Not safe for citation? A cited reference analysis of adult content platforms in scholarly publications

Despite their popularity and cultural relevance, adult content platforms remain marginal in scholarly citation practices. This study presents the first cited reference analysis of Pornhub, with comparative attention to OnlyFans, RedTube, and XVideos, using Scopus data to evaluate citational visibility. For RQ1, Pornhub overwhelmingly dominates, amplified by public usage metrics and heightened exposure during COVID-19, while other platforms remain nearly invisible. For RQ2, citations cluster in anglophone contexts, concentrated in journals such as Porn Studies, Archives of Sexual Behavior, and Journal of Sex Research. Disciplinary coverage spans social sciences, psychology, medicine, arts and humanities, and computer science, while keyword mapping highlights themes in platform studies, public health, and socio-cultural representation. For RQ3, the disparity reveals that citability is governed less by cultural relevance than by reputational risk, gatekeeping, and infrastructural opacity. These exclusions demand epistemic inclusivity and reflexive engagement in constructing the scholarly record.