LOS ANGELES—More than 15 percent of self-identified heterosexual men, and more than 31 percent of heterosexual women say they regularly watch trans and same-sex gay content online, according to a study by the xHamster Data Center, as part of its 2019 Study of Digital Sexuality.
In addition, adult consumers are significantly more likely to identify as LGBTQ than the general population, with nearly 32 percent of adult consumers identifying as either gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or non-binary.
"People who enjoy adult content are exposed to a much broader understanding of sexuality and gender, and thus much more likely to see themselves as part of a spectrum of sexuality, rather than be pigeon-holed into narrow categories," says Alex Hawkins, vice president of xHamster. "Adult content not only provides a space for those in the LGTBQ+ community, it plays an important role in breaking down social stigmas for all users."
In a study conducted earlier this year, xHamster asked more than 11,000 visitors about their gender and sexual identity, and correlated it with what type of content they most commonly watched.
•More than 22% of visitors identify as bisexual, nearly ten times the frequency in the general population
•More than 4% identified as lesbian or gay
•Almost 5% of visitors refuse to conform to any particular sexual identity
•And 2.4% of visitors identify as trans or non-binary
Even those who identified as "heterosexual or straight," said they regularly watched LGBTQ content:
•Gay male content is regularly watched by 3.5% of heterosexual men and 16.4% of heterosexual women
•Lesbian content is watched by 31.6% of heterosexual women and 29.7% of heterosexual men
•Trans content is enjoyed by 15.3% of heterosexual men, and 8.3% of heterosexual women
"For many people, adult sites are the only place where they can explore their sexuality, or encounter new content that turns them on," says Hawkins. "Our bodies respond to stimuli in ways that our 'rational' mind might never have considered. Adult content always has been a force for a more progressive, more diverse sexuality, and we're proud to throw virtual bricks against the windows of oppression."
Users of the site were unsurprised by the findings, with many confessing that their viewing habits do not always match their stated sexuality.
"Antiquated labels such as "heterosexual" and "homosexual" are so 20th Century," wrote one user in response to the report. "Ten years on this site has taught me that."
1. Data on LGBTQ viewing habits here
2. Data on Sexual Identification patterns here.
