This is a funny one: is porn studio Sean Cody at fault for specifying that models must be Caucasian? Somehow I missed the original story in May, in which an email from Cody Media asking for "Caucasian (white)" models was widely circulated around the net and had various bloggers seething with righteous indignation. The first comment on the MOC Blog report reads: "Well I doubt Thugboy.com will be hiring white guys anytime soon either. It's a white flavor brand."
I doubt Enrique Cruz, Big City or Flavaworks will be hiring any pasty, melanin-deficient folk either, but you won't hear anyone complaining about that, will you?
My initial reaction to this story was righteous indignation, until my brain, which isn't entirely wine-sozzled, kicked into action. Porn is a visual medium, which sells fantasies. It sells fantasies of twinks, muscle, leather, thugs, barebacking, innocence, and depravity. These fantasies are sold to consumers who make their purchase based upon their own requirements. So, whilst Consumer A might enjoy the artificial muscle Marys of Falcon, he might not wish to sample the dubious delights of Flavaworks blaxploitation, or Rudeboiz visions of white trash Britain.
You might not like it, but there's nothing wrong with this sort of discrimination in porn. You might cry foul over Sean Cody rejecting non-Caucasian models, but remember there's plenty of studios rejecting white models too. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's plenty of examples of genuine racism in porn, but this isn't one of them.
The reason people are justified in crying foul over Sean Cody's requesting "Caucasian only" models is because many of the ethnic porn companies started because companies and websites like Sean Cody were ignoring their non-Caucasian fans in their choice of models. And there are alot more porn companies and websites like Jet Set, Falcon and Sean Cody out there, then there are FlavaWorks and Pitbull Productions.
ReplyDeleteWould I like to see FlavaWorks and Pitbull use Caucasian models? DEFINITELY, because the racism needs to stop somewhere.
But first, we have to look at where it started from within the adult industry.It's the "Caucasian-only" hirings of the Sean Cody's, the Falcons, and the Jet Sets, of the past that lit that fuse of racism, and it's their present incarnations that keep it burning, and make a need for companies like FlavaWorks and Pitbull feel the need to be non-Caucasian only.
Tré there's definitely some merit in what you say but two wrongs don't make a right, but there's no degree of injustice - it's either wrong or wrong. Who says one person's pain is more valid than the next mans?
ReplyDeleteI really don't see why studios should be compelled to hire models of one race or another to fulfill some warped sense equality. As a consumer, there's times when I enjoy diving into a snowy white Bel Ami fantasy, as much as an all blatino CocoDorm construct, or the muscle dreams of Falcon. Porn is a fantasy and a fiction, not a quota fulfilling bureaucracy.
You can go into a supermarket and buy vanilla ice cream, strawberry icecream, or chocolate icecream. Or, if you want, you can have them all together in one. It really is as simple as that.
I have to admit, in my attempt to not make my comment become a blog within your blog. I cut my comment short.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that 2 wrongs don't make a right. And instead of having only non-Caucasian modles, Pitbull and FlavaWorks could instead be the studio to right the wrong, as Knight Stick Films does with their current release and their planned future releases as well. And it's not intentional on the director's part. It's just that he , like you and I find beauty in guys of all colors. Where Sean Cody by that ad obviosuly does not. And by him blatantly doing saying so is what caused the uproar.
I will say that I commend Sean Cody for his honesty, unlike Falcon or Jet Set who claim to accept all. But it doesn't change him from being a racist prick. Like I said, I do wish the others didn't oust Caucasians as a counter-attack of his being a racist prick, but instead embrace them into their model roster as well. That would be the best solution.