A – Z of Porn ‘H’

Learn about porn without having to watch it. H is for Hairy, Handjobs, Hentai, Homemade (and Hardcore Porn)

Hairy

One of the things that lots of people say about porn is “oh everyone in porn shave their pubes off”. Pube density is a fashion thing in real life and also in porn. (In the UK it has been reported that over 80% of women remove some pubic hair. Also lots of guys like to have a trim down there. You can read more about pubic hair here.)

So just like in real life some porn actors are hairier than others. However some actors and models are very hairy. Some people are really really into that. Perhaps it’s because it’s a sign that the model is mature, or it reminds someone of the ‘back in the day’ 1970s porn where people were hairier, or maybe they just like hair – who knows. Point is, some people really like it and that’s why there’s a porn category.

Handjobs

Just as with ‘fingering’ this is a category for those that want to watch people masturbate penises. It’s popular in ‘gay’ and ‘straight’ porn and can feature people masturbating each other or someone masturbating by themselves. Like I said when I talked about fingering (yes, this is my job) that porn shows this kind of sex isn’t really talked about very much. Porn isn’t just penis in vagina sex in three very uncomfortable positions on white leather sofas, it does show lots of different kinds of sex that people may actually want to have.

Read the other A-Z of Porn

Hentai

Japan has a long history of erotic art/illustrations/paintings/prints and animation from Shunga hundreds of years ago to what many (in the west) refer to Hentai today (which is related to Anime and Manga). On porn sites Hentai refers erotic and pornographic cartoons or animations. Because they rely on drawings and the imagination of the artist much of what is contained in these videos are not realistic – much like Tom and Jerry, He-Man, She-Ra and Danger Mouse. Some of the stuff they show would be dangerous, illegal, non-consensual or impossible in real life.

Shunga Shex Ed.
Shunga is a term describing art featuring sexual and erotic content made hundreds of years ago. My friend Emma took me to an exhibition about this at the British Museum last year (thanks again Emma, it was fun wasn’t it?) so as I’m talking about Japanese erotica I thought I’d share my notes about that I made in the pub afterwards. It featured massive massive massive penises. It wasn’t all about erotica but sometimes educational. There were manuals about how to have but also how to masturbate – for men and women. Even though the genitals were oversized they were very well drawn – especially vulvas. Samurais were bisexual. There was lots of mutual pleasure and consent going on (scenes of non-consent were very clear that they were). Some were funny or taking the piss. More about the exhibition here.

Homemade

See also ‘Amateur’

Hardcore

It’s not really a category on many porn sites because most of the porn that they show is ‘hardcore’. Lots of people get confused by this but really all hardcore means is that you can see people having sex and that you can see their genitals. Softcore porn is where you see people having sex but can’t see their genitals (this is what is shown on UK TV on those adult channels they have now) or where it’s just people posing and not having sex. Some people would say Page 3 and Lad’s Mags are softcore porn.

Read the Educational Guide to Porn 

© Justin Hancock, 2025 Find out more about me and BISH here.

BISH is run by me, Justin Hancock. I’ve been a trained sex and relationships educator since 1999. I’m a member of the World Association for Sexual Health. As well as BISH I also have resources, a podcast, and a coaching service for over 18s, as well as some of the best RSE teaching resources around. Find out out about my other work at justinhancock.co.uk. My work has featured (positively) in the media, like the BBC, Financial Times, The Economist, The Guardian, Sky One, and Novara Media.

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