Women love porn. Of course, not all women love it — but there are probably way more women watching porn than you think. In fact, a 2015 survey from Marie Claire looked at over 3,000 readers and found that almost a third of women were watching porn every week and that about 10 percent were watching it every damn day. And the porn industry is opening up to the idea that women are a huge part of their audience and starting to embrace them. That's why Pornhub is launching a "Popular with Women" category.
At first you may wonder why they need a separate category for women — because isn't it all porn for women, if women choose to watch it? But here's the thing: there's a huge demand for it. Pornhub's 2017 Year In Review survey found that “Porn for Women” was one of their top trending searches throughout the year — there was a whooping 1,400 percent increase in searches for "Porn for Women" from the year before, so people are looking for it at the moment. So Pornhub decided to introduce their own category devoted to the type of porn women watch and favorite.
"2017 was a huge growth year for our female audience," Alexandra Klein, Pornhub brand manager tells Bustle. "We couldn’t be more excited that women are embracing and consuming our content at a higher rate than ever before. We expect even more growth in 2018 and we look forward to the success of our Popular with Women category."
Klein says the category will be filled with videos that the women visiting Pornhub enjoy viewing the most. "The content that is available in the category is chosen by our platform’s AI, which automatically aggregates content catered to women’s interests, taking views and preferences into account," she says.
What Women Actually Watch
What's really interesting about this move is the fact that there was already a "Female Friendly" porn category on the site, which "Popular with Women" will be replacing. The reason Pornhub changed the type of category they offered was in part due to customer feedback. Viewers didn't feel that the "Female Friendly" porn category represented the huge range of porn that women actually enjoy watching. It was more about porn that was marketed towards women, rather than what women want to watch.
“2017 seems to have been the year where women have felt more comfortable expressing their tastes and desires without shame,” Dr. Laurie Betito, sex therapist and director of the Pornhub Sexual Wellness Center said. “They are also expressing what they want to see in porn, often seeking out porn made by female producers. More and more women are viewing porn and one explanation may be because the veil of shame has lifted from female masturbation. Women are talking more freely about it, and are owning their pleasure. “
And considering statistics have showed that women actually like watching rough porn like BDSM more than men do, it makes sense that porn with Fabio lookalikes and flowing curtains just isn't going to do it for some women. Women — regardless of their sexual orientation — are also are big into lesbian porn, so hopefully there will be plenty of that on offer, too.
They Want Your Input
The category will be based on the type of videos that women watch and favorite most frequently. But it doesn't look like it will be limited to just that, because Pornhub wants to hear from you. To make sure that the type of porn you actually want to watch is in there, Pornhub is inviting you to get in contact with them. Just email inclusion@pornhub.com if you feel like something is missing, to make sure that category is as inclusive as you want it to be. If you feel like it's not including something, you can reach out and correct that.
Although it's obvious that there is plenty of porn on the internet available to women, the rise in "Porn for Women" searches show that there is a real demand for porn that women actually want to watch. This category should give women their own little corner of Pornhub, just for them — if they want to use it. Everyone's porn preferences are different, but "Popular with Women" is a bit step towards acknowledging that women are watching — and loving — porn, too.
