Pornhub: Here's what men and women search for when it comes to masturbation
May is National Masturbation Month, and we're celebrating with Feeling Yourself, a series exploring the finer points of self-pleasure.
Everyone has a slightly different ritual when it comes to self-love, but for many people that adventure involves a visit to Pornhub.
We asked the folks at the adult entertainment behemoth to give us a look into what people are searching for when it comes to masturbation videos -- and they've provided some very interesting insights.
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When it comes to masturbation-specific search terms, the results are fairly consistent with what they told us last year. There remains an interest in voyeurism, with various searches for "public" and "caught" variety ranking high. Though clearly the general term "masturbation" still reigns supreme.
As for how searches break down by demographic groups, women are 24 percent more likely to watch masturbation videos than men. And users under the age of 35 are far less likely to seek out masturbation videos than people who are 45 and up.
Men and women also differ when it comes to specific searches. Women are 87 percent more likely to search the term "masturbation" and way more likely to search for male-related masturbation videos like "solo male masturbation" (305 percent more likely), "male masturbation" (276 percent more likely), and "hot guy masturbating" (389 percent more likely).
Meanwhile, men are more likely to search for things like "jerk off challenge" (66 percent), "jerk off encouragement" (65 percent), and "jerk off instruction" (51 percent). Make of that what you will.
Geographically speaking, these states lead the way for masturbation searches: New Mexico (27 percent above the national average), Alaska (22 percent above), and Kansas (14 percent above). Meanwhile, these two states are the least likely to search for masturbation videos: Wyoming (42 percent below the national average) and Idaho (38 percent below).
If you're looking for larger geographic patterns, you're more likely to search for masturbation-related videos if you live in the wild, wild southwest than you are if you from the south. California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico are all above the national average while Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and North and South Carolinas are all below that average.
So there you have it. If you're a woman over 55 living in New Mexico, congratulations: You're probably celebrating National Masturbation Month in style.
Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
