Eclectic Views on Gay Male Pornography

A unique, multifaceted look at the meaning (and the specifics) of gay male pornography

Open any gay lifestyle magazine (even the serious ones) or go to any gay bar, and you’re likely to encounter something related to pornography, be it an image of a porn superstar or advertisements for pornographic magazines, DVDs, calendars, etc. Eclectic Views on Gay Male Pornography Pornucopia examines this phenomenon with a series of provocative essays, in which experts in history, law, media studies, and psychology, as well as laypeople and gay porn insiders explore the complex world of male pornography and the various ways in which it has permeated gay culturefrom the 1970s until today.

This first-of-its-kind book examines the phenomenon of self-writing and performance for gay men in the last century, specifically looking at the lives of modern-day performance artist Tim Miller, who has received national recognition for his one-man shows portraying his struggles as a gay man; Wakefield Poole (born 1936), the first producer of gay pornography (Bijou, Boys in the Sand) in the era accompanying the emergence of the gay rights movement; gay adult film icon Scott Spunk O’Hara (born 1961); and Aaron Lawrence (born 1971), who worked as a gay escort, actor, and producer/director of his own sexually explicit amateur videos.

In this groundbreaking analysis of gay men’s relationship with pornography, you’ll also learn about:

gay pornography and the messages it carries about intimacy, body image, and hegemonic masculinity

representations of ethnicity in gay pornography

gay pornography and safer sex

gay pornography and censorship

viewers’ perceptions of gay pornography

gay pornography and internalized homophobia, misogyny, and body fascism

changes in the way gay pornography is produced and performedfrom the 1970s through the 1990s

the meaning of the recurring settings in American gay pornographic videos: prison, the military, and other all-male environments; and recurring themes: leather, S/M, dissatisfaction with heterosexual life, initiation into gay life, etc. In addition, Eclectic Views on Gay Male Pornography presents two fascinating chapters about the case of Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium in Vancouver. In this landmark case, the Canadian Supreme Court was asked to determine whether gay male pornography violated the sex equality protections guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court also examined the way that Canada Customs treats international shipments to gay and lesbian bookstores. In addition, the book provides a revealing insider’s perspective on the gay adult video industry that contrasts the workaday reality of making porn with the glamorous mythology of the skin trade.