‘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
-
'Wolf Hall: the Mirror and the Light' season two – still a "crown jewel"
The Week Recommends Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance star in this 'superlative' Tudor drama on BBC One
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Election Day. Finally.'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Incendiary device plot: Russia's 'rehearsals' for attacks on transatlantic flights
The Explainer Security officials warn of widespread Moscow-backed 'sabotage campaign' in retaliation for continued Western support for Ukraine
By The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Putin's fixation with shamans
Under the Radar Secretive Russian leader, said to be fascinated with occult and pagan rituals, allegedly asked for blessing over nuclear weapons
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 February - 1 March
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will mounting discontent affect Iran election?
Today's Big Question Low turnout is expected in poll seen as crucial test for Tehran's leadership
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Sweden clears final NATO hurdle with Hungary vote
Speed Read Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly approved Sweden's accession to NATO
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published