occurs in response to specific audio or visual triggers. For certain individuals, it’s believe that these sensations originate from the skull and extend down the neck, spine, or limbs. Did you get a sensation running down your spine when you put your hand in a box of packing Styrofoam? Does a whisper in your ear make you shudder? You may have experienced ASMR.
The platform flagged Ubeloss’s video for violating “Sex” and “Nudity” guidelines. Yet, the video only contains one still image of text, and there is no sex that occurs anywhere in the video (unless “sex” now consists of affectionately calling someone “baby” and making about 30-40 seconds worth of kissing sounds.) Of its 15 minute run time, over 10 minutes of it is storytelling, and the remaining five is confessing emotions. There is far raunchier stuff on day-time TV, much less on the front page of YouTube.
Out-of-nowhere demonetization is common in the ASMR community. When it comes to queer content, it’s one strike and you’re out. (The viewer will still get ads, though.)
ASMR’s origins, and why YouTube has no idea what to do with it
So what does ASMR do, aside from give you tingles? In addition to physical responses, individuals often express feelings of tranquility and, in some people, arousal. Despite there being only a few peer-reviewed studies on this phenomenon, with an approximate 20% of the population experiencing some form of ASMR reaction (per UCLA Health), interest in ASMR is growing, and has grown steadily since the term was first coined in 2010.
The origin of the term dates to a user on the online forum steadyhealth.com named Jennifer Allen. She proposed that the phenomenon’s name because she felt those words, and the acronym, were more objective and clinical than alternative terms for the sensation. In short, she wanted to avoid giving the term, by her value judgement, an unwanted affiliation with an orgasm.
As we have seen over and over again since the dawn of history—and particularly on the internet—if something makes a human horny, they are going to be driven to connect to others of like minds, clinical terms be damned. Even though ASMR was (and, make no mistake, is) founded in a real physical trigger that does not necessarily have anything to do with sexual arousal, the inverse is also true. The Jennifer Allens’ of the world might hate the conflation, but erotic ASMR, after a decade, is not only here to stay as a creative roleplay outlet, but it’s thriving in spite of YouTube’s continual attempts to squash it, and in spite of a history of attempting to desexualize it.
ASMR, like any artform, isn’t just going to go away because it makes you(tube) uncomfortable
Consider, for example, the case of CardlinAudio. Cardlin is one of ASMR Roleplay’s most successful voice actors, and has built a career around romantic and therapeutic comfort videos. His natural acting and meticulous attention to providing gender-inclusive audios of the vast majority of his work has allowed him to cast a wide net without ever sacrificing his creativity or vision. It’s an audience and body of work he’s built up for years, and like most ASMR professionals, he keeps more sexualized content exclusive to his 2,000+ member Patreon.
On the exact other end of “Wholesomeness” is Rambol_VA‘s bully series. I probably don’t have to spell out how a dom-sub bully-nerd fantasy might play out, and how it’s fueled that fantasies of gay porn studios and viewers for as long as media exists. Rambol’s work is just about the edge of what YouTube seems to allow, and given how far he goes in some of his videos, it’s safe to say his sadomasochistic Patreon only content goes further.
If not YouTube, then where will ASMR go? (A: Probably Patreon)
And somewhere between those two levels of heat sits GavVA. The “Starline” series sweeps the listener into the depths of space, offering two hours of space-faring action, adventure, and alien romance through ASMR. “Starline” is a space opera radio-play with elements of choose-your-own-adventure paths, a kinky inter-species love affair, and more. It’s a wild and intense production that defies most genre labels one could put on it, and judging by the 2,000,000+ views it has, I think it’s safe to say there’s an audience for it.
There are so many talented voice actors and script writers within the ASMR community that are not only pushing the boundaries of what ASMR means and could be, but they’re doing it in a defiantly queer way. The question isn’t whether there’s demand for ASMR—both sexualized and clean—but rather who, or what entity, will most intelligently invest in the creators already making the in-demand content that may or may not have a home anywhere on the internet.
…except behind a Patreon, for now.
Sources: CardlinAudio, Ubel Loss Ch. , GavVA, Rambol_VA, UCLA Health, ASMR University
