Metro Weekly

When It Comes To Pornhub, No Search Is Too “Massive”

Twinks, soldiers, and DILFs, oh my! Pornhub’s "Year in Review" charts the descriptive terms gay men searched for.

Malik Delgaty was the most searched gay male entertainer on Pornhub in 2023 – Source: Instagram

The 10th annual Pornhub Year in Review was recently released, and it says a lot about society. Apparently, we like things big, old, specific, and often dressed up in a tight uniform.

The review is a wide-ranging snapshot of our collective interests brewing behind closed doors. So, put the lid on that coconut oil and let’s dive in. From location-specific search terms to head cocking emerging trends, the “world’s largest adult entertainment site” found the following habits of visitors in 2023.

Topping the list of gay male entertainers was Malik Delgaty, with Joey Mills edging up right behind him.

If you’re under 30, you’ve known who Joey was since his Tumblr days. His career has since opened up big and wide alongside other top dogs in the industry. Lining up behind him are Cade Maddox, Jake Andrich Jakipz, and Zilv Gudel to round out the top five. If you recognize any of these names, you’ll like this next part. 

It’s been a long and hard year, but even more so, its been a big year. The terms “big”, “bigger” and “biggest” grew by 177%, and searches for “huge cock” and “huge dildo” by 67%. Even “massive” searches were up 91%. 

Are size queens multiplying at exponential rates, or is there something else at play here? Dr. Laurie Betito of the Sexual Wellness Center had this to say: “It is human nature to be curious about the extraordinary. When it comes to sex it is no different. We are all voyeurs to some degree and we want to see the extremes — what we generally don’t have access to in real life.”

Our curiosities didn’t stop there. “DILF” terms, including “muscle DILF,” grew 71%. “NPC” (Non-Playable Character) grew by a whopping 1,541%. And if curiosity brought you to this article, you have something in common with the object of one of gay men’s top searches, “curious straight friends,” which increased by 27% in 2023. 

Now, let’s talk fashion. It was Yves Saint Laurent who famously said, “Fashions fade. Style is eternal.” Something certainly not fading is a fascination with men in uniform — specifically servicemen. On PornhubGay, the Military category grew by 88%.

In discussing uniforms, Dr. Laurie Betito said, “People in uniform symbolize power and many people are attracted to people who exude power and control.”

If we are to subscribe to the idea that porn is an escape — an avenue for coping with reality — it is perhaps unsurprising to see this uptick, given the proliferation of war content in the media as high-profile conflicts dominate discussions of current events.

Speaking of geography, one U.S. state stood out for its sense of pride as Nevada’s top search was, in fact, “Las Vegas.” You read that right. Nevadans love their state and even in the comfort of their own sexual desires seek out the Las Vegas Strip atop anything else.

Thankfully, decency laws seem to stand in the way of Pornhub’s adult content appearing in a collaboration with Sphere, which became the largest LED screen on Earth when it officially switched on this past July.

Lastly, while the New York Times may have dubbed 2018 the “Age of the Twink,” Pornhub’s data is showing us that five years later, not much has changed. Topping the search terms for Pornhub Gay this year was, to little surprise, “twink.” 

For better or worse, there is a lot more data on porn trends. For those curious minds, the full report can be found here. Cheers to 2024, and all the search terms coming with it.

Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism

These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!