Rise In Demand For Transgender Porn In One Of The Worst Years For Trans Rights

Pornhub’s Year In Review has showcased its diverse trends throughout 2025, with “lesbian” named the world’s top porn category, followed closely by “transgender”, with searches for the latter category growing by 58 per cent this year.

“Transgender” has been steadily growing in popularity as a porn category, rising by 75 per cent in 2022, with another report from Pornhub in 2017 showing that there’s been a sharp rise in users searching for trans content since the mid-2010’s.

For the first time, “femboy” was ranked in the world’s Top 10 Search Terms this year, even making it as the top search on PornhubGay. Some of the leading terms around femboy included “cute femboy”, which was up by 79 per cent, “sexy femboy” at 93 per cent, and “femboy hentai” up 64 per cent.

“What’s happening in 2025 is more than just an increase in views; it’s a cultural shift,” said trans Pornhub Brand Ambassador, Natassia Dreams. “For the first time, trans-led content is the second most watched category in the industry. People are finally seeking out stories and performers who break old ideas about gender and sexuality.

“It’s amazing to see viewers become more open-minded and interested in authenticity. This growth shows trans creators are finally being seen and celebrated on our own terms. Audiences and the industry are evolving together.”

Representation or fetishisation?

The statistics come at a time where queer rights, especially trans rights, are being targeted at extremely high rates. Throughout 2025, the Trans Legislation Tracker counted 1014 anti-trans bills introduced across the United States, seeking to block trans people from healthcare, education, and legal recognition, the highest number of anti-trans bills seen in history. 124 have passed, with 508 still active now.

So why are trans people- in particular, trans women- so popular in pornography?

Sexologist and pornography researcher, Dr Giselle Woodley from Edith Cowan University, said that although the rise in queer porn can feel like a positive, there’s more insidious factors lurking under the surface.

“We know that research tells us that the main consumers of lesbian are actually straight men eroticising two women together rather than a global celebration of queer sex,” she told Star Observer.

“Additionally, the rise of porn featuring transgender porn at first glance feels like a move towards more inclusive porn categories but given the global backlash to trans identifies and the erosion of trans people’s rights the world over, I would suspect not. It’s more likely that transgender porn has become a growing taboo for some porn users.”

However, Dr Woodley says that at the end of the day, all the Pornhub Year In Review really is, is a marketing exercise.

“If data was being collected and reviewed by a third party we would likely see different results,” she said. “For instance, teen porn and incest/step fantasy porn are two genres we know are growing in or at least have sustained in popularity but both would not be well received on their yearly lists.

“It’s going to take more than the fetishisation in the adult entertainment industry to better rights for trans and gender diverse people.”