‘Porn for women’ revealed as Pornhub’s top search of 2017
Saudi Arabia among nations seeing increased female demand for X-rated content

Women are seeking out female-friendly porn in record numbers, according to the internet’s most popular porn site.
Pornhub’s end of year round-up reveals that searches for “porn for women” soared in 2017.
Female users searched for the phrase 359% more frequently than in 2016, the site found, while overall searches increased by 1,400%, making it the top trending search of the year.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The trend towards porn aimed at female viewers is reflected in other major porn websites. Rival site xHamster reported a 2.4% overall increase in female users accessing the site.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the deeply conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia saw an 11% rise in the amount of women seeking out X-rated videos.
When it comes to particular preferences, Pornhub’s statistics showed that male users seek out “Milfs and step moms” while the female viewership inclines towards “celebrity sex tapes and lesbians”, TechCrunch reports.
This is reflected in the UK, where the most-searched terms of 2017 were “lesbian” - also the worldwide number one - followed by “Milf”, “step sister” and “step mom”.
Other insights from Pornhub’s end of year review reveal that viewers’ preferences are not what you might expect. After “porn for women”, the searches which underwent the biggest leap in popularity were “Rick and Morty” and “fidget spinner”.
The company’s VP, Corey Price, admitted he was baffled by the inclusion of the popular gadget. “It’s unimaginable why people in our audience are looking for videos that include [it]," he said.
The amount of porn being consumed by both male and female visitors is staggering. In 2017, Pornhub users streamed 3,732 petabytes of data, says Campaign Live, “enough to fill the storage of every iPhone in the world”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What to know before lending money to family or friends
the explainer Ensure both your relationship and your finances remain intact
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
A running list of Trump's second-term national security controversies
In Depth Several scandals surrounding national security have rocked the Trump administration
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
The tobacco industry could be the beneficiary of health agency cuts
The explainer Anti-tobacco initiatives could be up in smoke
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK