From pilgrim-themed porn on Thanksgiving to pumpkin play on Halloween, holidays often inspire people's porn preferences, and Valentine's Day is no exception. The only difference is that people are actually watching less porn than normal on February 14th.
According to new data from Pornhub, traffic on the site drops as much as -17% after 6 p.m. on Valentine's Day, with the peak drop happening around 9 p.m. (presumably when porn lovers might be getting offline to engage with IRL partners). Pornhub's traffic doesn't tend to bounce back until around midnight. When the researchers broke down this traffic dip by gender, they found that fewer women than men watch porn on Valentine's Day (women's traffic dips down to -22% while men's only goes down to -16%). So while plenty of women do enjoy some solo sexy time on V-Day, this data suggests that they may not always use porn. (That said, it's hard to say whether or not these Pornhub users, no matter their gender, are searching alone or with a partner.)
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Of course, just because traffic drops on February 14th, that doesn't mean people don't have Valentine's Day porn preferences. In fact, it seems like users might even be utilizing the site to brainstorm sexy celebration ideas. Searches with the word "Valentine" start to increase in the days leading up to the holiday, and they peak at +1,093% on the day of (compared to average daily levels). The other search terms that get a huge V-Day boost are: "love," "passionate," "romance," "making love," "massage," "seduce," and "sensual." Here's hoping people are looking for ideas on how to make sex more drawn-out and thoughtful on the big day.
And for those of you who aren't into the romance stuff, you're not alone: Searches for "kinky," "rough sex," "quickie," "bondage," "dare," and "babysitter" also spike on Valentine's Day. So if porn is in your plans for February 14th, we can basically guarantee that there's something out there for you.
Not into Valentine's Day porn? Then you might want to check out these seven genres of porn that are off the beaten path. From real couples having sex to Reddit porn, you can't go wrong if you find something that gets you off.
While we're arguably more in control of and confident about our sexuality than ever, there's still so much we don't know about female arousal. So this month, we're exploring everything you want and need to know about how women get turned on now. Check out more here.