Gay pornography
The Athletic Model Guild (AMG), founded by photographer Bob Mizer in 1945 in Los Angeles, was arguably the first studio to commercially produce material specifically for gay men and published the first magazine known as Physique Pictorial in 1951.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the advent of 16 mm film cameras enabled these photographers to produce underground movies of gay sex, male masturbation, or both.
Some of the early gay pornographers would travel around the country selling their photographs and films out of their hotel rooms, with advertising only through word of mouth and magazine ads.
During the 1960s, a series of United States Supreme Court rulings created a more liberalized legal environment that allowed the commercialization of pornography.
MANual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day[18] was the first decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that magazines consisting largely of photographs of nude or near-nude male models are not obscene within the meaning of § 1461.
It was the first case in which the Court engaged in plenary review of a Post Office Department order holding obscene matter "nonmailable.
[13] Wakefield Poole's Boys in the Sand, starring Casey Donovan, was the first gay pornographic feature film, along with the works of filmmakers such as Pat Rocco and the Park Theatre, Los Angeles, California, c. 1970.
A few studios released films for the growing number of gay adult movie theaters, where men could also have sexual encounters.
Playgirl, ostensibly produced for women, was purchased and enjoyed by gay men and feature full frontal nudity (the posing straps and fig leaves were removed).
This shift from watching pornography as a public activity to doing so in private was also influenced by the discovery of HIV and the subsequent AIDS crisis.
Major directors such as Matt Sterling, Eric Peterson, John Travis, and William Higgins set the standard for the models of the decade.
Their bodies were slender and hairless, of the "swimmer's build" type, which contrasted with the older, bigger, and hairier man of the 1970s' gay pornography.
This strict division between tops and bottoms may have reflected a preference by some of the popular directors of the decade to hire heterosexual men for their movies.
In 1989, director Kristen Bjorn started a pornographic business which was considered as setting a standard for gay pornography producers.
On the other hand, Lucas Kazan Productions successfully adapted literary classics: Decameron: Two Naughty Tales is based on two novels by Boccaccio, The Innkeeper on Goldoni's La Locandiera.
[23] The controversy dates back to the first few years of the HIV crisis, when nearly all gay pornography production companies voluntarily required their models to wear condoms for anal sex.
[23] At least one bareback studio agrees that porn should promote healthy sexual behaviors, but disagrees on the definition of healthy in this context: speaking about the AIDS crisis, Treasure Island Media owner and founder Paul Morris has expressed his belief that,[24]To a great extent, the current gay mindset surrounding HIV is a result of a generation of men living with PTSD and not getting the support and help they need now that the war is over.
[20] It is common for gay-for-pay porn actors to start out as tops before they eventually give in to fan and industry pressure to shoot a scene or more as a bottom.
[20] Even though they are acting in gay porn, some gay-for-pay actors hold homophobic views, causing tension in the workplace.
[20] Tommy Cruise, a bisexual actor in gay porn, is quoted saying, "A lot of straight guys, they don't even want me touching them.
[20] In August 2005, adult star Jenna Jameson launched "Club Thrust", an interactive website featuring gay male pornographic videos, which was shown to attract a female audience as well.
[27][28] Yaoi comic books and slash fiction are both genres featuring gay men, but primarily written by and for straight women.
Some lesbian and bisexual women are also fans of gay male pornography, specifically yaoi, for its feminine-styled men.
As awareness of the risk of AIDS developed, pornography producers came under pressure to use condoms, both for the health of the performers and to serve as role models for their viewers.
Beginning in the 1990s, an increasing number of studios have been devoted to the production of new films featuring men engaging in unprotected sex.
[23] For example, San Francisco-based studio Treasure Island Media, whose work focuses in this area, has produced bareback films since 1999.
Mainstream gay pornographic studios such as Kristen Bjorn Productions have featured the occasional bareback scene, such as in "El Rancho" between performers who are real-life partners.
(In contrast, some mainstream directors are conscientious about using close-up shots of condom packets being opened, etc., to help clearly establish for the viewer that the sex is not bareback.)
[31] In a study where participants were shown two different scenes featuring anal sex, the significance of the words "bareback" and "UAI" became apparent.
