This particular fetish is called ‘JOI,’ and it has been growing in popularity fast—especially on sites like OFs where creators connect directly with fans.
Even though the name might bring back awkward flashbacks to middle school health class, ‘JOI’ has grown into one of the most successful and fastest-expanding categories in digital adult entertainment today.
It might sound straightforward at first, but those in the business say there’s a lot more going on than it seems.
MelRose Michaels, who is both the founder of S** Work CEO and an experienced content creator, explained in an interview with Vice: “‘JOI’ to me is an erotic performance style where the speaker, through voice, video, or text, guides the viewer or listener through the act of m**turbation.”
And the numbers back it up. New data from Clips4Sale highlights just how quickly ‘JOI’ is catching on.
In the U.S. alone, sales have jumped by 186 percent since 2022. Globally, it’s also booming—Germany has seen a massive 208 percent increase, while Australia saw a strong 48 percent growth in demand.
Avery Martin, a spokesperson for Clips4Sale, noted that guided m**turbation—often called ‘j**k off instruction’—has been around for a while, sometimes under different names like ‘m**turbation encouragement.’ But thanks to the growth of the digital creator world, ‘JOI’ has carved out its own space as a clearly defined fetish.
“It’s a direct connection between the fan and the creators,” Martin said. “And since the pandemic, interest has surged across the board.”
In fact, many creators don’t even perform explicit acts. Instead, they build trust, intimacy, and a sense of being seen and desired, which makes the experience feel personal and powerful.
Michaels pointed out: “‘JOI’ taps into more than just arousal. It fulfills the need to feel wanted, controlled, praised… or denied.”
For someone like MissWaltrude—a European fetish artist and expert in hypnokink—‘JOI’ becomes something much more immersive. It turns into a multi-layered, trance-like experience that blends eroticism with psychology.
“‘JOI,’ to me, is a m**turbatory trance experience with multiple layers,” she said. “It’s about taking control of another person’s erotic energy, layer by layer.”
“‘JOI’ gives permission,” she added. “It lets someone safely confess, ‘Hey, this turns me on,’ and then be commanded to dive deeper. Obedience is pleasure – and there’s great pleasure to be found in obedience.”