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when literally everyone on the internet was constantly talking about eating ass? (We may want to forget it, but you can’t erase history, folks.)
So, what horny little obsessions will dominate the discourse (and/or our actual sex lives) in 2023? Only time will tell, but if you ask us, our money’s on pegging—aka anal penetration involving a strap-on. And if you don’t wanna take it from us (kind of rude, TBH, but I’ll try not to take it personally), take it from Clips4Sale, the largest online platform for kink and fetish content, which just named pegging 2023’s “Fetish of the Year.” That’s right, it’s officially the Year of the Peg.
Per the announcement, pegging owes this honor to a massive surge in popularity during the latter half of 2022, when sales and searches for the kink skyrocketed thanks, one has to assume, to a certain royal rumor involving a certain Prince of Pegging that made the rounds back in July. According to Clips4Sale, pegging has grown more rapidly than any other category on the site in the past six months, nearly doubling its 2021 numbers. Pornhub data revealed similar insights, with “pegging” and “strap-on” among the highest trending search terms of the year, per the platform’s 2022 Year in Review report. And because life has a tendency to imitate porn, the experts predict this spike in popularity is a sign that we’re about to see this once-niche kink move beyond exclusively XXX territory.
“We suspect we’re going to see pegging move mainstream, like rimming or anal,” says Avery Martin, a spokesperson for Clips4Sale. “Porn is often at the vanguard of sexual exploration, and the sexual conversation more broadly.” In other words, if it’s popular in porn, chances are it’s coming soon to a bedroom and/or cultural moment near you.
The 2010s saw a handful of notable pegging moments in pop culture, including the famed Ryan Reynolds scene in 2016’s Deadpool and the simply iconic Broad City pegging episode. Then there was Cara Delevingne’s discourse-generating “Peg the Patriarchy” moment at the 2021 Met Gala (controversial due to Delevingne’s lifting of the phrase originally coined by sex educator Luna Matatas). And, of course, there was last year’s Prince of Pegging rumors—which, according to Certified Sex Coach and Sexologist Lucy Rowett, was responsible for a 318% increase (!!!) in Pornhub searches for “pegging” in the UK.
That said, pegging’s current moment in the spotlight isn’t all due to movie references and royal rumors. According to Megatron, we’ve reached peak pegging thanks to “a number of significant societal shifts impacting identity, emotional intimacy, and pleasure” in recent years. These include the #MeToo movement, which sparked a national conversation about the nuances of consent that ultimately encouraged people to be more open and intentional about communicating their sexual desires and boundaries, as well as a growing rejection of traditional gender roles and an embrace of more fluid, open-minded, and kink-friendly sexploration.
“Personally, I believe pegging is helping us collectively grow in so many ways—it’s helping break down stigma about sexuality, gender, power, mental health, vulnerability, and the list goes on,” says Megatron. “And that’s not even factoring in the earth-shattering orgasms!”
Angie Rowntree, Founder and Director of ethical porn site Sssh.com, points to 2010’s Everything Must Go, in which Will Ferrell witnesses his neighbors getting their peg on in a scene that’s largely employed for humor/shock value, as an example of the media's less-than-stellar track record of respectful pegging representation. Even my beloved Broad City pegging episode—while still one of the most important moments in television history, IMO—was maybe more humorous than it was necessarily empowering, and the buzz around those Prince Willy rumors (if admittedly pretty amusing, TBH), did err a little on the kink-shame-y side.
Again, pegging in pop culture isn’t new. “However, what is ‘new’ in this present moment is the emerging culture of openness, inclusiveness, and acceptance for different sexual orientations and preferences,” says Rowntree. “One of the larger ‘sex trends’ we see emerging in 2023 is the greater willingness of adults to explore their sexuality on their own terms. Instead of focusing on ‘labels’ or wondering whether ‘liking X makes you Y,’ the emphasis is really about experiencing pleasure for its own sake.”
Fingers crossed we’ll see this mentality translate into a healthier, less shame-y approach to pegging and other kinks in the media, as well as in our own bedrooms and fantasies this year.
Now, does this mean you have to go out and invest in a strap-on? Definitely not. (Though if you’re peg-curious, by all means, strap one on and go find you a hole to breed.) You don’t actually have to be into pegging to embrace the spirit of the Year of Pegging. As Rowntree puts it, this trend should “invite us all to contemplate what it means to truly enjoy and experience sexual freedom as adults on our own terms.”
In other words, the Year of Pegging isn’t all about dildos in buttholes. It’s about saying eff you to any societal shame or stigma that’s holding you back from embracing your sexuality and feeling empowered to explore your desires to their fullest extent. And if that does happen to involve breeding some holes with a literal strap-on, then go forth and peg your little hearts out, my friends.
Hello and Welcome to the Year of Pegging
Every year has its sex thing. In 2015, the 50 Shades craze meant everyone and their mother was suddenly into BDSM. 2019 saw a lot of foot stuff thanks to the block-busting release of Quentin Tarantino’s foot fetishiest film yet. And who could forget that year (I wanna say c. 201 when literally everyone on the internet was constantly talking about eating ass? (We may want to forget it, but you can’t erase history, folks.)So, what horny little obsessions will dominate the discourse (and/or our actual sex lives) in 2023? Only time will tell, but if you ask us, our money’s on pegging—aka anal penetration involving a strap-on. And if you don’t wanna take it from us (kind of rude, TBH, but I’ll try not to take it personally), take it from Clips4Sale, the largest online platform for kink and fetish content, which just named pegging 2023’s “Fetish of the Year.” That’s right, it’s officially the Year of the Peg.
Per the announcement, pegging owes this honor to a massive surge in popularity during the latter half of 2022, when sales and searches for the kink skyrocketed thanks, one has to assume, to a certain royal rumor involving a certain Prince of Pegging that made the rounds back in July. According to Clips4Sale, pegging has grown more rapidly than any other category on the site in the past six months, nearly doubling its 2021 numbers. Pornhub data revealed similar insights, with “pegging” and “strap-on” among the highest trending search terms of the year, per the platform’s 2022 Year in Review report. And because life has a tendency to imitate porn, the experts predict this spike in popularity is a sign that we’re about to see this once-niche kink move beyond exclusively XXX territory.
“We suspect we’re going to see pegging move mainstream, like rimming or anal,” says Avery Martin, a spokesperson for Clips4Sale. “Porn is often at the vanguard of sexual exploration, and the sexual conversation more broadly.” In other words, if it’s popular in porn, chances are it’s coming soon to a bedroom and/or cultural moment near you.
So why pegging, and why now?
Of course, pegging is nothing new, and it’s been inching its way into mainstream culture for years now. While the act itself has existed for as long as there have been strap-ons and assholes, the term “pegging” has only been around since 2001, when it was coined by sex columnist Dan Savage. Since then, it’s been “quietly rising in popularity and acceptance,” says Certified Sex Educator Sunny Megatron, Editor in Chief of Zipper Magazine and co-host of the American Sex Podcast.The 2010s saw a handful of notable pegging moments in pop culture, including the famed Ryan Reynolds scene in 2016’s Deadpool and the simply iconic Broad City pegging episode. Then there was Cara Delevingne’s discourse-generating “Peg the Patriarchy” moment at the 2021 Met Gala (controversial due to Delevingne’s lifting of the phrase originally coined by sex educator Luna Matatas). And, of course, there was last year’s Prince of Pegging rumors—which, according to Certified Sex Coach and Sexologist Lucy Rowett, was responsible for a 318% increase (!!!) in Pornhub searches for “pegging” in the UK.
That said, pegging’s current moment in the spotlight isn’t all due to movie references and royal rumors. According to Megatron, we’ve reached peak pegging thanks to “a number of significant societal shifts impacting identity, emotional intimacy, and pleasure” in recent years. These include the #MeToo movement, which sparked a national conversation about the nuances of consent that ultimately encouraged people to be more open and intentional about communicating their sexual desires and boundaries, as well as a growing rejection of traditional gender roles and an embrace of more fluid, open-minded, and kink-friendly sexploration.
“Personally, I believe pegging is helping us collectively grow in so many ways—it’s helping break down stigma about sexuality, gender, power, mental health, vulnerability, and the list goes on,” says Megatron. “And that’s not even factoring in the earth-shattering orgasms!”
What exactly will a year of pegging entail?
TBD! But hopefully we can expect to see more of the mainstream pegging representation we deserve—ideally in ways that aren’t exclusively played for laughs. Historically, when we’ve seen this kink in pop culture, it’s often been the butt (pun kind of intended) of a joke.Angie Rowntree, Founder and Director of ethical porn site Sssh.com, points to 2010’s Everything Must Go, in which Will Ferrell witnesses his neighbors getting their peg on in a scene that’s largely employed for humor/shock value, as an example of the media's less-than-stellar track record of respectful pegging representation. Even my beloved Broad City pegging episode—while still one of the most important moments in television history, IMO—was maybe more humorous than it was necessarily empowering, and the buzz around those Prince Willy rumors (if admittedly pretty amusing, TBH), did err a little on the kink-shame-y side.
Again, pegging in pop culture isn’t new. “However, what is ‘new’ in this present moment is the emerging culture of openness, inclusiveness, and acceptance for different sexual orientations and preferences,” says Rowntree. “One of the larger ‘sex trends’ we see emerging in 2023 is the greater willingness of adults to explore their sexuality on their own terms. Instead of focusing on ‘labels’ or wondering whether ‘liking X makes you Y,’ the emphasis is really about experiencing pleasure for its own sake.”
Fingers crossed we’ll see this mentality translate into a healthier, less shame-y approach to pegging and other kinks in the media, as well as in our own bedrooms and fantasies this year.
Now, does this mean you have to go out and invest in a strap-on? Definitely not. (Though if you’re peg-curious, by all means, strap one on and go find you a hole to breed.) You don’t actually have to be into pegging to embrace the spirit of the Year of Pegging. As Rowntree puts it, this trend should “invite us all to contemplate what it means to truly enjoy and experience sexual freedom as adults on our own terms.”
In other words, the Year of Pegging isn’t all about dildos in buttholes. It’s about saying eff you to any societal shame or stigma that’s holding you back from embracing your sexuality and feeling empowered to explore your desires to their fullest extent. And if that does happen to involve breeding some holes with a literal strap-on, then go forth and peg your little hearts out, my friends.
