Revealed: Australia’s smut-obsessed cities

#Smuttok is gaining popularity across the globe, with almost one million views on TikTok’s hashtag. A term used to describe fiction that’s sexually explicit, reading smutty books is one way to feel empowered, and could even be a great place to get some tips from!

With this huge surge in popularity, we decided to uncover the most smut-obsessed cities in Australia, and their favourite books, by looking at Google searches and hashtag mentions.

The smut-obsessed cities of Australia

Forbidden love, age gaps, enemies to lovers… all tropes we know and love, and just can’t get enough of – for some cities, more than others.

1. Sydney

Sydneysiders’ obsession with smut runs deepest, with the most Google searches for “smut” and smutty book titles in the last 12 months, at 34,800 and 7,080 searches respectively.

Not only that, but the hashtag mentions of “#smut” has increased the most in Sydney, by +13,700%, showing that residents are getting hot under the collar from reading all those erotic novels.

2. Perth

Perth is the second most smut-obsessed city in Australia, with 15,600 Google searches for the word “smut” in the last 12 months, as well as 3,840 for smut books we analysed (placing them third in both).

Not only that, but Perth’s use of the hashtag “#smut” has increased by 1,400%, and it has the fifth most positive sentiment for the term, at 19%, showing reading preferences are less non-fiction, and more filth.

3. Brisbane

With the joint second most number of hashtag mentions of “#smut” (up 2,900%), and the third most positive sentiment for the word (24% - after Wollongong and Newcastle), Brisbane is officially obsessed with smutty books.

More and more people are searching for them too, with 10,560 Google searches for “smut” across Brisbane over the last 12 months, and 2,520 searches for specific smutty book titles.

4. Melbourne

Melbourne’s pretty filth-friendly too, coming in fourth place for their love of smutty books. The city boasts not only the second most Google searches for “smut” (28,000), but the second most searches for titles of smut books (5,760), and the joint second most increase of the mention of “#smut” in a hashtag, at +2,900%.

5. Adelaide

Rounding off our top five smut-obsessed cities is Adelaide, who also love sitting back and getting lost in some erotica, with the fourth most positive sentiment for the word “smut” (20%).

Residents are going back for more too, with 5,760 searches for “smut”, and 1,320 searches for some of the most popular smut books, over the last 12 months.

Australia’s favourite smutty books

Whether you’re considering dipping your toes into the world of smutty books, or you’re a seasoned professional who needs some inspiration for their next read, then why not try some of Australia’s top titles?

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Written by Sarah J, Maas, the ACOTAR series was released back in 2015, and follows Feyre Archeron who gets pulled into the faerie lands of Prythian. Australians simply can’t get enough of it, with it getting the most Google searches across Sydney (64,800), Melbourne (64,800), Brisbane (43,200), Perth (28,800), and Adelaide (15,600).

Scarred

The second book of Emily McIntire’s Never After series, Scarred is inspired by the Lion King, and is full of royals, rows, and a whole load of raunch.

Scarred comes in second place across all five major Australian cities, with people in Sydney and Melbourne searching for it the most, at 10,560 over the year, followed by Brisbane, with 5,760 searches.

Hooked

Australia’s third favourite smutty book is Hooked, the book that precedes Scarred in McIntire’s trilogy (although technically they can be read as standalones). A dark retelling of Peter Pan, Hooked sees the villains get the happy ever afters, and as readers, we can’t get enough.

It was the third most searched for smutty book across all five major Australian cities, with 5,760 searches in Melbourne, 4,680 in Sydney, and 2,520 in Brisbane.

How to make the most of your smut books

Research has shown that people who read erotic fiction have 74% more sex than people who don’t, and many women in particular, have said that while they don’t enjoy watching porn, they love reading it.

So, whether you’re new to the world of smut, or are a seasoned regular but want to add some extra spice to your sex life, here are a couple of tips on how to fully embrace your smut-obsession.

1. Experiment with sex toys

If mentions of “guttural groans” and “throbbing members” get you all hot and flustered, then why not move things up a notch? From dildos to clitoral vibrators, and rabbit vibrators, it’s time to get involved in the fun with your favourite characters.

2. Tell your partner your fantasies

If you’ve got a partner, then why not let them get involved in the fun? Read out snippets together, or tell them which sex scenes you want to recreate, to shake up your love life, and leave you both wanting more.

So, if you’ve been searching for some inspiration on the next smut book to pick up, hopefully we’ve helped you with that! And, if you’re looking to up the ante in the bedroom, then why not discover our range of bondage, anal beads, and more?

Methodology

Sources:

• "933.9K posts for #smuttok globally on TikTok -
• TikTok creator centre source https://www.tiktok.com/tag/smuttok?lang=en"
• Google Keyword Planner - https://ads.google.com/intl/en_uk/home/tools/keyword-planner/
• Brandwatch software - https://www.brandwatch.com/

Methodology:

First, we compiled a list of the nine most populated cities in Australia according to Google desk research. The data for each factor was then gathered, and we normalised the data, to give each factor a score of between 0 and 25. The normalised data was then summed, to give each city a total score out of 100. The cities were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on this total score, with a higher score producing a better ranking.

The factors are as follows:

• “Smut Books” Search Volume - The total number of yearly searches for all the smut books provided, according to Google Keyword Planner.
• “Smut” Search Volume - The total number of yearly searches for the prompt 'Smut Books' in each city according to Google Keyword Planner.
• Positive Sentiment - The positive sentiment for “Smut” in each city, according to social media listening tool, Brandwatch.
• No. of Hashtags - The number of mentions of “#smut” across various social medias in each city, according to social media listening tool, Brandwatch.

The factors were then normalised as follows:

• All Factors - High values get a high score. Low values get a low score.