For your ears only: Erotic podcasts are downloaded in record numbers
It’s a far cry from Women’s Hour.Erotic podcasts aimed at a female audience are being downloaded in record numbers. Kat Brown finds out what’s getting us hot under the headphones
Now women have a new secret thrill – X-rated podcasts
Erotica has seriously moved on since the days of lady novelists dictating tales of ripped bodices from their chaises longues.In the past decade we’ve seen E L James’s Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy bring breathless sex to the daily commute (thanks to the Kindle, where no one can see what you’re reading). Now women have a new secret thrill – X-rated podcasts.
And unlike mainstream pornography, which is overwhelmingly made for and sold to men, these ‘porncasts’ – short fiction focused on female desire and often read aloud by actors – are proving a huge hit with women.
‘The biggest sex organ is the brain, and with audio the brain activates every sensual part of our body,’ says Lianne Young, a relationships counsellor and adult industry expert, who has recorded her own erotic audiobooks.‘It’s about escapism: you don’t think about work or any other stressors. You don’t have to share it with anybody, and it’s individual, whereas every conventional porn film is the same – watch two or three and you may as well have watched them all.’
‘Women are creative creatures with an imagination that can be wild and free.Listening to erotic stories allows us to fill in the blanks and tailor the visuals of the scenario to our own tastes and experiences,’ adds Lisa Williams, co-founder and host of sex and relationships podcast Hotbed Collective.
‘Being able to listen to something sexy rather than have it on show is quite valuable to women who have been raised to think that their pleasure is shameful,’ she says.‘Plus, pleasure is a private thing. People love that they can listen to our podcast on the tube without anyone knowing that they’re hearing all about how to have an orgasm – and it’s the same with all of these erotic podcasts.’
An estimated six million Britons listen to a podcast every week, so it was only a matter of time before the global porn industry – which is worth a whopping £78 billion – g
Think self-discovery and opening up to sexual enjoyment, with a healthy serving of sensual stories.
