Essay #2: Actors, ASMRtists: Female ASMRtists as Performers, Products and Billboards
Actors, ASMRtists:
Female ASMRtists as Performers, Products and Billboards
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ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response (Merriam-Webster). These tingles and shivers occur in response to “triggers”: whispering, tapping, and/or repetitive movements (Poerio). Interestingly, it’s estimated that approximately 20% of people actually experience autonomous sensory meridian response (Britannica).
When ASMR videos first began circulating the Internet, creators cared about producing quality sounds. Visuals didn’t matter. Videos were short (see below!) with little to no visuals. Creators were anonymous – ASMR was still on the fringes (Dickson).
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Screenshot from WhisperingLife's YouTube video, "Whisper 1 - hello!", posted March 26th, 2009.
According to Rolling Stone contributor EJ Dickson, this is one of the first formally recognized ASMR videos on the Internet. Notice how there are no visuals for this video. It's just a black screen. The video itself is short (approximately two minutes long). The title of the video is straightforward and simple.
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As ASMR
became mainstream, more creators showed face (Dickson). They became actors,
crafting elaborate personas. They still produced satisfying noises (tapping
nails, whispers, clicking tongues), but this time, with a rich visual
dimension.
Now, the (usually
female) ASMRtist is the focus of the video. Viewers can see the artist’s
acrylic nails as she taps the microphone, and they want her nails to look as
satisfying as they sound. The ASMRtist still whispers and clicks her tongue,
but now, she wears lipgloss to create a fully immersive, visually and sonically
satisfying experience.
Most ASMR
videos feature thumbnails of female ASMRtists smiling at the camera, holding
products – literally offering her face, body, and the sonic landscape it
produces to the viewer. If she looks friendly or attractive enough, and if the advertised
“performance” meets their needs, the viewer clicks on the video.
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Compare asmr august and Lizi ASMR's thumbnails to QueenOfSerene and WhisperingLife's. Here, the ASMRtists are not only visible - they're the focus. They are well-lit and close to the camera. They are wearing makeup. They both seem to fit Eurocentric beauty standards (thin, attractive, white).
Attention has been paid to their backgrounds: asmr august's space looks like a doctor's office. She has props and a costume. Lizi ASMR's space features cool lighting. Both spaces are like sets for a movie or television show. This ASMR goes beyond just satisfying sounds - this is a whole production. High-quality cameras contribute to that film-like feel.
Both videos are quite long: asmr august's is approximately thirty-two minutes long, while Lizi ASMR's stands at approximately forty-two minutes. The titles are lengthy; Lizi's features an emoji. This may be to capture results from varied user searches.
asmr august's video "POV assessing your spinal function, flexibility assessment & neurological exam | cranial nerve test" was posted to YouTube on April 7th, 2025; Lizi ASMR's "ASMR Scalp Exam, Scalp Message & Haircut" video was posted to YouTube on March 25th, 2025.
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With ASMR,
the Internet provides “women…[whispering] on command with the touch of a
digital button” (O’Meara 65). In an instant, viewers “have” a woman in their
personal space who coaxes them to sleep or through a series of pleasurable bodily
sensations like tingles and shivers.
The female
ASMRtist is both the content (pleasing sounds) and its promoter (enticing
potential viewers). She is both product and billboard. Her performance
is what matters.
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Here's another screenshot of a comment made under asmr august's spinal assessment video. The ASMRtist asked for suggestions. This comment reads like a stage manager or director's notes for a play.
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Cultural landscapes replicate in online spaces, resulting in entanglements between
humans and material goods (technology). Because the Internet functions as both reflector and intensifier of offline cultural values, it should come as no surprise
that female ASMRtists are objectified - patriarchy offline equals patriarchy online.
Given ASMR’s role to soothe its viewers/listeners, it would be fair to state that in the ASMR landscape, women’s bodies are both products and producers, entertaining, pacifying and lulling the viewer. The ASMRtist enacts “‘heteronormative models of care and intimacy directed by women toward men’” (Anderson qtd. by O’Meara 62).
What
about objectcentric ASMR? How else do “offline” power structures impact “online”
happenings? Check out my next essay.
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For Claire: My word count is 400.
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For Claire: My word count is 400.
Citations and Sources:
Scholarly Stuff:
“ASMR.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ASMR. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
Dickson, EJ. "An Oral History of ASMR." Rolling Stone. 2o February 2020. ASMR: An Oral History
O’Meara, Jennifer. “THE (POST)HUMAN VOICE AND FEMINIZED MACHINES IN ANOMALISA, THE CONGRESS, AND HER.” Women’s Voices in Digital Media: The Sonic Screen from Film to Memes, University of Texas Press, 2022, pp. 53–84. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/324431.5. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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