Nica Noelle, until 45 minutes ago a perfect stranger, has my big toe in her mouth. Between kisses and sucks, she whispers breathily about how cute my feet are and presses her thumbs deep into my arches. Noelle is a porn director and actress and she has driven seven hours to my place in Queens, New York, from her home in Massachusetts, to give me this very special foot rub. She unbuttons her shirt, freeing her breasts, pink nipples erect in spite of the August heat and wields my foot across her exposed skin.
A quick review. ASMR describes the experience of tingling on the scalp and the back of the neck caused by triggers ranging from whispering to fingernail tapping to hair brushing.
A standard ASMR video consists of one person, usually a woman, looking straight to camera and whispering inanities or role-playing a nurse or a doctor or a massage therapist. That is to say, they are doubling their pleasure, masturbating as they experience the tingles. Can you blame them?
I think the line is thin. So, I am not surprised to find that same feeling spreading down my body as Noelle, who has long, tangled blonde hair and an innocent face that looks far younger than her 45 years, whispers coquettishly to the camera.
The brain is receiving stimuli that it perceives as safe and trustworthy, like the soft voice of a clinician or the grooming touches of a hairdresser β that causes the release of endorphins. This might, in fact, explain why ASMRtists rail so aggressively against any depiction of what they do as erotic.
