Porn History: Queer Porn Circa 2001 by Violet Blue
From XXX Files June 2001: Where’s the good queer porn?
Finding decent queer porn is tough. There’s tons of gay male porn cranked out each year, and most of it’s extremely poor quality — mostly pumped-up LA Gladiators going through the motions, and plots so flimsy you wish they just didn’t even bother. And if you’re looking for real lesbians and dykes, just forget it. Every “lesbian” title you’ll find will actually be what’s known as a “girl-girl” feature — that’s the polite name for fake lesbian films with straight women rubbing against each other. They’re pretty obvious, too, as the women are lackluster in their affections and rarely have a clue as to what they’re doing, the blonde leading the blonde, if you will. It’s the story of — you guessed it — a male director calling the shots.
So, o, brother where art thou? And our Sapphic sisters — have the wicked Andrea Dworkins chased the lesbian Dorothys into the shadows, away from porn’s Oz? Porn, in case you didn’t know, has trouble accurately representing real people having real sex, regardless of preference. The injustices are everywhere, but the gravest oversight has been to assume that LGBTQQ folks want (or will settle for) the same old shit that the industry has been handing straight people (if the market is a gauge, straights don’t want that shit either). The other major porn blunder has been to ignore that this diverse market even exists, and as we’ll see, some very smart, cute queers are cashing in on the Beverly Hillbillies’ tunnel vision.
Let’s start with the resurgent popularity of those rough trade, gay male, art-house classics by director Joe Gage. His blue-collar themed trilogy, filmed in the late ’70s, included El Paso Wrecking Corp., Kansas City Trucking Company, and LA Tool and Die. These featured real working class men who wanted it hot, heavy and hard with each other, and unlike today’s counterparts, contained actors free of body sculpting other than that of Mother Nature and good, hard work. Plus, they were hairy and condomless, in a time before AIDS required a minute of forethought before a fuck, and before the AIDS backlash of gay male porn actors getting so squeaky clean looking. Men in the raw and in realistic situations: a hot topic in videos that are becoming hot tickets. So hot, that Joe Gage is returning to his place behind the camera for a new film that fits right in with his other oeuvres, written by Gage himself, called Tulsa County Line.
For videos with high production values, sexy modern men (who mostly have never done porn before), and above-board writing, acting and plot, look to Vidkid Timo. Writer and director of films such as Mardi Gras Cowboy, At Twilight Come the Flesh Eaters, and the forthcoming erotic sci-fi musical comedy Xeno-Probe, Timo has created films that surpass the big studios in every way. Great writing, sizzling chemistry, and gorgeous guys (that could be the hottie you saw at the grocery store) make his flicks priceless. Another director whose films may be tough to come by, but are worth it when you find them, are the films of Wash West. His videos are artistic and sublime, with mesmerizing lighting, cinematography and red-hot sex, plus they are shot on film. Naked Highway is my pick, but also look for Technical Ecstasy and Animus, and certainly look for his forthcoming non-porn big screen debut The Fluffer, with Debbie Harry (of Blondie fame) and Christine Vachon.
But what’s a nice queer gal to do? Well, you can also take a trip back through time and visit the San Francisco Lesbians series made throughout the 1990s. This was the first set of explicit films made by and for lesbians and dykes. They deliver raw heat in every tape. Lipstick lesbians, dykes, grunge girls, and in volume 6 a pregnant Latina, all play hard with each other and enjoy many toys. The closest thing to the real McCoy in the mainstream industry would be the No Man’s Land series (now up to #31), the only all-girl productions whose stories firmly adhere to the tenet of characters being lesbian or actively bisexual, instead of the “hee hee we’re just a bunch of straight girls all alone with some toys.” The plots center on the character’s identities; this sets them apart from the mainstream, but you will still find lots of makeup and long fingernails.
No discussion about the real thing would be complete without a mention of the award winning, #1 selling hardcore hit from SIR productions, the butch-femme epic, Hard Love and How to Fuck in High Heels. The belle of film festivals around the world, Hard Love features handsome dykes, power femmes, and even a butch bottom who learns a thing or two! If you want to see what it’s really like, and get so turned on you’ve got to get off, don’t miss this groundbreaking film. And keep your peepers peeled for their latest release due in early summer, Sugar High Glitter City. Sugar High is set in a future where sugar is outlawed — and women will do anything to get it.
Joe Gage, Timo and SIR, with their unparalleled wit and portrayals of authentic action have forced the adult industry to sit up and take notice of a market that knows what it wants. We’re going to see some very exciting changes for LBGTQQ representation in porn over the next few years, making this a great time to stay tuned for new releases.
Update: So much has changed since I wrote this. Start at Pink and White Productions, The Crash Pad Series and NoFauxxx.
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