20.7% of heterosexual men in an online US survey had watched male-male porn in the past 6 months, according to a 2015 survey of 821 men published by Downing et al. (2017). That’s roughly 1 in 5.
Trans porn now ranks among the biggest categories. Transgender was Pornhub’s 2nd most-viewed category worldwide in 2025, according to company data reported by PinkNews, and research on men attracted to trans women finds most of them identify as straight or bisexual.
In this article, we’ll break down how many straight men watch gay and trans porn, why they say they do, what lab studies show about men’s arousal, how common same-sex attraction is among straight men, and the role of stigma.
Top Statistics on Straight Men and Gay or Trans Porn
- 20.7% of heterosexual men in a 2015 US survey had watched male-male porn in the past 6 months, while 55.0% of gay men had watched heterosexual porn.
- Transgender was Pornhub’s 2nd most-viewed category in 2025, up 5 places from 7th in 2024 (company data).
- 26% of exclusively heterosexual men in an opt-in survey of 4,175 Americans had ever had a same-sex fantasy, compared with 59% of exclusively heterosexual women.
- 73% of men who have sex with trans women identified as straight or bisexual in one US study.
- In a 2021 lab study, men’s genital arousal tracked their stated attraction at 0.83, compared with 0.18 for women, about 4.6 times as closely.
- 4.7% of US men aged 18 to 49 say they’re attracted mostly, but not only, to women.
- 2.8% of US men aged 18 to 44 who identify as heterosexual had ever had any same-sex sexual contact (2011–2013), compared with 12.6% of heterosexual women.
How Many Straight Men Watch Gay Porn?
20.7% of heterosexual-identified men reported viewing male same-sex behavior in porn over the past 6 months, according to Downing et al. in Archives of Sexual Behavior (2017). The online survey of 821 US men was conducted in 2015.
The heterosexual group was small: 134 men, according to a summary by Justin Lehmiller, so 20.7% is about 28 men (our calculation). Media coverage usually rounds the figure to 21%, or “one in five,” as in The Advocate (2017).
Crossover runs the other way, too. Gay men were about 2.7 times as likely to have watched heterosexual porn (55.0%) as straight men were to have watched male-male porn (our calculation).
Here’s a breakdown of porn viewing by men’s sexual identity:
| Sexual Identity | Men in Sample | Watched Male-Female Porn | Watched Male-Male Porn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heterosexual | 134 | 99% | 20.7% |
| Bisexual | 153 | 88% | 96% |
| Gay | 534 | 55.0% | 98% |
Past 6 months, online survey of 821 US men (2015). Sources: Downing et al., Justin Lehmiller
Platform data points the same way. 24% of self-identified straight male visitors to YouPorn watched male-on-male porn, according to company data reported by GCN in 2018. Another write-up of the same YouPorn data said straight men chose gay porn 23% of the time, per Instinct Magazine.
Here’s how other estimates compare:
| Measure | Figure | Population | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watched male-male porn, past 6 months | 20.7% | Heterosexual men, US (2015) | Downing et al. |
| Watch male-on-male porn | 24% | Straight male YouPorn visitors (2018) | YouPorn, via GCN |
| Men’s share of Pornhub’s gay-content audience | 50.3% | All men, all orientations (2026) | Pornhub, via Out |
| Porn searches that are for gay male porn | About 5% | US searches (c.2013) | Stephens-Davidowitz |
| Gay porn in heterosexual men’s top 5 genres | Not in top 5 | 2,227 Croatian adults (2016) | Hald & Štulhofer |
Company figures are self-reported by the platforms. Sources: GCN, Out, Philadelphia Magazine, Sex and Psychology
Men’s share of Pornhub’s gay-content audience includes gay and bisexual men, so it doesn’t measure straight viewers. Women make up the other 49.7%, a share tracked over time in research on why women watch gay porn.
For most straight men, gay porn remains a side interest. Amateur, oral sex, big breasts, threesomes and anal topped heterosexual men’s list in a Croatian study, per Sex and Psychology. In a survey of 1,133 Spanish men aged 18 to 40, exclusively heterosexual men mostly watched male-female (97.3%) and female-female porn (96.4%), and watched less male-male porn than any other group, according to Nebot-García et al. (2025).
Do Straight Men Watch Trans Porn?
Transgender was the 2nd most-viewed category on Pornhub worldwide in 2025, behind lesbian, according to company data reported by PinkNews and Tyla. Searches for the category grew 58% that year, per Star Observer.
Its rise has been fast. It ranked 7th in 2022 after growing 75%, according to Euronews, then 6th in 2023 and 7th again in 2024, before jumping to 2nd in Pornhub’s 2025 category rankings.
Here’s a breakdown of the Transgender category on Pornhub over time:
| Year | Category Rank | Reported Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Not reported | Category up 23%; “trans” searches up 141% | Sex and Psychology |
| 2022 | 7th | Category up 75% | Euronews |
| 2023 | 6th | Not reported | The American Spectator |
| 2024 | 7th | Not reported | Man of Many |
| 2025 | 2nd | Searches for the category up 58% | Tyla; Star Observer |
All figures are company-reported. Sources: Sex and Psychology, Euronews, The American Spectator, Man of Many, Tyla, Star Observer
Pornhub doesn’t publish viewers’ sexual orientation, and its gender data is inconsistent. In 2023, women viewed trans content 175% more than men (company figure; measure not explained), according to SAYS. In 2026, men were 8% more likely than women to watch it, per Attitude, which didn’t say how that was measured.
Older viewers stand out. Viewers aged 65 and over were 21% more likely to watch trans content in 2026, per Attitude, and boomers showed a 58% rise in interest in trans content in 2023, per SAYS.
Treat these figures with care. Dr Giselle Woodley of Edith Cowan University called Pornhub’s annual review a marketing exercise, per Star Observer.
Who Are the Men Attracted to Trans Women?
73% of men who have sex with trans women identified as straight or bisexual, in a US study by Operario and colleagues, according to Justin Lehmiller. Operators of trans porn sites also report that most of their clients are straight men (Escoffier, 2011).
Lab research supports that picture. Men with a sexual interest in trans women, which researchers call gynandromorphophilia, had genital and subjective arousal patterns like heterosexual men’s and unlike gay men’s, according to Hsu et al. (2016).
An internet survey of 314 such men and 211 heterosexual controls found they were much more attracted to women than to men, according to Rosenthal, Hsu & Bailey (2017). The authors describe it as an unusual form of heterosexuality rather than a separate orientation.
Here’s a breakdown of research on men’s interest in trans women:
| Study | Sample | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Operario et al. (via Lehmiller) | 46 men who have sex with trans women, San Francisco area | 73% identified as straight or bisexual |
| Hsu et al. (2016) | Lab study, three groups of men | Arousal patterns resembled heterosexual men’s |
| Rosenthal, Hsu & Bailey (2017) | 314 men vs 211 heterosexual controls | Much higher attraction to women than to men |
| Petterson & Vasey (2021) | 52 heterosexual undergraduate men, Canada (50 answered) | 18% reported lifetime sexual feelings for women and trans women |
| Blair & Hoskin (2019) | Just under 1,000 adults, online | 3.1% of cisgender heterosexual participants would date a trans person |
Samples are small or self-selected. Sources: Justin Lehmiller, Wikipedia, Hsu et al., Rosenthal, Hsu & Bailey, Petterson & Vasey, Psychology Today
Eye-tracking adds detail. In 52 heterosexual Canadian undergraduates, men looked longer at feminine trans individuals than at cisgender men but less than at cisgender women, according to Petterson & Vasey (2021). 12% reported sexual feelings for women and trans women in the past year.
Dating preferences look very different. Only 3.1% of cisgender heterosexual participants said they’d date a trans person, and 87.5% of all participants selected only cisgender partners, according to Psychology Today, reporting Blair & Hoskin (2019).
Why Do Straight Men Watch Gay or Trans Porn?
Research points to fantasy, curiosity, fluid attraction and a focus on the male performer, though most of these motives come from qualitative work and expert interpretation rather than measured shares. Downing described identity-discrepant viewing as “some level of evidence” of fluidity in sexual attraction, per The Advocate.
Same-sex fantasies are common. 26% of exclusively heterosexual men in Lehmiller’s opt-in survey of 4,175 Americans had ever had one, compared with 59% of exclusively heterosexual women, about 2.3 times as many, according to Sex and Psychology. Men were also more likely than women to fantasize about sex with someone who is transgender, per WSB-TV.
Some straight men pay attention to the male performer as a model rather than a partner. In male-female porn, 78.7% of exclusively heterosexual Spanish men focused mostly on the woman, but heterosexual men explained attention to the male performer with “I would like to be like him” more often than exclusively gay men did, according to Nebot-García et al.
Here’s a breakdown of the main explanations and the evidence behind each:
| Explanation | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fluid attraction | 13.2% of heterosexual men report some same-sex attraction | Nebot-García et al. 2022 (via PsyPost) |
| Fantasy | 26% of exclusively heterosexual men had a same-sex fantasy | Lehmiller (opt-in, 4,175 adults) |
| Identifying with the male performer | “I would like to be like him” cited more often by heterosexual than exclusively gay men | Nebot-García et al. (2025) |
| Hypermasculine scenarios | Gay porn often centers muscular, hypermasculine men | Sam Miles, via PinkNews |
| Attraction to femininity (trans porn) | Arousal patterns resemble heterosexual men’s | Hsu et al. (2016) |
Expert comments are interpretation, not measured data. Sources: PsyPost, Sex and Psychology, Nebot-García et al., PinkNews, Hsu et al.
Experts also point to novelty. Dr Sam Miles of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said gay porn’s hypermasculine scenarios may offer straight men “an intriguing and different kind of sexual relationship”, and Downing suggested some may respond to the male bonding on screen, per PinkNews.
Fantasies cover a wide range in other samples, too. 20.6% of 717 Quebec men had fantasized about gay sex and 16.2% about watching two men, according to Joyal, Cossette & Lapierre (2015). That sample included men of all orientations.
Does Watching Gay Porn Make You Gay?
Research doesn’t show that watching gay porn changes sexual orientation. What lab research does show is that men’s genital arousal tracks their stated attraction closely: 0.83 for men vs 0.18 for women, about 4.6 times as closely (our calculation), in a 2021 UK study of 145 men and 178 women by Raines et al.
Men’s arousal to their less-preferred sex averaged 0.24 standardized units above baseline, compared with 1.29 for women, about 5.4 times as much for women (our calculation). Women show the reverse pattern, one of the lab findings behind research on why straight women watch lesbian porn.
The pattern goes back two decades. Men were aroused mainly by their preferred sex in a 2004 study by Chivers et al., while women responded to both. A 2007 follow-up with 44 men and 47 women found the same, per Chivers, Seto & Blanchard.
Here’s a breakdown of key lab findings:
| Finding | Men | Women | Study |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genital arousal tracks stated attraction | 0.83 | 0.18 | Raines et al. 2021 |
| Arousal to less-preferred sex (units above baseline) | 0.24 | 1.29 | Raines et al. 2021 |
| Genital and self-reported arousal agree (correlation) | 0.66 | 0.26 | Chivers et al. 2010 |
| Response follows preferred sex | Yes | Weakly | Chivers et al. 2004, 2007 |
| Pupils of “mostly straight” men respond more to men than straight men’s | Yes | Not applicable | Rieger & Savin-Williams 2012 (n=325) |
Lab samples are small and volunteer-based. Sources: Raines et al., Chivers et al. 2010, Chivers et al. 2004, Chivers, Seto & Blanchard, Rieger & Savin-Williams
Men’s bodies and self-reports also agree more. Across 132 studies, the correlation was 0.66 for men vs 0.26 for women, about 2.5 times as strong, according to a meta-analysis by Chivers et al. (2010).
Orientation isn’t a simple on/off switch, though. “Mostly straight” men’s pupils responded more to male videos than straight men’s did, but less than bisexual and gay men’s, according to ScienceDaily, reporting a Cornell pupil study of 325 people by Rieger & Savin-Williams. In Spain, 71.1% of “somewhat heterosexual” men said male-male porn aroused them, per Nebot-García et al.
How Many Straight Men Have Same-Sex Attraction or Experience?
4.7% of US men aged 18 to 49 say they’re attracted mostly, but not only, to women, according to the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth (2015 to 2019). In total, 8.5% report some attraction to men (our calculation), while 90.6% are attracted only to women.
Women’s attraction is more often fluid: 14.2% of women are attracted mostly to men, 3 times the men’s share (our calculation).
Experience runs ahead of identity, too. 7.3% of US men aged 18 to 49 have ever had sexual activity with a man, and 3.2% in the past year (2017 to 2019), per the NSFG. In 2011 to 2013, 6.2% of men aged 18 to 44 had ever had same-sex contact, while 3.9% identified as gay or bisexual (our calculation), a gap also visible in data on what percentage of the population is gay.
Here’s a breakdown of same-sex attraction and experience among men:
| Measure | Men | Population | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attracted only to women | 90.6% | US men 18–49 (2015–2019) | NSFG |
| Attracted mostly to women | 4.7% | US men 18–49 (2015–2019) | NSFG |
| Ever had sexual activity with a man | 7.3% | US men 18–49 (2017–2019) | NSFG |
| Heterosexual-identified, any same-sex contact | 2.8% | US men 18–44 (2011–2013) | NSFG (NCHS report) |
| Attracted mostly to women, any same-sex contact | 26.8% | US men 18–44 (2011–2013) | NSFG (NCHS report) |
| Heterosexual-identified, some same-sex attraction | 13.2% | Spanish adults 18–40 (online) | Nebot-García et al. |
| Identify as “mostly heterosexual” | 9% | Online sample (1,676 responses) | Cornell University study |
Only 2.8% of US men aged 18 to 44 who identified as heterosexual had ever had any same-sex contact (2011 to 2013), according to the CDC’s NCHS report. Heterosexual women were about 4.5 times as likely (12.6%) (our calculation).
“Mostly straight” men are a different story. 26.8% of men attracted mostly to women reported any same-sex contact, about 9.6 times the rate among heterosexual-identified men (our calculation). In an online survey of 2,900 heterosexual Spanish adults, 13.2% of men reported some same-sex attraction, per PsyPost.
Company polls run much higher. In YouPorn’s survey, 24% of self-identifying straight men said they’d had gay sex at least once, per Instinct Magazine, likely because porn-site visitors aren’t a representative sample.
Younger adults are more open to the idea. 49% of British 18- to 24-year-olds placed themselves somewhere other than 100% heterosexual on the Kinsey scale, while 72% of all British adults said they were completely heterosexual, according to YouGov (2015). Those figures cover men and women.
How Does Stigma Affect Straight Men Who Watch Gay Porn?
Stigma makes this behavior hard to measure. In a 1996 lab study of 64 heterosexual men, 54% of men with higher homophobia scores showed definite tumescence (a clear genital response) to a gay male video, compared with 24% of less homophobic men, according to Scientific American, summarizing Adams, Wright & Lohr.
That’s more than twice the rate (our calculation), but the study is old and small. The authors themselves suggested anxiety or other emotional arousal could explain the response, per Psychology Today.
Discomfort is common. In the Spanish survey, every group except exclusively gay men reported more discomfort when aroused by male-male porn (above 14.3%), according to Nebot-García et al.
Search data hints at what men don’t say. Roughly 5% of porn searches were for gay male porn, a share that was similar in every US state, according to a 2013 analysis by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz reported by Philadelphia Magazine.
Methodology
We reviewed 116 data points from 36 sources. Core sources are Downing et al. (2017), an online survey of 821 US men in 2015; the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth, which is nationally representative; and lab studies of genital arousal, pupil dilation and eye tracking, which use small volunteer samples.
Pornhub and YouPorn figures are company-reported, based on inferred gender and drawn from press coverage; they describe one platform’s users, not all men. Lehmiller’s fantasy survey, the YouGov poll and the Spanish and Quebec studies are opt-in or convenience samples. The 1996 homophobia study comes from press and blog summaries of the original paper. Ratios, sums and approximate counts are our own calculations, and all findings are correlational.
Key Takeaways
About 1 in 5 straight men in the best-known US survey had watched male-male porn in the past 6 months (20.7%), and Transgender was Pornhub’s 2nd most-viewed category in 2025. Research on men attracted to trans women finds most identify as straight or bisexual, with arousal patterns like heterosexual men’s.
Watching isn’t the same as orientation: men’s genital arousal tracks stated attraction far more closely than women’s (0.83 vs 0.18), and only 2.8% of heterosexual-identified US men aged 18 to 44 had ever had same-sex contact (2011–2013). Research points instead to fantasy, curiosity and fluid attraction: 4.7% of US men say they’re attracted mostly, not only, to women.
FAQ
Do straight men watch gay porn?
Some do. 20.7% of heterosexual men in a 2015 survey of 821 US men had watched male-male porn in the past 6 months, and YouPorn reported in 2018 that 24% of its self-identified straight male visitors watched male-on-male porn.
Does watching gay porn make you gay?
Research doesn’t show that it changes orientation. Lab studies show men’s genital arousal tracks their stated attraction closely (0.83 in a 2021 study), and men in the “mostly straight” range respond somewhat more to male stimuli than exclusively straight men.
Is it gay to watch gay porn?
Not necessarily. 26% of exclusively heterosexual men in an opt-in US survey had ever had a same-sex fantasy, and 4.7% of US men say they’re attracted mostly, but not only, to women. Identity, attraction and viewing don’t always line up.
Why do straight men watch trans porn?
Research on men attracted to trans women finds their arousal patterns resemble heterosexual men’s. 73% of men who have sex with trans women identified as straight or bisexual in one US study, and Transgender was Pornhub’s 2nd most-viewed category in 2025.
What percentage of straight men have gay experiences?
2.8% of US men aged 18 to 44 who identified as heterosexual had ever had any same-sex sexual contact (2011 to 2013), compared with 26.8% of men attracted mostly to women. Overall, 7.3% of US men aged 18 to 49 have ever had sexual activity with a man.
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