All the NSFW searches of the year: What the Pornhub report on 2021 says
This one on 2021 is the eighth report published by Pornhub. In fact, every year, the largest porn distribution company presents trends, terms and searches from the last 365 days. If it is true that, as Leanne says in Orange Is The New Black (Netflix, episode 7 of the fifth season), "the world don't work like pornos", it is just as real that pornography narrates in its own way - or at least reflects - the reality in which it was produced, and by which it is intrinsically influenced by defining aesthetics and preferences.
Retracing the Major Insights of Pornhub's Year in Review
Between infographics and comments, let's try to retrace the major insights of the report, finding those small or big things that we have intercepted even outside the pornographic sites. For example, consider the story told by VICE about that math teacher that in Taiwan had uploaded his lessons to Pornhub. After going viral, in fact, it raised the word “teacher” by 14 positions among the searches. Today Shun-Wei Chang has 8K subscribers and 2.1M views. For those who have little time and prefer videos (here too), here is the summary of the report made by Aria Nathaniel, the historical social media manager of Pornhub.
The 10 searches that defined 2021
In addition to the most searched single terms and the most clicked categories, Pornhub also presents a list of the trends of the year, those that connect to the contemporary cultural landscape and that capture the Zeitgeist in which we are immersed.
#1 HENTAI
In the first place we find hentai, also top defining term (while the second most searched word is japanese). In Japanese culture, hentai can refer to any kind of sexual fetish or perversion, however, in the rest of the world it is used to describe the pornographic version of anime and manga, at other times it also generally refers to porn in the form of cartoons. The graphic character makes this type of video particularly creative and imaginative, and it shows figures, practices and sexual acts that in the real world would be impossible.
#2 ROMANCE
The romantic genre grows by + 139% (and bromance, among the gay categories, is +288%). Maybe the distancing is bringing a new need for "human connections", intimacy and love, but perhaps, more likely, this growth is due to the fact that the videos described as "romantic" or "passionate" actually only seem more authentic. These are in fact slightly more real contents and stories that try to break with the imaginary standards of other films.
#3 GROUP SEX
We had already talked about how the pandemic has changed porn and, just like the long-Covid exists, the effects seem to last here too. As Dr. Stacy Friedman states in the report, lockdowns have led couples to spend much more time together, and as a result, individuals have been looking for new things to spice up their relationships, at least online.
#4 FITNESS
The ongoing quarantines have also led celebrities and influencers to share their fitness routines, many people have started following personal trainers online to find new ways to engage with the category.
Summary of Data Trends
| Trend Category | Growth or Rank |
| Hentai | #1 Top defining term |
| Japanese | #2 Most searched word |
| Romance | +139% growth |
| Bromance (Gay) | +288% growth |
| Teacher (Search) | +14 positions |