Sex & Relationships

Pornhub reveals 2021’s most popular searches in America

By
Social Links for Andrew Court
Published Dec. 15, 2021
Updated Dec. 15, 2021, 5:51 p.m. ET

Pornhub is lifting the lid on America’s X-rated viewing habits, revealing their website’s most popular searches for 2021.

The most popular search term across the United States was “hentai” — a type of Japanese anime. Pornhub revealed that “hundreds of thousands of hentai videos can be found on our website, including professional productions, homemade animations made by fans and 3D generated scenes.”

On an equally bizarre end of the sexy spectrum, “The Suicide Squad” anti-hero Harley Quinn was the most-searched movie franchise or character, followed by Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, “Star Wars” and Black Widow.

Meanwhile, the most-searched porn star by Americans was Lana Rhoades, 25. The Illinois-born actress quit the industry earlier this year and says she now “regrets” making adult movies.

Pornhub has revealed its most popular pornstars and search terms for 2021.
Pornhub has revealed its most popular pornstars and search terms for 2021. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Rhoades was also the most popular porn star internationally, followed by Abella Danger, Eva Elfie, Riley Reid and Mia Malkova.

The adult site further revealed that Americans were the biggest porn consumers on the planet. Brits made up the second-largest share of Pornhub users, while the Japanese placed in third. The frisky French came in fourth, while Italians rounded out the top 5.

Pornhub released the dirty data in a press release on Wednesday.

Lana Rhoades, 25, was the world's most-searched pornstar. She also topped the list in her native America.
Lana Rhoades, 25, was the world’s most-searched pornstar. She also topped the list in her native America. Getty Images
The insights reveal the desires and habits of Americans. This year saw a huge increase in the search terms "lesbian scissoring" and "mature MILF."
The insights reveal the desires and habits of Americans. This year saw a huge increase in the search terms “lesbian scissoring” and “mature MILF.”

“Ebony” remained the most-viewed category of video for the second year running, ahead of “lesbian” and “MILF.” Searches for the word “trans” were up 134% when compared with last year.

According to Pornhub, 67% of American visitors were male, although the share of female users slowly increased this year. The average age of a US Pornhub user was 37. However, sexed-up seniors aged 65 and over accounted for 7% of all visitors.

A whopping 85% of Americans chose to watch porn on their smartphone, perhaps hiding away in a bedroom or bathroom, with the average visit lasting just 9 minutes and 44 seconds.

A map shows the regional differences among Pornhub searches.
A map shows the regional differences among Pornhub searches.

Interestingly, users in Republican states lasted longer on the site, with Pornhub viewers in Wyoming, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas all reporting an average visit time above 10 minutes.

However, Pornhub explained that those states may simply have slower internet speeds and not residents who last longer in the bedroom.

Meanwhile, the company claims Americans are “pretty regular when it comes to their masturbation schedule,” with Sunday the most popular day for self-pleasure. The website experiences the most traffic in the US around 11 p.m.

According to Pornhub, 67% of American visitors were male, although the share of female users slowly increased this year. The average age of a US Pornhub user was 37. However, sexed-up seniors aged 65 and over accounted for 7% of all visitors.
According to Pornhub, 67% of American visitors were male, although the share of female users slowly increased this year. The average age of a US Pornhub user was 37. However, sexed-up seniors aged 65 and over accounted for 7% of all visitors. Composite; iStockphoto

Notably, Pornhub experienced a dramatic drop in traffic during February’s Super Bowl, with Americans swapping frisky videos for football.

Traffic plunged almost 20% during the first half of the game but noticeably picked back up during halftime. That means many naughty NFL viewers snuck away for some self-pleasure instead of sticking around to watch The Weeknd perform the halftime show.