Nov
18
Straight Guys, Gay Porn: “Men” Mag Responds
November 18, 2008 |
We wrote yesterday about RandyBlue.com studmuffin Reese Rideout having been named Men magazine’s new Man of the Year (CLICK HERE or scroll down a touch). Mr. Rideout is publicly gay-for-pay (if he’s bi, he is not open about it); he takes over for gay-for-pay Johnny Castle, who in turn took the crown from gay-for-pay Zeb Atlas (before then it was very openly gay Luca DiCorso). Some of our readers have expressed misgivings about a gay adult magazine choosing to lionize and promote a straight man (or one who professes to be hetero) when there are plenty of openly gay or bi men who are equally deserving. Gay-for-pay is all over the place these days, particularly in the amateur and pro/am online markets. So are we perhaps seeing a small backlash? Unzipped Media staffers read your comments (I told ya the biz pays attention to what you folks are saying around here) and Editorial Director David Kalmansohn sent along a statement. CLICK HERE to read it…
Here is Mr. Kalmansohn’s statement:
One of the comments on your blog goes right to the point: Men magazine doesn’t choose the Man of the Year, its readers do. We just count the ballots and take the pictures. We think of Men as an equal opportunity purveyor of beautiful men — gay, straight, and that intriguing area in between.
Where does Reese Rideout fall on that spectrum? Well, we find him a particularly intriguing fellow. Whether he’s shaking his phenomenal ass for fans to play percussion on, hanging out with his girlfriend, indulging in a little mid-party lip lock with fellow stud Chris Rockway, or having hot sex on RandyBlue.com, he’s a warm, sincere, appreciative, funny, and delightfully down-to-earth young man — the kind of guy you’d want to give a blow job to then take home to meet the folks. There was no homophobia in play when Men’s readers cast their votes this year.
Comments
76 Comments so far
If Reese Rideout is gay-for-pay and so terrible normal, then its a pity he does not stick to heterosexual porn!
If Reese Rideout is gay-for-pay and so terrible normal, then its a pity he does not stick to heterosexual porn!
No homophobia? Isn’t internalized homophobia homophobia nonetheless? Ultimately, who cares about their personalities and private lives… Yeah, self hatred is a huge problem amongst gay men, and evidence for this is comically abundant. But do you think those that voted were voting because of the personality here? Really? All I’m sayin’ is scratch the surface and goodbye fantasy. They’re just moving body parts. Capitalize on a fantasy borne of homophobia…why not? It spends the same. And it’s not going to change by hand wringing.
Listen he’s a super cute guy BUT he’s gay for pay and doesn’t really ‘belong’ here. As said there are so many gay guys deserving to be there as much or should say much more than this model. I mean the guy should have so many opportunities in the straight field and our fellow gay guys need a job too
I’m really, really sorry, but I work at a major entertainment company and if there is one thing this reeks of is PR - big time! This all feels like bulls**t spin. This magazine and porn plays off the fantasy we gay guys have of seeing a ’straight’ guy getting off. The only thing Men Magazine and this blog want is to have a high reader count/sales count so they can pull in the ad sales so they can create revenue so their bosses like them and they all stay employed. I hate to burst the fantasy bubble, but this is all just a big game of smoke and mirrors…call it Porn Showbiz!
It all seems very simple to me. Gay-for-pay will always be around as long as the male stars of straight porn are paid less than those of Gay porn.
I am speaking from experience when I tell you guys that just because, a model is Gay he is more eager to become apart of gay porn and if he does he would make for a good star and representative of a company.
When it comes to Gay-for-pay models what I would find unattractive are those who distance themselves and think they are better or more valuable than their fellow gay models. I have worked with Reese Rideout several times and he is one of the best models to work with. He is not ashamed of his craft and can handle shit-talking from the public gracefully. He loves his fans and at every event he treats fans with respect and a flirty appreciation. Who cares if the Man of the Year is straight or Gay- you’re not gonna get him in bed either way.
Both Gay and Straight models has a cock and ass and isn’t that what it is all about? To say Gay-for-pay models don’t belong here is a joke! Do you know how small magazine issues would be without straight-identified models? I’m sorry we need all the hot models we can find- personally I can shoot a model and never ever ask them their orientation- It doesn’t matter.
Don’t pretend that advertising straights having gay sex for money doesn’t increase revenue, though. It matters only insofar as it is used as a draw. After all, if it really didn’t matter it wouldn’t come up ever. Why? For reasons already enumerated. But don’t be choosey in laying blame. Blame both those that constitute the market for it and those that produce and distribute it if you’ve a problem–they survive off of each other…it just seems so tedious and wasteful to blame anyone, though.
“If Reese Rideout is gay-for-pay and so terrible normal, then its a pity he does not stick to heterosexual porn!”
Sinu, get a clue. No matter how hot, straight guys make lousy money in straight porn. Straight porn is all about the females. Hot guys going the porn route are going to do gay porn because that’s where their money is. Surprise, guys don’t appear in porn for political reasons, or to make sexual statements; they do it for the money, and the money is in gay porn.
Kalmansohn’s point is well taken. The MEN Man of the Year is selected by reader votes. You don’t like their choosing straight guys three years running, vote for someone else.
The magazine could insist on only running photospreads of gay men, but they’d have trouble verifying their genuine sexuality, and in any event, the magazine is titled MEN, not GAY MEN, and eliminating gay-for-pay men would be highly discriminatory.
Do I like three consecutive straight Men Magazine Men of the Year? No. Tough. I didn’t like 8 years of President Bush either, which is rather more important. Democracy is a bitch, unless you agree with the majority.
Straight bi gay whatever…..if any guy deserved man of the year its Reese Rideout. He is one in a million and by far one of the nicest guys i know. There is noone else like him in the industry
Congrats BUDDY!
STRAIGHT GUYS MAKE LESS MONEY? NOT AT ALL? ACTUALLY EVEN STRAIGHT WOMEN USUALLY GET PAID “LESS” THAN MEN IN GAY PORN. BUT GUESS WHAT? THOSE WOMEN AND MEN CAN DO SOOOOO MUCH MORE MOVIES IN STRAIGHT PORN THAN YOU CAN IN GAY PORN. IN OTHER WORDS…THE MOST THAT A GUY CAN DO IN GAY PORN IS 30 MOVIES, RIGHT? AND THEN HE HAS TO RETIRE SINCE NO ONE WILL EVER WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN? STRAIGHT PORN? YOU CAN MAKE 30 OF THOSE SCENES IN LESS THAN A MONTH. SOOOO…WITH GAY PORN, YOU GOT A PART TIME JOB, BUT WITH STRAIGHT PORN YOU GOT A BEAUTIFUL FULL TIME JOB. ANYWAYS, IF IT’S JUST ABOUT MONEY, THEN JUST ESCORT…YOU CAN MAKE 200,000 IN A YEAR WITH NO PROBLEM, WHY HAVE TO DO PORN?
I have no inside knowledge regarding Mr. Rideout specifically — poor me! — but it is well known that several sites (coughseancodycough) say every model is straight regardless of the truth. Nevertheless, it would be nice if Men Magazine, ostensibly a gay rag, would push a gay guy for man of the year. Certainly the votes correspond to the amount of PR the guy receives in the very pages of the rag seeking readers’ votes…
I don’t think in the history of running an online adult company have I ever commented on any other blog then my own so this is pretty much a first for me.
I am surprised at so many of the posts and so much misinformation that is just speculative and not backed up with any real knowledge of the industry. So let me take this time to inform people a little about the gay porn industry.
I will break it down in a few points because if I didnt I would probably be writing 10 pages.
1. Men magazine is about the male form and the appreciation of the male form reguardless of the models sexuality. Were all the models in Playgirl straight? Does any one want to bet on how many of the models in Playboy are bi or lesbian? Do the majority of newstand readers care? Reese was voted on by the fans because he is the best.
2. There would most likely be a lot more gay porn stars in the industry if the response they recieved from blogs and from their friends were not so negative. Gay men read these posts and more then a few decide not to do any more work becasue of the cruel and most often ridiculous things that are spouted off about them. Gay men are told by their friends not to do porn and how awful it is when straight men are told by their peers to go and enjoy themselves and have fun. Yes, and dont argue this point with me I know and I have met their friends. Straight men live in a bubble and do well in this industry because they never come across all the shit talking that goes on. And even if they did most would just smile and say have a good day and walk on.
3. Reese Ridout has been with me since the very beginning of his career. That is 3 years and still going strong. I cannot tell you how many men gay, bi and straight have come and gone and yet Reese is still here. It has not been easy for him and he has over come alot to get where he is and he has done it with complete humbleness and style. Everyone in my company looks up to him and new models apply just because of him. Photographers all over the world want to work with him and in three years I cannot think of anyone who has that has nothing but the kindest words to say about him. In a world where almost ever company would give their eye teeth for him he has stayed loyal, steady, professional and completely motivated by his fans. That in itself in a dog eat dog industry is something to be highly complimented. I might also add the very same can be said of Chris Rockway.
4. I have never had a “straight Guy” business. Some are gay, like Blake Riley, Cody Fallon, Derrik Diamond Eddie Diaz, and Dustin Rivers. Some are bi like Brent Diggs, Leo Giamoni, Lucky Daniels, and Kevin Falk. and some are straight like Chris Rockway, Jeremy Walker, Xander Scott, and Reese Rideout. They are actors, they play a part.
I am extremely proud of Reese as is my entire company and what he will bring to Men magazine this year. He simply is the best of the best.
Boycott these business that are thryng to make money and profit off of gay self-hate .How can a “Straight” man get an erection over a guys ass and fuck him. Viagra only works if you are attacted to the person.
Self hate with gay men has gotten out of control.He should go tell a group of real straight men he just fucked a guy in the ass for $1,500 and see how they react.The idea makes straight men sick to there stomachs .
Okay, I agree the readers choose the man of the year, but I also believe it is the responsibility of Men magazine to promote beautiful “gay” men. The fact that the magazine has so little ethnic diversity coupled with the continuing policy of spotlighting gay for pay performers is exactly why I no longer subscribe. I vote with my dollars!
Folks — I published this item to provoke a healthy debate. If you can’t disagree with someone without resorting to personal attacks, you’ll be banned. Period.
Regards,
JCA
It is sad that we as a community still suffer from self-loathing and internalized homophobia so much that we have to pay straight men to have sex with us or eachother because we still cannot fully embrace our own sexuality.
It is always a little disapointing to find out that one of my favorite “actors” turns out to be straight. Part of the fantasy of gay porn is the idea that I might actually one day be able to get with one of those guys I’m seeing on film….the buzz-kill is that would all depend on how much i’m willing to pay him to have sex with me. It is sad that we stil cannot celebrate our own selves…we have to create false idols.
Randy Blue posting here is hilarious. He’sw only part of the problem if he’s pushing the bullshit notion that Xander Scott, Reese Rideout, Kevin (power bottom) Falk, Chris Rockaway, or Jeremy Walker “straight”.
Real heterosexual men don’t do gay porn, and never have. These guys are bi at best.
I don’t really care who Reese fucks on his own time. I think he’s as hot as anyone I have ever seen. In my imagination, he is as gay as I want him to be. I don’t get off on the fact that he might actually be straight. I get off on his general hotness. Whether he’s actually gay or straight or whatever is of little consequence at all. It’s not like I am actually going to be dating him (or even meeting him).
And neither are you.
Why should anyone be deprived of the pleasure of his image just because he isn’t gay enough for you? What kind of bizarre porn bigotry os that?
I have been reading this blog (which I think is pretty much the only decent gay porn blog out there) for a few months now and this is the best discussion I’ve ever seen. Porn plays a huge part in gay men’s lives. Most of us get off to it…it’s nice to see we are thinking about what we are jerking off to AND paying our money towards in this rocky economy. Do we want gay men or straight men in our porn? Does it matter? Do we want the illusion of porn ‘models’ getting turned on when we know it’s all acting? Why do we want that? Why does the illusion of a straight guy having sex turn us on? Why does it get us off?
Personally, I don’t feel we will ever get honest answers from those in the business. Again, I work at a major entertainment firm you all know and I am telling you…you will never know the truth as long as such a truth EFFECTS REVENUE. It’s that simple.
What WE can do, as people who watch, buy and patronize ‘gay’ porn is draw our line in the sand and NOT pay for porn we don’t want to pay for; that is the only way to affect true change. AND if we feel strongly about the subject, protest and boycott porn we think is damaging.
Porn may be more legit and online sites like Sean Cody and Blue and all the others may be good money, but they are only making it because we pay them.
Find out what you stand for, then don’t spend money for straight boys if you don’t want and protest sites you think are damaging.
Personally? Not that you asked, but I’m gay and I like gay. But right now, gays are very much into the whole gay ‘butch’ thing and we have lost our gay way…this is only my opinion.
I feel one of the reasons we pay to watch straight men fuck (and remember, most are not straight, this is the illusion you are being SOLD) is so we don’t have to look at ourselves and accept our being gay men who are sexual and GAY.
Gay is oddly a bad word in gay porn which strikes me as sorta odd and a bit sad.
Nice dialogue, guys. Very interesting.
Lets remember it was MEN magazine that put Reese and the other straight identified models in the magazine in the first place - so dont blame the readers for choosing him.
Its funny or ironic that Men cant find enough gay models and Playgirl couldnt find enough str8 ones.?
The money quote: “Real heterosexual men don‚Äôt do gay porn, and never have. These guys are bi at best.” Talk about your self loathing. As though there is a worthiness gradient, gay being the least and straight the most. Bull. Like Randy said, he has a lot of guys, and they mix out between gay, bi and straight pretty much like the guys I have had the pleasure of bedding over the years (and I promise you my sampling is much larger than RB’s). There is no question that in many cases a producer/director has to walk a line between hot for hot’s sake in appearance, versus hot truly gay sex — a beautiful robot is still a robot and it really shows, at least to me. Back in the day it seems like there were a lot more hot gay guys willing to do porn, and maybe Randy’s point about why a lot of gay guys avoid it now is valid. The don’t want the attention 24/7. When it comes down to it I think great direction is the key — if the sex of whatever flavor variant is hot, that speaks for itself. What we lack in the porn universe these days in my opinion is not hot guys. Its hot sex.
This is porn, not Shakespeare. These men are paid to fuck each other, and not hired to recite even believable dialogue, so spare me the BS.
Truly heterosexual men will not have sex on camera with other men for any amount of money. The idea that gay guys don’t want the “stigma” associated from doing gay porn, yet straight guys are perfectly comfortable having the entire world see them suck cock, and take it up the ass with ease, is one of the most absurd things i’ve ever read.
The studios that promote “straight for pay” are selling gay men a fantasy fueled by self loathing and nothing more.
As Michael wrote:
“The studios that promote ‚Äústraight for pay‚Äù are selling gay men a fantasy fueled by self loathing and nothing more.”
He’s right.
Jesus, no straights in gay porn please. And i’m not thinking in categories but lots of hot-looking gay men need a job too and that’s what matters to me. Moreover most straights-if not all- are lousy performers, severl gay men ar elousy performers too, i admit But still i prefer my stars to be gay - at least in porn
I DON’T SEE COLORS, AND I DON’T HEAR LISPS… WHERE IT MATTERS EVERYONE IS THE SAME. THE SAME!
LOL…how STRAIGHT are you if u’re having SEX with a man…utter nonsense and the gay community gets up in arms almost everytime this MAN OF THE YEAR thing rolls around..they are BI @ best..as one reader said vote your distaste by NOT subscribing to the site or buying the magazine!
Besides i thought magazines were on there way out anyways..lol!!!
“THE MOST THAT A GUY CAN DO IN GAY PORN IS 30 MOVIES, RIGHT? AND THEN HE HAS TO RETIRE SINCE NO ONE WILL EVER WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN”
Magnificent Arpad Miklos has made upwards of 70 movies, and is still going strong, and I haven’t tired of him yet. Hot is forever.
This whole “If a guy is doing gay porn, he can’t be straight” idea is crap, and shows a very shallow understanding of the great mystery of human sexuality. There are lots of ways for straight guys to have sex with men, some are actually tuned on by the thought of money, some close their eyes and think of women, some get off on knowing they turn others on. There aren’t two different sexualities, or even 3, there are as many different sexualities as there are individual people.
And a naked guy in a magazine is whatever you want to imagine he is.
As for “Cock addicts” statement: “Moreover most straights-if not all- are lousy performers” is just not true. Some are indeed lousy. Is there a duller, “I’m not into this” performer than RC Ryan? But others are so convincing, it becomes really difficult to believe they are not gay. Tony Mecelli springs to mind. It varies with the individual.
You can’t ask for equality on the one hand, and then insist on gays-only, which is discrimination, on the other. I have to go with equality for everyone. In porn, I want my guys hot. Who they’re fucking off-camera isn’t a factor.
I think this issue of gay-for-pay bothers a lot of gay men because we all know people who are in denial about their sexuality, and most of us were in denial at some point before we came out. I think a lot of men see these gay-for-pay actors as being simply unable to reconcile their sexuality with their own self image. I know I was in denial for a long time. I was raised religiously, so when I see a man who is clearly in denial, as in the case of “straight” men who frequent the gay bathhouse, I don’t think they are straight, I think they are not ready yet to accept themselves, and ultimately that’s ok, because we all had to deal with that in our own time. But I think it infuriates some people because it’s a bit like Ted Haggard claiming to be 100% ‘cured’ of his homosexualality. It’s hypocritical and untrue. Maybe some of these guys are “straight,” but I’m guessing at some point many of them will come out as being gay. Maybe not, but again, I think it’s the hypocrisy that really infuriates some people. There you are, having gay sex over and over, in different positions, enjoying it, erect, ejaculating, and then you claim to be “straight,” doing it “for the money.” What are we to believe? The actions or the words?
Personally, I don’t mind what the motivation is. It’s hot. The actors know whether they are living in integrity about their sexuality or not, and that’s their issue.
RANDY BLUE:
1. Men Magazine should be about the male form, not about straight male forms. If Reese wasnt labeled straight he wouldn’t have won. Straight guys reading playboy do not place a lesbian higher than a straight woman. So no, THEY wouldn’t care, but the readers of Men do.
2. There are TONS of gay porn stars, they just don’t make Man of the Year, that’s the point. And to think that what bloggers say about gay pornstars would be more of a deterrent than what the peers of straight gay pornstars would say to them is silly. And yes, even straight people find out about their friends or children doing porn. So yes, for straight people to be more accepting of guys getting fucked on film than gay guys is ridiculous.
3. There is no need to defend Reese, because this isn’t anything against Reese. First of all, Reese is only working it, more power to him. Second of all, it’s about the obsession with the straight man. So, Reese didn’t win, a straight man won.
4. Don’t defend yourself because it’s not about randy blue, you’re just working it too, more power to you.
Now what is it that Reese will bring to Men magazine? I believe it will be more self-loathing straight-obsessed men. Therefore, making next year’s man of the year yet another straight man. What he wont bring to Men magazine is a lot of self-loving gay readers.
Douglas:
“You can‚Äôt ask for equality on the one hand, and then insist on gays-only, which is discrimination, on the other. I have to go with equality for everyone. In porn, I want my guys hot. Who they‚Äôre fucking off-camera isn‚Äôt a factor.”
I think what we’re saying is that we dont want gay magazines to be STRAIGHT-ONLY, it’s not like their should be a ban on straight men in gay mags, there just shouldn’t be a ban on gay men in gay mags. And yes, who they’re fucking off-camera shouldn’t be a factor, but why were pissed is because it is.
Randy‚Äôs post was rubbish. 9 out of the 10 men put up for the “man of the year” were straight white men. When is the last time Men put an openly gay man on the cover, and since only cover stars get chosen for man of the year it makes their “you voted for him” argument totally invalid and bogus.
Randy’s post was hot air, it was utterly invalid, RandyBlue is a gay for pay website, at least Randy have the fucking guts to admit it instead of hiding behind meaningless tosh that does not validate the exploitation of internalized homophobia.
What is important, in all other media, Hollywood, TV, and fashion gay men are ostracized and rejected over straight men, one would think gay porn would be a save place for gay men, a visual medium were gay men were not ostracized or degraded or dismissed over straight men, but sadly like 80% of Randy Blues models, straight models on Randy’s site and in gay porn get more praise, more money for less work and unquestionably exalted over gay men as being “better”.
It’s very sad that we have people so ready to exploited a very sad and unfortunate part culture for the almighty dollar, rather than use gay porn to celebrate gay people and gay sex instead of suppressing gay men, degrading gay men degrading gay sex by using straight men who view gay sex in a very negative way and the continuing and rapid heterosexulaizing of the industry. These men, both straight performers and the owners of the sites and magazines, do not deserve our respect and certainly not our money.
I don’t make the connection between thinking straight guys are sexy — which they very often are — and that somehow makes me self-loathing. What’s up with that? Seems to me sort of antiquated. Maybe these younger guys just aren’t so hung up about sex. Maybe they think sex is, well, sexy, and not some dark passion that only vampires do in the dead of night. Jesus mary, I’m making myself wet just thinking about it. I haven’t met a porn producer yet who would turn down anyone who’s hot and willing — gay or straight. Why would they? As for Men Magazine, its not called “Only Gay Men Magazine” now, is it?
Sorry Velveeta Mafia are you being serious? The point of the discussion is that Men‚Äôs Magazine a supposedly Gay men‚Äôs magazine‚Äù is discriminatory against gay men, it rarely use gay models, and very, very seldom puts them on the cover. 90% of models used my Men‚Äôs magazine are straight men. Also when has an African American man appeared on the cover? Very rarely will an African American men feature in the magazine at all, and as for Asian men, well as far as Men Magazine they simply don‚Äôt They are discriminating against minorities, gay and ethnic minorities in every publication, and you use, well should,’t discriminate against straight men, line of reasoning as an excuse, are you being serious?
And besides they fact that gay men are totally and continually discriminating against by the straight world, doesn’t bother you, that straight people have denied gay people simple civil rights.
It seems to me Men’s magazine only lauds and adores the straight white male and what could be more discriminatory than that?
I am serious as as a trojan condom. Men Magazine is about as racist and anti-gay as the WEHO City council. All the foaming at the mouth in the world won’t change my opinion so get over yourself and take a chill pill.
Men Magazine is about as racist and anti-gay as the WEHO City council.
Then I wish they’d start acting like it, becuase as of right now they don’t and no amount of your
smug idiocy will change my opinion.
Even if I disagree with some of the posters I am very happy to see such healthy dialogue taking place. I hope that Men magazine will take not and realize that perhaps some changes need to be made.
Statistically there are more straight men in the world that gay men. Therefore, statistically there are more HOT straight men than hot gay men.
Men magazine is, let’s be blunt, a jo rag. If gay men are going to all of a sudden get P.C. over other people’s jo fantasies, then I suggest they also call the kettle black and throw out their all their David Beckham, Tom Brady, Taye Diggs, Chris Meloni, Brad Pitt, and Daniel Craig photos. Oh, and your gonna have to trash the Abercrombie pics too, ’cause 95% of those models are straight as well.
Hmmm, mayhaps velveeta mafia’s (btw, funny name) got an agenda, simply doesn’t understand, or both. There’s evidence for the second possibility, so that’s the one Ima go with (no offense intended, sugah).
So…a gay man finding a straight man attractive because he’s straight isn’t internalized homophobia? Sure about that? And you’re denying that it’s operative in gay porn and this publication? Do you watch gay porn? If so, you know it’s used to promote performers quite a bit; usually in the first sentence of their description or comes out early on in the interview. Their sexual orientation is often treated as one of the most important things about them… So if not, why are we having this “discussion”, then? Why was it used as a marketing tool in the first place for this and countless other performers? …Annnnywayz, it’s lucrative, and one can’t get around that no matter what kind of agenda…er, spell one is operating under.
I think it’s fascinating insofar as it reflects the impact of sexism and homophobia on gay people. It shouldn’t matter, I agree, but it does to both porn consumers and porn producers and distributors…and, it seems, many performers. And for those so up in arms about it, hey, maybe the type of porn your future bf’s consume is a good indicator of just how fucked up they are…Just tryna look for the silver lining!
I do think the passing of prop 8 can some way be tied into this, CA gay people maybe all American gay people now realize fully and unquestionably that we as a community are second class citizens. That straight people have ripped away our basic human right. We are NOT equal, we are lesser human beings who do not deserve the same rights and lifestyle choices as straight people.
And now, in the gay porn world, many feel the same thing, gay men are passed over and rejected in favour of heterosexual men. And quite honestly it stinks, Men Magazine doing this are being rather insensitive at this particular time. Gay men want to feel good about ourselves and even in gay porn we are made feel undervalued and lesser than straight men.
I’m really upset, and I know it has more to do with prop 8 and the sudden realization we are not equal Americans like Reese, who enjoys the right to get married and indeed is married, he is fortunate to be straight.
Thanks for your support Men’s Magazine at this time for doing fuck all but idolizing straight men again. You obviously, like Randy Blue and ChiChi and all the other porn companies that make their money solely from gay men’s pockets feel no debt to support the unfair and disgraceful treatment of gay men, for that I think you forever stink.
Hey, why bring the drag queen into it? Chi Chi, just go on spinnin’ drag wigs into gold, girl. And who said anything about bedding straight guys because they are straight? They were hot was all. And horny. And straight guys (especially really cute ones) in my experience enjoyed the variety. As for checking out straight guys = self loathing (only a self loather would think that, in my opinion), lets stop for a minute and wonder about straight guys who are turned on by lesbians. Or lesbians that are turned on by gay porn. Is that self loathing or just sexuality. I’m beginning to think some posters here are uncomfortable with sexuality, and are using this topic as a release valve. Suggested alternative: two of the little yellow pills at bedtime. Added bonus: gets the FBI to stop talking to you through your dental work. PS: Lots of straight people voted against Prop H8.
Oh velveeta, you just don’t want to understand what this issue is about. You’ve got some kind of agenda to push through, or you’re just really dumb. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and side with former. Perhaps it’s all just one big coincidence, huh? The g4p phenom in gay porn is just one big coincidence. Perhaps you should hang on to those pills, honey.
Next you’ll be saying that there’s no misogyny is heterosexual porn, and that heterosexual porn consumers don’t enjoy watching women being degraded. Sheesh!
I agree with VM. What about all the lesbians who star in straight porn? Does that make the straight porn consumer self-hating? What bs. If any of you haters really cared this thread would be about bareback porn. Now there is a travesty. That young men who need money are exploited. But not a peep from the nasty posters.
What lesbians in straight porn?? Those women are BISEXUAL, just like their “gay for pay” counterparts. Learn it, accept it, believe it, own it.
Can’t argue with labels. You can only peel them off, along with your clothing.
Velveeta Mafia, you seem very concerned and very defensive about the interests of straight men in the industry, a little too concerned maybe?
Look the straight guy doing gay sex fantasy absolutely has a place in the industry. For guys like you who are turned on by the idea of gay for pay. The point is Men’s magazine is a magazine published for gay men, yet out of 10 of the finalist only 1 was gay. The magazine goes from month to month featuring no gay men in the issues at all. No one wants to deprive your straight guy fantasy, but how about using a gay men in their issues as well for men who are not turned on by the straight guy fantasy?
David Kalmansohn said “We think of Men as an equal opportunity purveyor of beautiful men ‚Äî gay, straight” Well if you’re going form issue to issue not using any gay men then no you’re not an “equal opportunity purveyor of beautiful men ” you are a purveyor of beautiful straight men.
You are saying it’s should be a “gay only magazine“, no of course not, but as it stands it’s practically a “straight only men’s magazine“, which suites you and guys like you whom share you sexual fantasy fine, but for guys who are uninterested and jaded of the excessive amount of straight men in the gay porn industry, it is become incredibly annoying and tiresome.
Men’s magazine isn’t going to change it will be a Randy Blue or Falcon Straight Men site only in print, it’s for intents and purposes like Randy blue a “gay for pay” product made for guys like Velveeta Mafia and men who share his sexual gay for pay fantasy, so if we don’t like it then we should buy it or subscribe to their website, it is becoming pretty much boring and irrelevant anyway.
I think this debate speaks to a bigger, unresolved issue. I think the term sexual orientation is wrong. I’ve known gay men who have had sex with women and straight men who have sex with men. Ultimately, it comes down to whom you LOVE, not who or what you get aroused by.
We like to put sexuality in nice neat little packages (straight, bisexual, gay) when in fact, there are a lot more variations going on. I’ve known men who will f*ck soft fruit to get off. having sex with someone is quite different than who you give your heart to and who you are willing to spend your life with, change their diapers if need be, if that time comes. Perhaps romantic orientation is a better term? Love orientation?
As for being attracted to straight guys: I think this is more about our male-centric culture. Although women have made great strides, America is still rather misogynistic. And so is the gay male community. We are often attracted to traditional masculinity because it has been sold to us our entire lives, just as traditional femininity has. Ever seen a beer ad with a short-haired brunette without makeup? No, we get Paris Hilton washing a car in a bikini while eating a cheseburger.Who do gay men love right now? A straight married soccer player with kids who happens to be a bit of a metrosexual. How many gay men are pining over Peter Paige, Alec Mapa, or Tim Gunn?
“We like to put sexuality in nice neat little packages (straight, bisexual, gay) when in fact, there are a lot more variations going on.” True I consider myself K6, but I have a huge crush on Chan Marshell aka Cat Power.
But are you saying gay men can’t or are not masculine? I know a lot of gay men who are more “straight acting” than some straight men. There are many masculine gay men in the biz. Like Jean Franko, Marco Blaze who are incredibly sexy, much more than Resee or the guys on Randy‚Äôs site. There is Levi Poulter, who is gay and stunningly handsome. Carlos Caballero is the hottest man in all of porn gay or straight and he is more masculine and more of a man than every model on Corbin Fisher put together. Jake Dakota, I thought was for sure gay for pay, he looks it. Arpad Miklos is another, the biz is full of very handsome masculine gay men. Actually while I think of it Reese Rideout or Xander Scott and the like aren’t that masculine, they are more meterosexual than anything.
We hear a lot that a guys true sexuality doesn’t matter, but then why is such a big deal made out of their heterosexuality, if their straightness is immaterial then why is it such a huge marketing tool. And honestly I’d pine over Robert Gant or Luke MacFarlane over some meterosexual any day.
Marco’s got a solid point. Homophobia wouldn’t exist if sexism didn’t. The claim trades on what constitutes a real man vs. a not-real-man via the engine of sexism–gender normative behavior and setreotypes (that is, what men should be and what women should be in virtue of this societal “ideal”). Any deviation from this norm is treated with hostility, violence and degredation. Gay men are outside of this norm, and are told that they are morally inferior and disgusting as well as get routinely bashed, etc. It’s no wonder that many gay men get off on g4p, because those models/performers represent “real men” to them as per the story of gender they’ve been treated poorly with and buy into at least in their fantasy life. It’s the same kind of principle applied to straight acting as opposed to just masculine. (Masculine is often used negatively, too, but not necessarily.) It has nothing to do with the truth, of course, just the bigotry we collectively experience that is expressed by this kink.
Ultimately, and independently of it merely being offensive to gay men qua gay men, is it actually harmful? I’d say no, as the damage has already been done to the consumer. Kinks are almost impossible to eradicate.
And the suggestion that a performer’s sexual orientation (lesbian in this case) is used as a selling point in hetero porn is absurd. At most you see bisexual women fulfilling a heterosexual man’s “fantasy” of lesbian behavior, minus lesbian sexuality. But when heterosexual men start being the victims of sexism, you’ll have a point, VM.
That’s what irritates me most about gay for pay, there are a lot better looking models in the industry who are gay and who are more masculine than a lot of the gay for pay guys. The logic behind the men who like gay4pay ‚Äústraight men are real men‚Äú, even if they are more pruned and waxed meteros than gay men. That gay does not equate with being a real man, and there is the sell-loathing and internalized homophobia that is present in the logic of gay4pay. So sites which use a lot of gay4pay guys are indeed exploiting an internalized homophobia in many of it‚Äôs consumers no matter how much they try to defend it. It‚Äôs all very depressing.
One more thing Randy wrote that straight models don’t get the shit that gay models get from their friends in their private life, that would mean Randy’s straight performers don’t know or don’t associate with gay people in their private lives, which isn’t very encouraging to hear at all.
You know I have been reading this thread and I have commented on several threads and done posts on my blog dealing with this same subject. Some of what has been said I agree with and some I do not. That being said I would give you my opinion on the matter. First of all this is just porn, it really is that plain and simple. We use it to get a nut. The fact that we are projecting our fantasies on the model and hoping and wishing that we could possibly one-day hook up with them is what makes porn work for us.
The whole thing about whether the model is gay or straight is really pointless. Porn is a fantasy acted out on the screen by two or more “models” for you viewing pleasure? It really is that simple. The whole idea of a straight model doing gay porn is in my opinion a joke. I have never really fallen for the whole idea of gay and straight. At one point in my life I thought it was them or us but over the years I have come to the conclusion that sexuality is fluid and it can not be categorized. It is all in our heads.
When you think about it we all try to place ourselves in-groups because it makes us feel comfortable. As far as the general public goes they think being gay is a lifestyle and we as “gay” people continue to allow them to believe that. We chose gay neighborhoods and gay clubs and we exclude them from our private lives. I have come to believe that the gay community is it’s own worst enemy. Now I know I will take some flack for that but that is how I feel.
I have never chosen to live in the gay ghetto because for me to being gay a neighborhood did not define me. I define myself and I always have. I have been out and proud for damn near thirty years and I have had issues with not being accepted for who I am. If I were not liked for being who I was I would just say fuck you to who ever had an issue with it and move on. I have had more issues in the gay community for being black that I ever had with society in general for being gay.
I really think the gay community should take a step back and look at it self to see where the real problems are and correct that before they expect the world at large to just accept them. The real problems with the gay community mirror the general population as a whole. We are not accepting of ourselves and that is where the real problems lie. The gay population as a whole is more than two hot hunky butch white men sucking cock and butt fucking. And until you all realize that we are doomed to be second class citizens.
The fact that so many of you have disdain for dragqueens just pisses me off. It was the dragqueens who stood up to the police in New York during the stonewall riots. So you can thank them for making the first great strides towards your equality. I was the female gay population who came to the aid of the male population during the aids crisis While so many gay men were in denial about that dreaded epidemic. Yet there is a great disdain for lesbians among a large groups of gay men. I remember the great debates in
San Francisco about closing down the Gay bathhouses and how much flack the politicians took for that. But they were just trying to stop the spread of the virus. Even when we knew that bareback sex could spread the Aid’s virus and cause us to get infected we choose to continue doing it. When to porn industry started producing safer sex porn we balked at the idea even though most of the performers who at that time were either all infected and or dying? And now the fastest rising form of porn is bareback porn, what does that say about us?
The fact that you are upset because a self identified straight man is making gay porn and getting recognized for it is not the issue here it is US that is the real issue. We have to understand that it is our dollars that pay the salaries of the models that do porn because it is our dollars that buy that porn. So if you really have an issue with straight men doing gay porn vote with your wallet. But you might want to remember this, Porn is just a fantasy and that is all plain and simple.
There is too much emphasis placed on the sexuality of the models in my opinion. Porn is supposed to get you off and if you are watching it and and wondering if the guy really likes to suck a dick or get fucked up the ass then you are watching some bad porn and it is not doing the job it is supposed to be doing. I have said to my friends repeatedly that that good porn requires chemistry between the models. It is that chemistry that does not make you ask the question is he really straight or gay it just makes you bust a nut.
Now I am not going to be a bitch here and name the names of performers who I think suck and I am pretty sure you all know who they are. If they don’t work for you then let the producers know with your wallet.
But to say that a performer does not deserve to be recognized for their work because they identify as straight is in my opinion just plain wrong. We are acting just like the people who we think are doing us a great disservice by denying us our rights. You can not have it both ways, either we are accepting or we are not and if we choose the latter them we are no better than those who choose to oppress us.
I think Reese is beautiful, and I don’t care whether he is straight or not. It IS all about the fantasy. I disagree with Johnny Castle being classified as “gay-for-pay” since he has not done a scene with another man. Just solo JO scenes in gay movies. He is a straight porn-star who solos in gay porn films. Still he is beautiful. Reese and Zeb Atlas qualify under the “gay-for-pay” moniker since they actually have sex with men in front of the camera. And, really, who really cares how a model identifies while watching a hot scene? I still love watching Reese and Chris Rockaway because they are HOT!
I think there are a few points that need to be made here to clear things up.
First, if adult magazines only published pictorials of gay men, they would run out of content very quickly. A lot of gay men suffer from shame about their sexuality, and they don’t always put themselves out there in such a public and proud manner. Straight guys have an “I don’t give a shit” mentality that serves them well when it comes to their bodies. They just don’t suffer from a lot of the same issues that gay men do, consequently they are much more comfortable with their bodies.
Secondly, we like to point the finger at the websites like RandyBlue or at magazines like Men and say, “They are promoting self-loathing; they suck.” But the bigger issue here is that magazines and websites only give the public what they want. It’s the chicken-and-egg debate: Who’s really at fault here? Gay men for chasing after traditionally hetero ideals of masculinity, or the magazines for responding to it? Seriously, gay men need to take a look at their own self-loathing and ask themselves why they only want ultra-butch guys. The magazines aren’t the problem; they are only a result of the bigger issue, which is how gay men feel about themselves. All you have to do is look on any hookup site like Manhunt or Adam4Adamn, and you’ll see it in action. “I am straight-acting and you must be too!” “Masculine men ONLY! NO FEMMES!” Why do you think a lot of these guys–who, take it from me, are not as straight as they say they are–promote themselves as “gay-for-pay”? Because it’s what WE tell them to do. The gay community is as complicit in this as the magazines and websites, if not more so. Again, WE are the ones who voted on the Man of the Year, not Men magazine. We made Reese Man of the Year. These are OUR results.
Third, if magazines did not play to their readers, they would be out of business entirely, and we wouldn’t even be having this discussion. It’s the same with a Hollywood actor who does a big blockbuster movie so that he can then go and make a smaller indie film that he is more passionate about. Sometimes the magazines and websites have to hire gay-for-pay models to stay in business so that they can use their platforms to talk about important issues in the gay community. Would we rather not have Men magazine at all to debate over? In the end, Reese Rideout being on the cover and being named Man of the Year is presenting us with an opportunity to begin a dialog that could serve us well. The question is: Are we going to heed that call?
Maybe part of the fantasy is in watching a “straight” man realize how hot it is to have sex with another man. Remember when gay sex was taboo for you personally? Remember your first time (also a frequent selling point in movies)? Maybe the fantasy is watching a “straight” man discover that men know how to please a man…
In any case, let’s all love each other.
To me, it boils down to this gay men are all surface. Straight men on the other hand have substance, depth and machismo which gay men long for however, will never possess! Before you asked yes I do love GAY self! Yet the truth is the truth.
Wow…that’s really insulting. I guess wittgenstein was just a superficial queen. Plato…another superficial queen. The truth is your truth, and it happens to be false, asshole.
Posters keep saying whether a models is straight or not doesn’t matter. BUT IT DOES MATTER, it matters the editors of Men magazine, that’s for sure.
November 2008: 3 Straight Randyblue Models appear on the cover.
October 2008: Straight man Damon Danilo appears on the cover.
September 2008: Straight cover model.
Every other month has a straight cover model.
There are 3-4 models used in every issue only two model were gay, out of all the men featured in MEN magazine in 2008, 2 out of 46 models were openly gay.
In 2007,there was 1 gay 11 straight cover models.
And MEN magazine don’t care if a guys is gay or straight, BULLSHIT, they care.
BTW only two African American models were used in the last two years, and NO Asian, Oriental of Native Americans have been used.
“We think of Men as an equal opportunity purveyor of beautiful men ”
Bullshit, to say a models sexuality is irrelevant is rubbish. MEN discriminate against gay and ethnic men, and their behaviour and choice of models absolutely and undoubtedly reinforces that fact like it or not.
Well it looks like the race issue has been brought up as it pertains to gay American’s. I have always found that there was a huge disparity in the gay scene and gay porn as it pertains to race. When you look at porn it portrays blacks and Latino’s as thugs and it rarely does not acknowledge Asians at all. Why is that you ask? Well the answer is two fold first you do not have that many people of color who perform in porn and secondly you have the difference in culture.
The cultural differences aside when you do have minorities in porn they are often portrayed as stereotypes that play into the fantasies of the white men who buy porn. The cultural difference is because of the problems that this country has always had when it comes to race. Blacks, Latinos and Asians have always had to deal with the cultural differences in the communities that they grew up in. Being gay is not as accepted and therefore they are not as out of the closet and if they are they tend to tow the line more so than their white counterparts.
There is also the issue of beauty, what America deems as attractive is not necessarily of color. Now I will admit that things are changing but it is a slow process. Let’s just stick with the porn angle for now. There are very few porn models of color. And most studios and video companies either can not seem to recruit them or choose not to. I rarely if ever see models of color that are not portrayed in some kind of negative light. Be it a dominant Mandingo or a Latin thug. Why is that? Because it sells that is why. Who buys it, certainly not me?
There is also this whole image that gay men have with trying to portray themselves as “straight acting” yet there are so many people who are up in arms about “straight models” acting in gay porn. Face it people you asked for that, because that is the type of porn you ask for. Just go to any gay hook up site and it is right there. Looking for a “straight acting, macho, no fems or fairies only into white guys” you find that in most of the profiles.
So in effect these guys who are cruising for sex online are only looking for big buff white guys who “act straight”. Yet they balk when the porn industry uses this as a marketing tool to make money. Face it, it is what you asked for. The porn industry is in this to make money and they are going to give the consumer what they want. All you have to do is go to X tube and you will see that there is a wide variety of guys on there who are showing their stuff for the world to see for free and they are not all white.
I have read that the porn industry is having a tough time recruiting minorities. I don’t get it these young men are putting this shit out there for free yet some business savvy producer has not picked up on that untapped market. This is where I see a problem, either they can not make money-showing men of color or they choose not to. What ever the reason is I’m sure someone has a good excuse. The porn industry as a whole does what the market requests so if it is straight boys having gay sex then that is what they will give you. My question is why all of the big stink about straight boy when we are taking the youngest models and letting them risk their health with these bare back companies?
I really wonder about the priorities some people have. Your pissed because some “straight boy” is fucking up your fantasy yet you care nothing about some twink risking getting infected on a bareback porn shoot. I just don’t get it. If you look at the videos that are being reissued by all of these companies, the so called “vintage” porn that was made in the late seventies and early eighties most of the models are dead. The reason is we did not know any better then. Today we do but some are still trying to make you believe that it is safe because they take precautions. The fact is there are no precautions good enough because what a model does off set you can not control.
It couldn’t just be old fashioned racism? Not america! Joking, of course. A theme is the neglect of concern over bareback expressed in this thread, used to suggest that that’s magically not an issue of significant importance for many consumers of gay porn. However, we’re discussing THIS issue, not that one. So basically, whatcher sayin’ is that one can’t discuss this without bringing that up, or just talk about that because this is inconvenient to talk about? That’s a nonsequitur. It’s a separate issue that is worthy of concern, discussion and condomnation, but one used now as a diversion from the topic at hand.
Tricky we can discuss one with out the other. That is not a problem at all. To me it seems that so many are upset about Straight guys doing gay porn. Well the simple solution is to not buy into it. Do not accept the straight ideal as sexy and only accept men who are out and proud as our porn Icon’s. Do not buy publications that force straight men on us as eye candy. Do not buy gay porn with straight models. Ignore straight men altogether and do not glorify them in any way whatsoever. It really is that simple. But that is easier said than done. When so many gay men have a desire to sleep with straight men. The real deal is that we have to be proud of who we are and not try to live up to some ideal. It is that ideal that fosters this desire to be with straight acting men.
But tell me this what is straight acting? How do you discribe some one acting straight? You see straight men have sex with woman not with men. So I guess we are not talking about straight men. So to be gay for pay is a falicy. It should really be I fuck men for money and have sex with women. Leave the gay out of it. These guys are at best bisexual. Now I hate to use labels but in this conversation I have to. So in other words there is no such thing as gay for pay there never has been and there never will be. These men are bisexual at best. One thing that I can say about them is they have figured out how to have their cake and eat it to.
MEN is a wank rag that ends up cum stained in the trash a week later, I take a bigger issue and am much more offended by legit gay lifestyle magazines like the highly odious and hateful DNA, which I think is shameful, a gay lifestyle magazine that NEVER puts a gay model on it’s cover, instead sickeningly playing up to the “Gorgeous Straight Man” as some icon image of social, moral and physical perfection. And reinforcing the homophobic stereotype that gay men lust after and have predatory sexual tendencies towards straight men.
MEN, also does this as grotesquely as DNA, however MEN is a jo rag, so I don’t use it any way to value the worth of my sexuality, don’t misunderstand me, I do think MEN and gay for pay are offensive and degrading toward gay men and would never support such a product as demoting as MEN.
I generally find gay men’s magazines to be very patronizing and homophobic.
What a great debate.
It was nearly three years ago that Reese Rideout contact me about shooting for my MightyMen.Com site. He wasn’t the first straight guy and won’t be the last. He was the most prepared and focused model I’ve ever worked with. He was competent. Made his own travel arrangements (from west coast to east). Wanted to do a good job. Didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, no drugs. Focused on the work. He had everything thought out. Told me exactly what he would do with another guy and what he wouldn’t without being offensive (at that time he would just get sucked). He was the best performer I’ve ever worked with. Reese understood that he was in front of the camera. He wanted good references from me when he applied with other companies. I’d love to find more models like Reese (I have but not that many). Vince Ferelli, a new model, comes close to Reese. Not in body type or looks, but he has a sense about being a straight guy in gay porn. He takes it all in stride. It’s a job and Vince loves what he’s doing.
Other straight guys that have come through my doors have been complete jerks. They have no clue as to what is going on. They thing they just have to lay there and stroke their cocks. I’ve interviewed other straight guys that have been insulting to gays and they don’t make the cut.
Reese is a success because he does a good job. He takes his job serious. He doesn’t complain. He wants to work and gives it his all.
Was Eric McCormack gay for pay?
About black guys. I love black guys. One of the hardest things about shooting a video with black guys is the white guys. Try finding a white guy that will work with a black guy. I’ve had black guys tell me they won’t work with other black guys. I’m going to keep looking.
Great conversation. Keep it up, J.C.
Jon
Jon you speak allot of truth in your comment and I agree with you. Especilly on the race issue. It is hard to find black models and hard to find white models to work with them and you are correct that some black models won’t work with other black models. That just totally proves my point about the gay community. Before we can expect others to accept us we have to accept ourselves.
“Vince Ferelli, a new model, comes close to Reese. Not in body type or looks, but he has a sense about being a straight guy in gay porn. He takes it all in stride. It‚Äôs a job and Vince loves what he‚Äôs doing.”
Oh! wow another straight guy gets pushed up forward and hailed as the best new thing in gay porn, get me a sick bag, I think I need to vomit, right before I fall over with utter boredom, no wonder so many gay guys are watch straight porn, gay porn is being killed.
And here is the punch line, the response for gay sites to this, is not actually to try and make better gay porn an fix the shit they are doing wrong, but make the gay model go straight and make straight. It’s BATSHIT crazy. Sorry but if I want to watch straight porn, I’ll watch Charles Dera not some lame idiotically conceived bad ‚Äúgay straight porn‚Äù made out of total desperation, laziness and greed.
The real issue here is the consumers of gay porn who are in fact the blame for what we are having shoved down our collective throats. This is not a new issue it has been there for years. I remember the whole thing with John Holmes, Jack Wrangler, Jeff Quinn, Ryan Idol, Rex Chandler, Jeff Stryker, Rod Barry, and Jason Crew just to name some of the models that have been labeled with gay for pay. This is not something new it has been around for as long as gay porn. Yet now we choose to make a stink about it.
There are some iconic gay porn models but what is sad is that most of them are all dead. But that is a different subject that what we are currently discussing but the two go hand in hand. The producers of gay porn would not be using “straight models” if there were no demand for them. So lets face it we as consumers have sent a message to the producers that this is what we want to see. We get upset about it but we continue to buy the product that has “Gay for pay” models in it.
So lets look at the whole “Gay for Pay” phenomena. Why is it that this occurred? Who was the one who thought they we could make gay porn using “Straight guys”? Why did they come up with that idea? In my opinion it was because we as gay men have always been bombarded with what the “straight community” has considered sexy. You have to remember that we had those Marlboro, Bounty paper towel and Mr. Clean commercials and Madison Avenue and Hollywood telling us what was sexy. You rarely would see a gay porn actor who was fashioned after Paul Lynn from Bewitched because he was just a little to queenie for most of us to consider sexy.
Face it we have all been sucked into that whole machismo thing and we are not that accepting of gay men who do not fit that image. Now me personally, I do not think that “gay for pay” is such a bad thing because I don’t see the models as “straight”. They are having sex with men so that by default makes them bisexual.
So the whole gay for pay thing is a myth. The real issue here is that there are too many companies who are now producing gay porn that is not good. And it does not matter whether the model is gay or straight it still sucks.
This is not a cultural thing, it is all about the dollar and it always has been. So in my opinion you should be more pissed off about them producing bad porn than them using”straight”models gay in porn. The other issue with the porn industry is that just like any other industry it is the content and quality. This has hit the Music industry as well. Why buy a CD when there are maybe 2 songs you like on the whole thing when you can just buy the singles and be happy. The same goes for porn the DVD at $50.00 that has one-maybe two scenes on it and the rest is filler. The question is do you spend $50.00 dollars on a DVD or do you join a website for $40.00 and pick and choose what you like.
The fact that there is so much anger surrounding this issue is a bit strange to me because like I said there is no such thing as “gay for pay”. The fact is that so many of us have real issues with our sexuality is the real basis for this discussion. Just like the whole stink about Brent Corrigan being seventeen when he did his first porn thus making those scenes kiddy porn. The issues that so many had with resigning themselves to the fact that they got off on that shit. That is the same problem that many are having with the whole “Gay for Pay” thing. How can I be aroused by a “straight man” having gay sex? Well the fact is kiddies we have all had fantasies about straight men and now when it is shown to us on video we get upset.
Porn has never been about a story line, it is all about the action and that action needs to be hot and the big studios have not seemed to figure that one out yet. Now if they really want to make money off of the DVD sales they need to do compilations of the hottest scenes ever shot and sell that shit and leave the fluff and the filler on the cutting room floor. Just as I have said that the gay community needs to examine itself so does the porn industry. As soon as we realize our shortcomings and correct them it will be better for us all.
I love me my gay porn, but I can’t stand straight guys in gay porn. To me, gay porn is more than just titilation. It’s sacrosanct. It’s perhaps the only venue (legitimate or otherwise) where gay male sexuality is celebrated. No one’s gay-bashed, no one’s chased to the top of a cliff and beaten a la Suddenly Last Summer, no one is the asexual gay best friend, and no one is the sympathetic gay person who dies in the end. We still live in a world where homosexuality is viewed as immoral, perverse, and fodder for ridicule. To me, gay male porn stars are to be celebrated for making people comfortable with their sexuality, not denigrated for being “embarassments” while we fight for gay rights. Yes, it is porn… but it’s OUR PORN, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other porn in the world! Seeing straight guys invade gay porn in unprecedented waves is saddening. Give me gay or bisexual (real bisexuals like Caesar, and not the male equivalents of Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset Katy “I Kissed A Girl” Perry Girls Gone Wild) male porn stars over Reese Rideout and Chris Rockaway any day.
Absolutely agree Alex, this is the only visual medium were gay men are not subjugate or degraded, well one would think. Unfortunately it is not true, gay men in our own “backyard” as it were are still rejected in favour of straight men. No wonder we don’t seem to be earning respect from the wider straight culture, how can we don’t even respect ourselves to begin with?
Those men who exploit this, (and it is undeniably exploitation, no matter how hard Randy Blue and his cohorts try to defend it) are reprehensible bigots who, while not only exploiting internalised homophobia and self-hate but supporting and encouraging it for money and that is unreservedly horrible and shameful.
Wow, there are so many angles to this conversation… usually these blogs are boring and a little stupid (no hate, just how I feel) but this one is indeed different, so I’ll throw in my two cents. Gay, Straight, Bi.. they are just labels, that when coming from a production company just don’t really mean anything. Most of us know what we like visually, the body as art, if you will. No one else can define what “straight” means to you, or to me and this is the reason for the controversy. Some think “straight” equates to who you have sex with, while other think it equates to who you love. either can be valid, but it’s an individual thing. So when a magazine or production company labels someone they must understand that the label they choose does not have just one meaning to all people. IMHO (in my humble opinion) the companies should just do away with the labels and present the men as living art. To me a man posing or performing naked without contact with another man is neither gay or straight because it just doesn’t matter, but it does seem odd to call a man straight when he has sex with other men. the label doesn’t fit, it’s kind of like showing me a tomato and telling me it’s blue, but I see red. It’s been said that men are visual creatures, and there really is no difference between the way straight and gay men look, no matter how you define the labels, to this point these magazines and production companies should just pick the good looking people who are willing to perform.
Perhaps, it’s about willingess to perform. A straight identified guy theoretically doesn’t live a “gay” life so having “gay” sex on camera is just acting, and lets face it, sex on a stage in front of a crew being told what to do and how to do it, cannot be the same thing as sex for pleasure in a private setting with someone you have feelings for. A “gay” identified guy is in a way bearing his soul when he has sex on camera and for him there is a little less acting involved, this could make him more sensative to negative comments, because there’s a little bit of the real him in those images and pictures. This could explain why straight identified men don’t do straight porn because then they would be showing some of their identified selves. When you think about it, many of the “gay” stars are somewhat guarded about their real lives and can come across as more “straight” than the “straight” stars, this could be because the “straight” stars are always “acting”.
One more thought, the magazines and production companies take on the “personalities” of the people who run them, and tend to showcase the “fantasies” (or Fetishes) of these people, this could explain why Men magazine uses cookie cutter models that look so similar, or why Chi Chi’s movies always seem to showcase a particular “type” (Twinkish) of guy, or why Ragging Stallion movies almost all look the same with their (angry, semi-violent) type. I think perhaps Falcon is the biggest offender but they’ve gotten better in the last few years. it’s only when the companies start being run like a “business” and less like a personal fetish does their product begin to contain more bredth and depth - in my opinion Titan is possibly the best at this from a model selection point of view, they have a very diverse (visually) group even if their movies themselves often look the same.
MoJo you so get it. The real deal in all of this is that it is just labels. If we let the world label us then we can be catagorized. The fact is we are all men and that is really the only label we need. Who we fuck should not define us. Who we love should not define us. What we do should not define us. The only person who can define me is me and I defy discription.
Why do people keep saying “oh so and so” sexuality isn’t an issue and it’s nobody’s business but their own.” and “it doesn’t matter who the fuck in their private life.” That whole argument is totally invalid, because it is the performers and the sites that make the sexuality of the model an issue. Not me. I never asked Vince or Reese or whoever what their sexuality was, THEY divulged it. THEY made their own private lives the issue, They are the ones who keep talking about how straight they are, how on Randy’s site they explain how this their first time being with a guy and how “nervous” they are.
The models are the ones who drag their own private sexuality into the equation. If they are ‚Äúonly playing a part‚Äù then leave their private sexuality at home and play the part. The models are the ones who shout out about their girlfriends and their desire to fuck Victoria Secret Models in store changing rooms. I never asked them for that private information. So THEY are to ones who make their heterosexuality and issue. Not any ones else. So when they make it an issue and some people get pissed off with it, they comeback with ‚Äúprivate sexuality is irrelevant‚Äù well if it‚Äôs fucking irrelevant stop banging on about it every five minutes then. You talk about labels, but it is the models and the sites that label themselves, how can I label some I don’t know? I am only going by the information these models give us, they label themselves as straight, I then react to that.
Secondly I think the idea of “objectifying” a person is very harmful and demoralizing. I personally cannot objectify Reese or any of the other models that appear in MEN as just skin and bone. I can not just look at them, especially when, like Reese, he has put so much of he private personality out there. I think it is the objectifying of people which has led to the awful increase of bareback porn, that and the huge amount of gay for pay or straight for pay, or just in general the “straightening out” of gay porn. Guys are not thinking about these peoples lives because they are objectifying them in you sex dolls, so they jerk ff and then turn off, and don’t give a fuck about these people. They don’t care some 19 year old might be positive now, because they’ve objectified them into just a sex fantasy.
I mean Chichi LaRue is saying that herself, but to sell Blake Riley going straight, she’s all, “well it’s only a fantasy, it‘s not real” so she is contradicting herself. Gay porn has just become so screwed up, so messy and un-sexy and it’s lost all it’s fun and sexuality.
Going strong? GOING…going…gone.
You know the sad fact is we have made this who gay for pay industry there used to be models who had huge cocks and were getting paid their rate to have honest gay sex. If a model was straight or gay for pay we would say he was bi to solidify his base of gay male fans. We never felt as if anything was being taken away from the community. It was common practice that gay models were paid more than straight women they were our audience and then came the gay for pay scene and totally blew all that out of wack. Now we have openly gay men competeing for Top dollar for gay for pay models we have made the shift from being powerful and having and industry to opening the door to people who spit in our face but are willing to earn a paycheck off our community. We blow up their egos destroy our community piece by piece we have turned everything we do into a fetish. It went from gay sex to I won’t have sex with blacks,I won’t have sex with Asians and Latins,He can only suck me off,He can’t fuck me,Some one brought up the cd industry and only liking a few songs.When you were buying music you were buying a concept and entire concept this song by song crap is stupid you have a bunch of ipods with pieces of someone’s work. What happened to listening to the entire album and understanding what the music meant. Now every one is trying to sell HITS.That’s what’s happening to Porn Your being told gay for pay is a hit. Straight men fucking men is hotter than gay men fucking men.You have all with your stupid marketable fetishes and predjudices have made barebacking an industry again. Why is bareback so popular again. Because alot of men feel that it’s the only place where they can be sure that Gay men are actually having gay sex.No race issues and gay for pay. It’s sad really we took away the thing that made us powerful and gave it away and in it’s place sprung something dangerous that was just killing us a decade or 2 at rising numbers. I could care less about these straight for pay assholes. I want quality porn with gay men. Stop trying to sell me a HIT to line your wallet. I want a concept that doesn’t make me feel less that I’m a gay man. Like the asshole who used to beat me up when I was kid can now fuck me if I count out the correct amount of money from my wallet.
Wow. I think a lot of guys here are overreacting. Reese is a beautiful guy. People like to look at him. If you don’t want to look at him, then don’t.
I’m also perplexed by the idea that MEN Magazine should use gay models. Why? It’s a private organization - the publisher can choose whatever models he wants - and then even tell you that YOU choose the “Man Of The Year”, when you might not have had anything to do it at all!
If you don’t like the idea of “gay for pay”, then don’t support companies that promote it.
Gay for pay?
Please, Reese Rideout is just gay.
Hi,
First of all, what a great blog subject. I am really moved and impressed by some of things I read. Now my confession: Holy Father I am a black man who like gay for pay sites. I can’t help myself.
1. I think they are playing to a great many fanaties we all have about being with a straight male. Some of us stopped being a virgin because of a straight male. Some of us always wished for that straight male to be our boyfriend. And some of us think that sexuality is a fluid thing and money isn’t everything and no one is that good of an actor. But it is still a fanatsy.
2. If say we find Hugh Jackman, or Justin Timberlake, or Will Smith hot does it matter that they are straight? Is there some self- loathing in being attracted to a celebrity?
Of course not. We are attracted to the fantasy of the handsome straight boy being gay or being fucked because we feel fucked over by him. And we would all like to think that maybe he is one us. Or that his beauty would make us look like a beauty. Gay men have to get over being 14 year old girls.
3. Gay for pay is also a reminder of the first straight guy you ever had sex with. He was young. You were young. You went to school together or lived in the same neighborhood. Maybe Boys’ Scout. But it usually is the college drunk night or the ” then one night in the army..” tale. These guys remind you of that guy or guys- depending on where you lived. They are young, frat -looking kind of guys. Some sites have trashier guys. ( I always wondered how they meet these guys and what these guys are getting out it besides money and some notice.)
4. I also love to dream freely about their real background. On the surface they could call be hookers. Porn’s image is not like Disney’s. We have all seen porn where we knew the guy was an addict of some sort and this was his way of making a deal. But those guys don’t last. The ones that do stay must be arosed by the sex in some way, not just linked to money. And that is why I like gay for pay. I use my imagination on the man at hand. He could be straight, he could be gay or he could be bi. I want the fanatsy backstory and the chemisty to hit a nut. All else is for a therpist.