LET'S HOPE THIS is the end of Keyontyli's ordeal.Keyontyli Goffney - the gay half of infamous twins Keyon and Teyon - has been sentenced to time served (which amounts to two days) and four years' probation. He told the court, "I'm very sorry and I only hope [the victims] can see that justice was served."
Back in February 2008, the twins were arrested for a series of rooftop burglaries, and the story inevitably became big news due to the boys' erotic past endeavours - not to mention Taleon's daring escape from the Feds. Perhaps that explains why Taleon got the raw end of the deal, having been sentenced to 3-8 years back in July. Keyontyli's MySpace page is back up (having been unavailable for some time), and he can also be found at Jugita.com. And if you're looking some happy memories of the good old days (say, Teyon sitting on Keyon's face), boy culture's got the goods. A detailed account of their story is here.
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7 comments:
shady, shady...
I pray for the health and well-being of these Geminis from the City of Brotherly Love. While viewers might enjoy watching these brothers have sex, or even make love, this story reveals how tortured their lives may be 'behind the scenes'. People who need to burglarize a ghetto ATM most probably lack economic security-- security not provided by their "porn star" status. I also pray that their Family hasn't abandoned them for the worthless, insensible taboos of incest, gayness and porn.
Even though porn is mostly just fun, part of the problem with porn is the extent to which it forces us to de-humanize and objectify bodies, to treat them as if they have no story, and no trauma. (There can also be this exploitative, objectifying element in anonymous, random hook-up sex.) When I watch Jovonnie perform bareback, for example, I might be turned on, but I also worry for him, for the risk he is taking with his life and the chance he might increase his own suffering. I have to mentally block out the worry to focus on the nut.
I know that too many porn stars risk trauma and suffering for a quick buck, so that their viewers can have a quick nut. Many black and Latin gay porn stars have been rejected by their families, not because they are in porn, but because they are gay. Too many black and Latin gay pornsters enter the industry because of a lack of available employment in other, less dangerous, less de-humanizing occupations. These pornsters often do the work to avoid destitution. Many of their bosses are rich "white" gay men who enjoy the power of exploiting beautiful brown bodies. Wasn't that the case with Cocodorm? Isn't this even more so true for pornsters from the Third World-- Brazil, Africa, Asia and Latin America?? Don't wealthy gay and str8 men travel to Third World countries or to the Ghetto to exploit inexpensive sex from the Natives?
I'm sorry, but I can't help but be aware of how socio-economic exploitation and inequity are essential to the porn business, a capitalist industry expanding exponentially, literally off the backs of sex workers. For sex workers under Capitalism, there is always a Catch 22: while they might enjoy the almost unlimited access to sex, danger and exploitation are usually behind that temporary enjoyment. In short, in my humble opinion, Capitalism + Porn = dehumanization.
Excellent analysis, once again, Joseph. You've raised some thought-provoking points.
I guess I've presented this story as a bit of fun, but there's real people behind it, and the boys probably had a pretty unhappy life. As you might be aware, the mother was also involved in this whole debacle, although charges against her were dropped.
I think it's misleading to suggest that black models in porn are all victims of "evil rich whitey". Firstly, not all non-white porn is owned and operated by caucasians (Enrique Cruz?) and just because they are white, it doesn't been they're out to crush the black man. Models speak highly of Kristen Bjorn, for example, whereas black models (such as Tre Xavier) don't have a good word to say about the likes of Tyson Cane as a boss.
I also suspect the likes of PapiThugz and Dawgpound are black owned and operated. As for Jovonnie, he's only ever done bareback with CityBoy, who I believe is his boyfriend. Jovonnie has never done bareback with any other model...
Mr. Garcon,
Thanks much for helping me understand this issue. What I wrote could be read as disdain for "rich whitey", an attitude which is reductive and small-minded.
I am also glad to hear that Jovonnie is not in the danger I worried he was in.
I should point out, however, that I do not think of the porn industry in primarily racial terms ('out to crush the black man'). Rather I see the porn industry within capitalism as unavoidably exploitative of those less privileged, regardless of race or gender.
My point is certainly not to bad mouth "white" folk, even though I believe "whiteness" "blackness", indeed all "races", are social hallucinations helping to shape socio-economic hierarchies and systems of exploitation. I'm not color-blind, or disrespectful of cultural difference, but I am trying to become blind to "race" without pretending everything is a nice big "melting pot".
On a side note, I must suggest that it is somewhat inappropriate, as many commentators have done, to equate Kanye West's probably (not certainly) racialized outburst at the VMAs to Congressman Joe Wilson's outburst in the chamber of the U.S. Capitol. The Contexts are far too different, and we must remember that Wilson, a Confederate-sympathizer, was an Aide to famed Segregationist and anti-Civil Rights activist Senator/Governor Strom Thurmond. The Capitol is not the House of Commons, and Wilson's absolutely unprecedented rudeness is a mark of "white" supremacist backlash to the latest civil rights achievement-- the symbolic equality achieved by allowing a "bi-racial" "black" man be president.
My intuition suspects that Kanye's outburst was coke-filled. Joe Wilson's outburst was well-planned and purposeful. It was meant not to gain brownie points with Beyonce, but to demean the "black" man who dared to occupy the hallowed space of the "White" House. Wilson wanted to gain the respect and donations of those Americans, mostly "white", for whom Obama is out of place, has stepped out of bounds, is too "uppity" for a Negro. We musn't forget that a sizable minority of American conservatives consider Obama to be illegimate, Hitler and/or the Anti-Christ. (A recent poll in the northern state of New Jersey-- far from the traditionally racist South-- showed that a Third of conservatives think Obama might be the Anti-Christ. This fact is truly disturbing.) There has been a 400% increase in assassination threats on the President compared to when Bush was in office. Never before have pluralities of protesters regularly and proudly brandished automatic weapons and guns outside of Presidential speaking events.
(America has had to deal with the murders of Abe Lincoln, JFK, his brother Bobby, MLK, Harvey Milk, Malcolm X, Huey Newton-- each of them significant in the progress of egalitarianism-- and among these some rumors of queerness or at least queer friendliness: MLK and Bayard Rustin for example; Malcolm's bisexual past; Huey Newton's defense of Queer Rights as a Black Panther Party political ideal a year after Stonewall; Honest Abe's bisexual log cabin sex play; Bobby's fling with Rudolph Nureyev, etc.)
Joe Wilson was trying to fan the flames in this highly volatile and potentially violent context (Last week House Speaker Nancy Pelosi talked about a similar volatile atmosphere of violence surrounding the assassination of Harvey Milk in San Francisco.) Kanye West was just being ignorant and disrespectful, and probably high, but not in the good way. The significance of these 2 outbursts is not equal. Kanye's rudeness was thoughtless, whereas Wilson's was thoughtful.
When published, I will send you a link to an article I wrote called "Obama and the American Symbolic Order", which tries to come to terms with the racialized anxiety and panic America is experiencing currently.
I shouldn't have said "never before" with regard to the presence of weapons at Presidential events. I should have said "never in my lifetime". Nevertheless, the current displays of proud threats are unique in recent American history, since the wear-a-gun-on-your-hip days.
"Rather I see the porn industry within capitalism as unavoidably exploitative of those less privileged, regardless of race or gender."
AGREED! But... (lol) Is that necessarily always the case. Now, if you're 18, and poor, or not ncessarily poor but in need of cash, and someone offers you some quick bucks for porn, then it's reasonable to label that exploitative.
However (and I'm only talking about men here, because I know precisely zilch about straight porn) if you're, say Matthew Rush, or Jason Tiya, or or Marc Williams et cetera, are you being exploited? I'd suggest that these are all very attractive men working in an industry that they both enjoy and thrive on.
Further, for many of these guys, porn is simply an advert for their real profession: escorting (Ian Rock, for example). And that's a whole other debate!
You know, your reading of the Kanye West incident (and people, like me, comparing it to the Obama Is A Liar thing) makes complete sense, thank you.
I look forward to reading your article, please do send me the link.
Thanks again for your (always thought-provoking) comments.
Oh, and on the subject of Jovonnie, he shouldn't be having sex with anyone bareback, given the business he's in, regardless of whether CityBoy is his boyfriend or not (and they are referred to as such on occasion, appear together a lot, and certainly act like they are).
In saying that, I've seen most of Jovonnie's work (he's top of the class in so many ways) and Cityboy is the only model I've seen him perform bareback with...
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