Illustration by Aditi Singh.

Audio porn, or audio erotica, is exactly what it sounds like: an audio recording that is erotic in nature or contains pornographic material. There are many types of audio porn from stories that narrate a sexual encounter (in either first or third person point-of-view), to masturbation tutorials that instruct and guide the user on how to touch themselves, and even recordings that are simply sounds of people moaning and enjoying sex.

The two most popular apps for audio porn are Dipsea and Quinn. Dipsea is mostly professionally produced recordings, while Quinn is a creator-driven site. Both apps charge a monthly member fee and the price ranges between $5 and $13. Nevertheless, there is also plenty of free audio porn on websites like Reddit and Tumblr.

The strength of audio porn is its versatility. Audio porn can be formatted in so many different ways that there is a type of audio for everyone’s interest and comfort level. There is so much variety in audio porn styles that a person can choose how explicit, intimate, or narrative they want their pornographic material to be. This versatility is innovative because traditional pornography isn’t as flexible in its permutations due to the limitations of the visual medium. Therefore, audio porn is more accessible and welcoming to a wide variety of people with different emotional needs, as well as visual impediments.

Speaking of variety, there is audio porn of every genre and topic. Every imaginable scenario, interest, kink, and location can be found in audio format. Whereas the content of traditional porn is limited by its visuals, audio porn uses a listener’s imagination to construct a scene,  and anything can be imagined.

Visual porn has to invest resources like money and time into costumes, location, props, and actors to create an image for the screen (and more often than not, there aren’t enough resources to make these visuals look good). Audio porn does not have that limitation. Audio porn can place its listener in any location with any partner, allowing for creative storylines to develop with no roadblocks. This gives audio porn the potential to cover even the most niche or imaginative sexual interests.

Tapping into a person’s imagination rather than visuals has other benefits. As mentioned, traditional porn is all about visuals: faces, bodies, genitals, and of course, the infamous cum-shot. These visuals are recorded by a camera, and the viewer can only passively consume the image presented to them. The viewer can not modify or interact with these visuals.

Audio porn, on the other hand, allows engagement with the material. While listening to the recording, a person’s imagination will tailor the image in their head to their hyper-specific desires. A person can picture the scene and the people exactly how they want to. The listener does not have to rely on someone else’s ideal of beauty to be aroused because they are constructing it themselves. This is important because it creates a space for people who are not usually welcome in traditional porn.

Audio porn is inclusive of underrepresented communities such as people of color, disabled people, fat people, trans people, and more — people who struggle to see their bodies being portrayed as sexy without it being fetishized. Audio porn’s lack of visuals creates room for these types of bodies to be placed into the narrative by the listener without relying on a porn executive to do it for them.

Without the visuals, there’s less room for comparison. Traditional porn is unrealistic and often unattainable. The average person does not look like a porn star. Many women do not relate to the visuals of traditional porn because they can’t see themselves reflected in the type of women presented in it, or what the male gaze wants to observe in the sexual encounter.

Traditional porn has been manufactured for decades to cater to male interests, alienating women (and queer people), in the process by shrinking them into objects of male pleasure. The non-visual quality of audio porn reverts these effects — and it’s why 60 percent of people who listen to audio porn are women. Audio porn does not ask women to engage in pre-established notions of beauty to be considered desirable. Women can show up as themselves in these scenes and still receive pleasure.

Traditional porn is fragmentary — only zooming into desirable body parts and climactic moments that communicate an erotic image which often makes people feel dehumanized. Traditional porn does not ask its participants to show up as complete beings, but rather, as a means to the ends of ejaculating. Audio porn does the opposite.

In audio porn, the focus is on the buildup of emotion throughout the experience. There is no image that “proves” arousal was obtained, therefore there is no end goal. The entire recording is the experience that can be felt. Audio porn is more than just the climax. It is about the feelings that lead to orgasm.

Removing visuals creates a more intimate and personal experience. Even a scene that is filmed in a first-person perspective contains distance between the viewer and the material because the viewer is not actually in the scene. Now, a person using their imagination through audio porn is in the scene. The people who make audio porn often lean into this intimate connection by framing their characters as the sexual and/or romantic partner of the audience, so the listener can pretend they are engaging in an emotional relationship in addition to a sexual encounter.

Audio porn for a lot of people is not just about arousal, but feeling wanted, desired, and loved. Content creators will often also add “aftercare” at the end of their recordings (such as the voice asking the audience if they want to cuddle or watch TV together) to further elevate the illusion that their character is emotionally invested in caring for the audience. The people who engage in this type of audio porn seek a profound connection in their fantasy that traditional porn cannot provide.

Audio porn can be an experience that is just as emotionally rewarding and empowering in reclaiming pleasure and love as it is sexually satisfying.

Whatever your sexual interests are, give audio porn a try. It’s discreet with headphones on and perfect for an adventurous mind. You might just open up a whole new erotic experience for yourself.