Imane “Pokimane” Anys created an ASMR-specific YouTube channel around March 2018 but has to date posted only 6 videos.
Pokimane’s last video on her ASMR channel was posted around two years ago, in September 2019. In recent months, the ASMR category on Twitch has become extremely sexually-suggestive.
This is because a range of content creators such as Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa and Janelle “Indiefoxx” Dagres switched to suggestive ASMR content after the hot-tub meta on Twitch dwindled in popularity. Pokimane’s limited ASMR content has never been said to be suggestive. However, the streamer did recently talk about why she stopped creating ASMR content. She said that she feels bad about the ASMR content creators who have suffered due to personalities like Amouranth and Indiefoxx using the category for suggestive content.
Why did Pokimane stop posting ASMR content?
ASMR refers to “Autonomous sensory meridian response,” and is described as a relaxing, sedative sensation that begins on the scalp and moves down the body. The fact that the category was being used by the likes of Amouranth and Indiefoxx to post suggestive content not only brought them bans but also damaged the overall category, according to Pokimane. The streamer said that Twitch needs to implement its rules about suggestive streams in a more effective way:
“I did call it. When we talked about the hot-tub meta, I said, listen, Twitch, it doesn’t matter if you make a new section for this or ban these individual people because they will find another way to push the envelope. I guess maybe everybody called it, but it’s not specifically the hot-tubs that was the issue. The problem was that Twitch has no way of categorizing ‘sexually suggestive content.’ On a platform where the most viewed channels are extremely forward-facing, you’re creating an inevitable timebomb for yourself essentially.”
Hence, one of the reasons that Pokimane might have stayed away from ASMR content might be the fact that the category in recent months has been bombarded by suggestive female streamers:
“I did call it. When we talked about the hot-tub meta, I said, listen, Twitch, it doesn’t matter if you make a new section for this or ban these individual people because they will find another way to push the envelope. I guess maybe everybody called it, but it’s not specifically the hot-tubs that was the issue. The problem was that Twitch has no way of categorizing ‘sexually suggestive content.’ On a platform where the most viewed channels are extremely forward-facing, you’re creating an inevitable timebomb for yourself essentially.”
Pokimane claimed that the reason the ASMR category was being reduced to a suggestive meta was because Twitch lacks content organizing and labeling. She effectively claimed that the platform needs to recognize suggestive streams, irrespective of the categories, and take action against them.
During another stream, Pokimane claimed that it was unlucky for ASMR creators to see suggestive personalities take over their categories. She said that the amount of effort it takes to create ASMR content effectively made her stop posting content under this category:
“I feel like I haven’t heard a lot of people say this, but I do personally want to add that I feel really really bad for legit ASMRtists that spend their whole life trying to make interesting, cool ASMR content. And as someone who has done ASMR for a bit, I actually stopped making ASMR videos primarily because I noticed how much effort and dedication it takes to continuously upgrade your equipment, to continuously come up with creative, cool sounds that are intriguing to people, it’s a lot of f*****g work. I feel really bad for legitimate ASMR artists. For people to come into your category and get to the top by doing the splits with their butt out and gurgling into a mic? It sucks, it’s unfortunate.”
In a nutshell, the reason why Pokimane doesn’t post ASMR content is due to the effort it takes. She was also disappointed with the platform for allowing suggestive streamers to take over the category, something Twitch seems to have worked on in recent weeks.
