Autoerotic Asphyxiation: More Than Just A Fetish
Autoerotic Asphyxiation: More Than Just A Fetish
Amongst the multifarious risky and taboo sexual practices to be found out there, one of the most dangerous is surprisingly widespread, claiming several hundred lives each year. What’s more it typically involves little more than the person themselves and some convenient restraints.
Autoerotic asphyxiation as it is properly called is an extremely precarious but, for those who indulge in it, highly rewarding masturbatory practice. As the terminology suggests, it involves self-suffocation for the sake of pleasure, with the part involving a lack of air often going too far such as the case of suggested autoerotic asphyxiation victim Michael Hutchence (from INXS) and the case of the British MP and journalist Stephen Milligan.
The idea of cutting off oxygen through strangulation or suffocation merely to reach orgasm smacks of something from an S&M; dungeon, but autoerotic asphyxiation is not the sole province of hardcore fetishists. In fact, many self-confessed “gaspers” as they have come to be known, admit to the practice being largely a solitary indulgence and claim that their lives are otherwise normal, from their physical appearance to their behaviour. Whilst choking and smothering are often incorporated into rough sex play, autoerotic asphyxiation is less about the nature of the act itself so much as the result it produces. The payoff is more physiological than psychological, with the brain producing a very specific chemical reaction to the lack of oxygen.
Our neck is home to two vascular superhighways, namely the jugular vein and the carotid artery. When blood flow through these routes is constricted, oxygen cannot reach the brain and carbon dioxide accumulates, creating what can only be described as a narcotic effect. When this is combined with the dopamine-releasing thrill of orgasm, the resulting euphoria is typically overwhelming. The yearning to practice autoerotic asphyxiation stems from the base urge to feel good, not some masochistic desire to be choked.
The risks involved in this practice are obvious, especially considering that suspending oneself by the neck with rope and trapping the head inside plastic or pantyhose are common methods of achieving autoerotic asphyxiation. Precautionary measures are employed of course, with gaspers typically having a failsafe in place. Pantyhose can be torn and a suspending rope is often shorter than the person is tall, allowing them to simply stand up after orgasm to release the pressure.
Unfortunately, the sensation of autoerotic asphyxiation is overwhelming enough to make such simple acts difficult, with the risk of losing consciousness very high. Should one pass out mid-orgasm, it’s all over. Yet those who enjoy it frequently develop a real taste for the uniquely powerful climax it can provide. The light-headedness and lowered inhibitions which are part and parcel of a brain on the verge of passing out are what lend autoerotic asphyxiation its appeal. Their thoughts turn to “how can I do this more safely?” rather than “should I be doing this at all?”
Some practitioners have outlined safer, alternative methods or advocated having a partner present to cut the rope as it were, but the general consensus is that it’s too perilous to be practiced safely. Though this article doesn’t condemn autoerotic asphyxiation or those who practice it, it does emphasize caution. How we get our respective rocks off need never become an issue, with as many sexual preferences are there are things in this world, but when people start dying it may be worth weighing up the pros and cons of such a sexual practice.