New statistics from Pornhub have revealed that 47 per cent of the site’s gay male porn audience are women—shedding fresh light on long-standing trends in adult content consumption and challenging assumptions about who watches what.
Published as part of Pornhub’s annual Pride Insights, the report offers a glimpse into the evolving viewing habits of LGBTQ+ audiences and their allies. It highlights not just search trends and favourite performers, but also the demographics of those engaging with gay content.
While surprising to some, this figure isn’t new. Pornhub first noted back in 2014 that a significant number of women were enjoying gay male porn. In 2015, they confirmed that gay content was consistently the second most popular porn category for women on the platform.
These patterns have also been backed by academic research. In her 2018 book Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys, academic Lucy Neville surveyed more than 500 women and found that many were drawn to gay porn simply because “a good number… like looking at naked men.”
Neville also explained that gay porn helps challenge the typical “male gaze” embedded in mainstream straight porn, which often caters exclusively to heterosexual men. For women who are attracted to men, including straight women, gay porn offers an alternative free from the objectification of female bodies.
Significantly, Neville noted that gay male porn can also be a safer viewing option for female survivors of sexual violence. “It’s one of the few types of sexually explicit media they can enjoy without feeling triggered or re-traumatised,” she wrote, adding that it removes concerns about female performers’ well-being—whether they’re being exploited or truly consenting.
Pornhub’s data also showed that those aged 18 to 24 made up the largest group watching gay porn (27 per cent), while only 11 per cent of viewers were 65 or older.
These insights not only highlight the broad and diverse audience for gay male porn but also raise important questions about representation, safety, and inclusivity in adult media consumption.
