"Breath play" redirects here. Not to be confused with Breath (play).
Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. The term autoerotic asphyxiation is used when the act is done by a person to themselves. Colloquially, a person engaging in the activity is sometimes called a gasper.[1] Erotic asphyxiation can lead to accidental death due to asphyxia.
Concerning hallucinogenic states brought about by chronic hypoxia, Dr. E. L. Lloyd notes that they may be similar to the hallucinations experienced by climbers at altitude. He further notes that no such state occurs in hypoxia brought about by sudden aircraft decompression at altitude. These findings suggest to him that they do not arrive purely from a lack of oxygen. Upon examining the studies on hypoxia he found that "abnormalities in the cerebral neurochemistry involving one or more of the interconnected neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, and beta-endorphin had been reported in all the conditions associated with hallucinations."[2]
History
Historically, the practice of autoerotic asphyxiation has been documented since the early 17th century. It was first used as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. The idea for this most likely came from subjects who were executed by hanging. Observers at public hangings noted that male victims developed an erection, sometimes remaining after death (a death erection), and occasionally ejaculated when being hanged.[3]
Practice
Various methods are used to achieve the level of oxygen depletion needed, such as a hanging, suffocation with a plastic bag over the head, self-strangulation such as with a ligature, gas or volatile solvents, chest compression, or some combination of these.[4] Complicated devices (such as hydraulics) are sometimes used to produce the desired effects.[5] The practice can be dangerous even if performed with care and has resulted in a significant number of accidental deaths. Uva (1995) writes "Estimates of the mortality rate of autoerotic asphyxia range from 250 to 1000 deaths per year in the United States."[6] Cases have also been reported in Scandinavia[7] and Germany.[8][9] Swedish police reported in 1994 that the number of autoerotic asphyxiation fatalities in the Stockholm area (c. 1.7 million inhabitants) were at least five annually, but the number of unrecorded cases was assumed to be high.[10] Autoerotic asphyxiation may often be mistaken for suicide, which is a major cause of death in teenagers.[11]
Deaths often occur when the loss of consciousness caused by partial asphyxia leads to loss of control over the means of strangulation, resulting in continued asphyxia and death. While often asphyxiophilia is incorporated into sex with a partner, others enjoy this behaviour by themselves, making it potentially more difficult to get out of dangerous situations.[12]
In some fatality cases, the body of the asphyxiophilic individual is discovered naked or with genitalia in hand, with pornographic material or sex toys present, or with evidence of having orgasmed prior to death.[8] Bodies found at the scene of an accidental death often show evidence of other paraphilic activities,[13] such as fetishistic cross-dressing and masochism.[4] In cases involving teenagers at home, families may disturb the scene by "sanitizing" it, removing evidence of paraphilic activity. This can have the consequence of making the death appear to be a deliberate suicide, rather than an accident.[14]
The great majority of known erotic asphyxial deaths are male; among all known cases in Ontario and Alberta from 1974 to 1987, only 1 out of 117 cases was female.[4] Some individual cases of women with erotic asphyxia have been reported.[15][16][17][18] The main age of accidental death is mid-20s,[4][19] but deaths have been reported in adolescents[20][21][22] and in men in their 70s.[8][19]
Autoerotic asphyxiation has at times been incorrectly diagnosed as murder and especially so when a partner is present.[citation needed]
Lawyers and insurance companies have brought cases to the attention of clinicians because some life insurance claims are payable in the event of accidental death, but not suicide.[23][24][25]
In fiction
The sensational nature of erotic asphyxiation often makes it the subject of urban legends. It has also been mentioned specifically in a number of works of fiction.
In the Marquis de Sade's famous novel Justine, or The Misfortunes of the Virtue, Justine is subjected to this by one of her captors. She survives the encounter.
In the Guts short story in Chuck Palahniuk's novel Haunted, one the characters discusses parents who discover the accidental deaths of their sons to autoerotic asphyxiation. They are said to cover up the deaths before police or coroners arrive to save the family from shame.
In the novel (and later movie adaptation) Rising Sun, death as a result of this type of sexual arousal is explained when it is offered as a possible cause for a murder victim's death.
In the film World's Greatest Dad, the protagonist's teenage son accidentally kills himself with asphyxiation whilst sexually aroused. The protagonist then stages his son's death as a suicide, which gives him the opportunity to rise to infamy through a literary hoax.
In the film Ken Park a character named Tate practices autoerotic asphyxia.
Autoerotic asphyxiation occurs in the cold open of Six Feet Under episode Back to the Garden.
Kenny from South Park dies from suffocating while wearing a Batman costume and practicing autoerotic asphyxia in the episode "Sexual Healing".
In the season four episode of Californication, titled "Monkey Business", the character Zig Semetauer is found dead in his bathroom by Hank, Charlie and Stu after suffocating due to autoerotic asphyxia, to which Hank quips "I'm not averse to the occasional choke-n'-stroke, but this is a prime example of why one must always use a buddy system."
A character in the film Knocked Up offers to be a "spotter" for a friend if he intends on performing autoerotic asphyxiation.
Bruce Robertson, the main character in the 1998 Irvine Welsh novel, Filth, engages in the practice. This is also depicted in the 2013 film adaptation.
In the sixth episode, season two of BoJack Horseman, autoerotic asphyxiation and celebrity deaths are recurrent discussions.
In the episode, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" of the TV series The X-Files, a psychic implies that special agent Fox Mulder will die by autoerotic asphyxiation.
^Roberts, Chris (30 January 2012). Lost English: Words And Phrases That Have Vanished From Our Language. Michael O'Mara Books. p. 66. ISBN978-1843172789.
^Dr. E L Lloyd (29 March 1986). "Points: Hallucinations, hypoxia, and neurotransmitters". British Medical Journal Volume 292: 903. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^. Lust Magazine. 1997. Archived from the original on 31 August 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
^ abcdBlanchard, R.; Hucker, S. J. (1991). "Age, transvestism, bondage, and concurrent paraphilic activities in 117 fatal cases of autoerotic asphyxia". British Journal of Psychiatry. 159 (3): 371–377. doi:10.1192/bjp.159.3.371. PMID 1958948. S2CID 20137589.
^O'Halloran, R. L.; Dietz, P. E. (1993). "Autoerotic fatalities with power hydraulics". Journal of Forensic Sciences. 38 (2): 359–364. doi:10.1520/JFS13416J. PMID 8454997.
^Uva, J. L. (1995). "Review: Autoerotic asphyxiation in the United States". Journal of Forensic Sciences. 40 (4): 574–581. doi:10.1520/JFS13828J. PMID 7595293.
^Innala, S. M.; Ernulf, K. F. (1989). "Asphyxiophilia in Scandinavia". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 18 (3): 181–189. doi:10.1007/BF01543193. PMID 2787626. S2CID 42384991.
^ abcJanssen, W.; Koops, E.; Anders, S.; Kuhn, S.; Püschel, K. (2005). "Forensic aspects of 40 accidental autoerotic death in Northern Germany". Forensic Science International. 147S: S61–S64. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2004.09.093. PMID 15694733.
^Olof Westerberg: "Sexlekar allt vanligare dödsorsak", Vasabladet 31 August 1994.
^Downs, Martin (1 January 2005). "The Highest Price For Pleasure: A Deadly Turn-On". WebMD. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
^Autoerotic Asphyxiophilia 15 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine on 'Sexinfo' website, University of Santa Barbara, Ca.
^Bogliolo, L. R.; Taff, M. L.; Stephens, P. J.; Money, J. (1991). "A case of autoerotic asphyxia associated with multiplex paraphilia". American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. 12 (1): 64–73. doi:10.1097/00000433-199103000-00012. PMID 2063821.
^Downs, Martin. The Highest Price for Pleasure, featured by WebMD
^Danto, B. (1980). "A case of female autoerotic death". American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. 1 (2): 117–121. doi:10.1097/00000433-198006000-00004. PMID 7246503. S2CID 40463465.
^Behrendt, N.; Buhl, N.; Seidl, S. (2002). "The lethal paraphilic syndrome: Accidental autoerotic deaths in four women and a review of the literature". International Journal of Legal Medicine. 116 (3): 148–152. doi:10.1007/s00414-001-0271-x. PMID 12111317. S2CID 24969597.
^Martz, D. (2003). "Behavioral treatment for a female engaging in autoerotic asphyxiation" (PDF). Clinical Case Studies. 2 (3): 236–242. doi:10.1177/1534650103002003006. S2CID 145098915.
^Sass, F. (1975). "Sexual asphyxia in the female". Journal of Forensic Sciences. 2: 181–185.
^ abBurgess, A. W.; Hazelwood, R. R. (1983). "Autoerotic deaths and social network response". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 53 (1): 166–170. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1983.tb03361.x. PMID 6829721.
^Shankel, L. W.; Carr, A. C. (1956). "Transvestism and hanging episodes in a male adolescent". Psychiatric Quarterly. 30 (3): 478–493. doi:10.1007/BF01564363. PMID 13359556.
^Sheehan, W.; Garfinkel, B. D. (1987). "Adolescent autoerotic deaths". Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 27 (3): 367–370. doi:10.1097/00004583-198805000-00017. PMID 3379021.
^Edmondson, J. S. (1972). "A case of sexual asphyxis without fatal termination". British Journal of Psychiatry. 121 (563): 437–438. doi:10.1192/bjp.121.4.437. PMID 5077101. S2CID 35353344.
^Cooper, A. J. (1995). ""Auto-erotic asphyxial death: Analysis of nineteen fatalities in Alberta": Comment". Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 40 (6): 363–364. doi:10.1177/070674379504000626. PMID 7585413. S2CID 41699554.
^Cooper, A. J. (1996). "Auto-erotic asphyxiation: Three case reports". Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy. 22 (1): 47–53. doi:10.1080/00926239608405305. PMID 8699497.
^Garza-Leal, J. A.; Landrom, F. J. (1991). "Autoerotic death initially misinterpreted as suicide and a review of the literature". Journal of Forensic Sciences. 36 (6): 1753–1759. doi:10.1520/JFS13200J. PMID 1770343.
Further reading
Robert R. Hazelwood, Park Elliot Dietz, Ann Wolbert Burgess: Autoerotic Fatalities. Lexington, Mass.: LexingtonBooks, 1983.
Sergey Sheleg, Edwin Ehrlich: Autoerotic Asphyxiation: Forensic, Medical, and Social Aspects, Wheatmark (15 August 2006), trade paperback, 208 pages ISBN1587366045ISBN978-1587366048
John Money, Gordon Wainwright and David Hingsburger: The Breathless Orgasm: A Lovemap Biography of Asphyxiophilia. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books, 1991.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Breath play.
The Medical Realities of Breath Control Play By Jay Wiseman
Is there a safe way to perform autoerotic asphyxiation? - Slate Magazine i
February 05, 2023
erotic, asphyxiation, breath, play, redirects, here, confused, with, breath, play, variously, called, asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia, breath, control, play, intentional, restriction, oxygen, brain, purposes, sexual, arousal, term, autoerotic, asphyxiation, used,. Breath play redirects here Not to be confused with Breath play Erotic asphyxiation variously called asphyxiophilia hypoxyphilia or breath control play is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal The term autoerotic asphyxiation is used when the act is done by a person to themselves Colloquially a person engaging in the activity is sometimes called a gasper 1 Erotic asphyxiation can lead to accidental death due to asphyxia The erotic interest in asphyxiation is classified as a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association Contents 1 Physiology 2 History 3 Practice 4 Accidental death 5 In fiction 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksPhysiologyConcerning hallucinogenic states brought about by chronic hypoxia Dr E L Lloyd notes that they may be similar to the hallucinations experienced by climbers at altitude He further notes that no such state occurs in hypoxia brought about by sudden aircraft decompression at altitude These findings suggest to him that they do not arrive purely from a lack of oxygen Upon examining the studies on hypoxia he found that abnormalities in the cerebral neurochemistry involving one or more of the interconnected neurotransmitters dopamine serotonin and beta endorphin had been reported in all the conditions associated with hallucinations 2 HistoryHistorically the practice of autoerotic asphyxiation has been documented since the early 17th century It was first used as a treatment for erectile dysfunction The idea for this most likely came from subjects who were executed by hanging Observers at public hangings noted that male victims developed an erection sometimes remaining after death a death erection and occasionally ejaculated when being hanged 3 PracticeVarious methods are used to achieve the level of oxygen depletion needed such as a hanging suffocation with a plastic bag over the head self strangulation such as with a ligature gas or volatile solvents chest compression or some combination of these 4 Complicated devices such as hydraulics are sometimes used to produce the desired effects 5 The practice can be dangerous even if performed with care and has resulted in a significant number of accidental deaths Uva 1995 writes Estimates of the mortality rate of autoerotic asphyxia range from 250 to 1000 deaths per year in the United States 6 Cases have also been reported in Scandinavia 7 and Germany 8 9 Swedish police reported in 1994 that the number of autoerotic asphyxiation fatalities in the Stockholm area c 1 7 million inhabitants were at least five annually but the number of unrecorded cases was assumed to be high 10 Autoerotic asphyxiation may often be mistaken for suicide which is a major cause of death in teenagers 11 Accidental deathMain article Autoerotic fatality Deaths often occur when the loss of consciousness caused by partial asphyxia leads to loss of control over the means of strangulation resulting in continued asphyxia and death While often asphyxiophilia is incorporated into sex with a partner others enjoy this behaviour by themselves making it potentially more difficult to get out of dangerous situations 12 In some fatality cases the body of the asphyxiophilic individual is discovered naked or with genitalia in hand with pornographic material or sex toys present or with evidence of having orgasmed prior to death 8 Bodies found at the scene of an accidental death often show evidence of other paraphilic activities 13 such as fetishistic cross dressing and masochism 4 In cases involving teenagers at home families may disturb the scene by sanitizing it removing evidence of paraphilic activity This can have the consequence of making the death appear to be a deliberate suicide rather than an accident 14 The great majority of known erotic asphyxial deaths are male among all known cases in Ontario and Alberta from 1974 to 1987 only 1 out of 117 cases was female 4 Some individual cases of women with erotic asphyxia have been reported 15 16 17 18 The main age of accidental death is mid 20s 4 19 but deaths have been reported in adolescents 20 21 22 and in men in their 70s 8 19 Both actor David Carradine and pop singer Michael Hutchence may have died from erotic asphyxiation Autoerotic asphyxiation has at times been incorrectly diagnosed as murder and especially so when a partner is present citation needed Lawyers and insurance companies have brought cases to the attention of clinicians because some life insurance claims are payable in the event of accidental death but not suicide 23 24 25 In fictionThis article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Erotic asphyxiation news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The sensational nature of erotic asphyxiation often makes it the subject of urban legends It has also been mentioned specifically in a number of works of fiction In the Marquis de Sade s famous novel Justine or The Misfortunes of the Virtue Justine is subjected to this by one of her captors She survives the encounter In the Guts short story in Chuck Palahniuk s novel Haunted one the characters discusses parents who discover the accidental deaths of their sons to autoerotic asphyxiation They are said to cover up the deaths before police or coroners arrive to save the family from shame In the novel and later movie adaptation Rising Sun death as a result of this type of sexual arousal is explained when it is offered as a possible cause for a murder victim s death In the film World s Greatest Dad the protagonist s teenage son accidentally kills himself with asphyxiation whilst sexually aroused The protagonist then stages his son s death as a suicide which gives him the opportunity to rise to infamy through a literary hoax In the film Ken Park a character named Tate practices autoerotic asphyxia Autoerotic asphyxiation occurs in the cold open of Six Feet Under episode Back to the Garden Kenny from South Park dies from suffocating while wearing a Batman costume and practicing autoerotic asphyxia in the episode Sexual Healing In the season four episode of Californication titled Monkey Business the character Zig Semetauer is found dead in his bathroom by Hank Charlie and Stu after suffocating due to autoerotic asphyxia to which Hank quips I m not averse to the occasional choke n stroke but this is a prime example of why one must always use a buddy system A character in the film Knocked Up offers to be a spotter for a friend if he intends on performing autoerotic asphyxiation Bruce Robertson the main character in the 1998 Irvine Welsh novel Filth engages in the practice This is also depicted in the 2013 film adaptation In the sixth episode season two of BoJack Horseman autoerotic asphyxiation and celebrity deaths are recurrent discussions In the episode Clyde Bruckman s Final Repose of the TV series The X Files a psychic implies that special agent Fox Mulder will die by autoerotic asphyxiation See alsoCerebral hypoxia Choke hold Choking game Facesitting Hypoxia Self bondage Sexual fetishismReferences Roberts Chris 30 January 2012 Lost English Words And Phrases That Have Vanished From Our Language Michael O Mara Books p 66 ISBN 978 1843172789 Dr E L Lloyd 29 March 1986 Points Hallucinations hypoxia and neurotransmitters British Medical Journal Volume 292 903 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Erotic Asphyxiation Lust Magazine 1997 Archived from the original on 31 August 2006 Retrieved 2 September 2006 a b c d Blanchard R Hucker S J 1991 Age transvestism bondage and concurrent paraphilic activities in 117 fatal cases of autoerotic asphyxia British Journal of Psychiatry 159 3 371 377 doi 10 1192 bjp 159 3 371 PMID 1958948 S2CID 20137589 O Halloran R L Dietz P E 1993 Autoerotic fatalities with power hydraulics Journal of Forensic Sciences 38 2 359 364 doi 10 1520 JFS13416J PMID 8454997 Uva J L 1995 Review Autoerotic asphyxiation in the United States Journal of Forensic Sciences 40 4 574 581 doi 10 1520 JFS13828J PMID 7595293 Innala S M Ernulf K F 1989 Asphyxiophilia in Scandinavia Archives of Sexual Behavior 18 3 181 189 doi 10 1007 BF01543193 PMID 2787626 S2CID 42384991 a b c Janssen W Koops E Anders S Kuhn S Puschel K 2005 Forensic aspects of 40 accidental autoerotic death in Northern Germany Forensic Science International 147S S61 S64 doi 10 1016 j forsciint 2004 09 093 PMID 15694733 Koops E Janssen W Anders S Puschel K 2005 Unusual phenomenology of autoerotic fatalities Forensic Science International 147S S65 S67 doi 10 1016 j forsciint 2004 09 095 PMID 15694734 Olof Westerberg Sexlekar allt vanligare dodsorsak Vasabladet 31 August 1994 Downs Martin 1 January 2005 The Highest Price For Pleasure A Deadly Turn On WebMD Retrieved 4 October 2011 Autoerotic Asphyxiophilia Archived 15 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine on Sexinfo website University of Santa Barbara Ca Bogliolo L R Taff M L Stephens P J Money J 1991 A case of autoerotic asphyxia associated with multiplex paraphilia American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 12 1 64 73 doi 10 1097 00000433 199103000 00012 PMID 2063821 Downs Martin The Highest Price for Pleasure featured by WebMD Danto B 1980 A case of female autoerotic death American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 1 2 117 121 doi 10 1097 00000433 198006000 00004 PMID 7246503 S2CID 40463465 Behrendt N Buhl N Seidl S 2002 The lethal paraphilic syndrome Accidental autoerotic deaths in four women and a review of the literature International Journal of Legal Medicine 116 3 148 152 doi 10 1007 s00414 001 0271 x PMID 12111317 S2CID 24969597 Martz D 2003 Behavioral treatment for a female engaging in autoerotic asphyxiation PDF Clinical Case Studies 2 3 236 242 doi 10 1177 1534650103002003006 S2CID 145098915 Sass F 1975 Sexual asphyxia in the female Journal of Forensic Sciences 2 181 185 a b Burgess A W Hazelwood R R 1983 Autoerotic deaths and social network response American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 53 1 166 170 doi 10 1111 j 1939 0025 1983 tb03361 x PMID 6829721 Shankel L W Carr A C 1956 Transvestism and hanging episodes in a male adolescent Psychiatric Quarterly 30 3 478 493 doi 10 1007 BF01564363 PMID 13359556 Sheehan W Garfinkel B D 1987 Adolescent autoerotic deaths Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 27 3 367 370 doi 10 1097 00004583 198805000 00017 PMID 3379021 Edmondson J S 1972 A case of sexual asphyxis without fatal termination British Journal of Psychiatry 121 563 437 438 doi 10 1192 bjp 121 4 437 PMID 5077101 S2CID 35353344 Cooper A J 1995 Auto erotic asphyxial death Analysis of nineteen fatalities in Alberta Comment Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 40 6 363 364 doi 10 1177 070674379504000626 PMID 7585413 S2CID 41699554 Cooper A J 1996 Auto erotic asphyxiation Three case reports Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy 22 1 47 53 doi 10 1080 00926239608405305 PMID 8699497 Garza Leal J A Landrom F J 1991 Autoerotic death initially misinterpreted as suicide and a review of the literature Journal of Forensic Sciences 36 6 1753 1759 doi 10 1520 JFS13200J PMID 1770343 Further readingRobert R Hazelwood Park Elliot Dietz Ann Wolbert Burgess Autoerotic Fatalities Lexington Mass LexingtonBooks 1983 Sergey Sheleg Edwin Ehrlich Autoerotic Asphyxiation Forensic Medical and Social Aspects Wheatmark 15 August 2006 trade paperback 208 pages ISBN 1587366045 ISBN 978 1587366048 John Money Gordon Wainwright and David Hingsburger The Breathless Orgasm A Lovemap Biography of Asphyxiophilia Buffalo New York Prometheus Books 1991 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Breath play Well Hung Death By Orgasm Turvey B An Objective Overview of Autoerotic Fatalities The Medical Realities of Breath Control Play By Jay Wiseman Is there a safe way to perform autoerotic asphyxiation Slate Magazine i Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Erotic asphyxiation amp oldid 1135007421, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
