This year, we liked our porn the “natural” way PornHub's annual recap is out, and the results are thought-provoking

Even in what may be the most complex year yet for the porn industry, Pornhub has returned right on time with its annual recap of users’ viewing habits. An appointment that, beyond pure statistical curiosity, now works as a kind of cultural thermometer. Because while it’s true that the category podium remains stable, with hentai in first place and MILF in second, it’s equally clear that something in the way we imagine desire is changing at a deeper level.

The most popular porn categories of 2025

While cosmetic surgery, longevity and body optimization have dominated conversations, feeds and advertising campaigns, on Pornhub the fascination with eternal youth seems to take a step back. In its place emerges a growing interest in age, in lived-in bodies, and in less polished forms of beauty. The most obvious data point remains the strength of the MILF genre, which continues to rank among the most searched worldwide and has seen an additional rise in attention over the past year.

Searches linked to keywords such as cougar, mature, over 50, and even GILF (grandma I’d like to…) rose significantly, pushing the Mature category firmly into the global top five. Alongside this, another key trend of 2025 emerges: the idealization of natural beauty. PornHub reports that searches for expressions such as natural beauty, real woman and no make-up are growing at double-digit rates, pointing to a widespread desire for unfiltered bodies, faces far from performance, and an aesthetic that recalls everyday life more than a hyper-produced set.

Forbidden fantasies and the contemporary imaginary

Beyond broader cultural macro-themes, much more immediate dynamics also come into play, tied to pop culture and its viral moments. In 2025, a scandal seemingly far removed from porn, like the one involving the CEO of Astronomer during a Coldplay concert, ended up reflecting directly in users’ fantasies. As a result, searches linked to power dynamics and infidelity rise sharply, with particular attention to office-set scenarios, managerial figures, and narratives of betrayal.

Alongside these more narrative fantasies, a shift also emerges in how porn is consumed and reinterpreted. Over the course of 2025, several hybrid categories recorded the fastest growth on the platform, signaling an increasingly strong crossover with other digital languages. Podcast-inspired content, for example, becomes one of the year’s most visible phenomena, turning words and vocal intimacy into a new erotic stimulus. At the same time, videos tied to the gaming world grow, tapping into imaginaries already familiar to online communities, somewhere between cosplay, role-play and fandom fantasy.

What kind of porn do Italians watch?

Finally, the Italian numbers reveal a picture that aligns closely with everything discussed so far. In 2025, Italian users search first and foremost for themselves (quite literally). The most searched term remains “italiano”, followed closely by “milf” and “amatoriale italiano”, confirming a clear preference for recognizable contexts, familiar language, and domestic imaginaries. More than the exotic or the extreme, what seems to matter is a sense of proximity, or perhaps we could even talk about a form of nationalism, as one might in politics.

Shifts in search terms also point to curiosity moving within very specific boundaries. Interest grows in categories such as “latina” or “italini”. And while Transgender and Anal also rank among the most viewed categories, it’s striking how they coexist with a strong sense of self-reference: Italy is the most viewed relative category in the country, by a wide margin compared to other markets. After all, as the saying goes, «Italians do it better», right?