Help me read about men in porn

September 29, 2014 5:45 AM

I would like to read non-lulzy articles, profiles, etc. of male porn stars.

Specifically, straight male porn stars, I guess, because what interests me is the idea that they are more interchangeable and more disposible than the females. (If there is something similar at play in M/M porn, I also want to know about that.)

I'm interested in "day in the life" type of stuff, and also how much they earn, how much they work, what happens when the work goes away, etc.

I know about several profiles of James Deen, including this one in GQ. I know the NYTimes article from a couple of weeks ago that was written by a female porn star but from which one could infer details about her husband/male porn performer. But what else is out there? Also, yes, I'd prefer to hear about performers other than James Deen, since his status as possibly the top male in porn, or at least the one most known even in the non-porn world, make him an outlier.

Are any of these guys writing blogs? Or...what else is out there?

posted by anonymous to Society & Culture (16 answers total)

There have been a few Ask Me Anything reddit threads by male porn stars (some straight, some not). These will be a good source as it's straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

I know a few guys who have been in or are currently in the porn industry (including my partner) and your initial thoughts are pretty much correct. Many studios, indie and mainstream, underpay or refuse to pay straight male actors, as the idea seems to be that their "reward" is to bang the hot ladies (because most straight porn is made to be watched by straight men). My partner was lucky enough to work for a woman who makes ethical feminist porn centered around the female/alternative gaze, so he was treated very well and paid a good rate for his work.

Gay porn, while also catering to the male gaze, does generally treat its stars better, but there is still an idea that men are inherently sexual and so will be willing to work for very little compared to women (I could go on about how horrible and problematic this idea is, but I think it would be beyond the point).
posted by fight or flight at 5:59 AM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

there was a piece on cracked.com (roughly contemporaneus with its sex slave piece) which might be up your alley.
posted by bruce at 6:14 AM on September 29, 2014

Here's a previous thread that might interest you. Lots of good articles linked there.
posted by misozaki at 6:14 AM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

The Money Shot, by Susan Faludi, in the 10/30/95 New Yorker, has what you are looking for perhaps. It is about the tough life of the porn stud, and the problems when waiting for wood takes too long.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 6:56 AM on September 29, 2014 [2 favorites]

I'd like to help you find reading material, but I can only point you in the direction of an interesting Louis Theroux Documentary called Porn. I'm not going to post a YouTube link as I'm at work and don't dare search for it, but here's the episode synopsis:


Porn
First aired 29 January 1998

"Louis finds out there are fewer male porn performers on the planet than there is astronauts, while on a quest to investigate the American porn film industry, from the point of view of a man in the business. While normally he would be there purely as a journalist, in this episode he gets in relatively deeply with groups that he meets, and in the industry itself, even being offered a part in a porn film. He enrolls in a ‘talent’ agency, and is invited on set during the filming of porn films to find out first-hand about how “easy” it is. He sees the money, and the problems associated with the business, including people destroying themselves with drugs because of it, and also the threat of HIV. He spends time with a (then) up-and-coming pornstar, J.J.Michaels, who seems ignorant of the risks of the industry, and also discovers an actor called Troy who, while claiming to be straight, appears in gay films, and is as the industry says, “gay for pay”. In the clip, a director named Rob Black tries to get Louis into the industry with Louis claiming it’s “not something people in England are ready to see”.
posted by guy72277 at 7:24 AM on September 29, 2014

The Faludi article Midnight Skulker refers to was also part of her book, "Stiffed", in a possibly expanded form. There's a bit of comparison in the piece of expectations for male and female porn performers. The situations described might still hold true, but the performers will obviously not be totally current.
posted by LionIndex at 8:27 AM on September 29, 2014

A bit more intermittent now but always a fascinating read for the minutiae is Christain Sings the Blues. A whole career arc ( almost) . Even ties in slightly to a previous run in Bill Simmons had with his bosses.
posted by stuartmm at 9:15 AM on September 29, 2014

Longform.org recently re-printed this interesting Rolling Stone profile on John Holmes, which was also part of a curated collection of Longform's guide to the porn industry.
posted by bl1nk at 9:27 AM on September 29, 2014

Re: guy72277's suggestion; in 2012 Theroux produced a follow-up, 'where are they now?' documentary called Twilight of the Porn Stars.
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 9:56 AM on September 29, 2014

There was a previous post and article about the gay porn industry in Prage.
posted by General Tonic at 11:09 AM on September 29, 2014

Not an article, but you could follow Twitter accounts of such folks. E.g. Mr. Pete.
posted by oceanview at 12:04 PM on September 29, 2014

This is a book rather than an article, but Susan Faludi's Stiffed has a chapter about men in porn.

The book is a good read overall, and that chapter is particularly interesting.
posted by jeoc at 12:08 PM on September 29, 2014

I read Ron Jeremy's The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz recently. Thought it was a really enjoyable read that gave a great deal of insight - both intentional and not - to both Jeremy himself and the industry as a whole.
posted by stormyteal at 4:26 PM on September 29, 2014

Susan Faludi's Stiffed has a chapter about men in porn.

Yes! it is a tiny bit dated but possibly the most amazing chapter, with lots of details about their lives/feelings/partners etc. It's such a great book.
posted by Sijeka at 6:31 PM on September 29, 2014

This article about Marcus London was interesting. He lashed back after reading it, which adds another layer of fascination.
posted by elken at 7:26 AM on September 30, 2014

Danny Wylde does a lot of interesting writing. He is googleable. I enjoyed "How a Former Porn Star’s Sex Tape Helped Him Reclaim His Sex Life" and Why One Porn Star Thinks the Industry Is Destroying Itself.
posted by softlord at 12:57 PM on September 30, 2014