Gay pornography
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Gay pornography as an industry has naturally mirrored the "straight" side of the pornography industry. Unlike the production of straight porn however, sodomy laws in many states meant that the images could not only be considered obscene, but also evidence of an illegal act. (No longer the case in the United States since such laws were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2003. See Lawrence v. Texas.)
Because of these restrictions, early gay porn primarily consisted of pictures of individual men either fully naked, or wearing a g-string. Early gay porn in the 1940s and 1950s focused on athletic men or body builders in statuesque poses. They were generally young, muscular, and with little or no visible body hair. Since most gay men of this time were deeply "in the closet", actual depictions of sexual activity were rare. A reader of this type of porn could "pass" as a fitness enthusiast. Although now considered quite tame or soft-core, this type of porn still exists today. Often this sort of material is the only erotic stimulation available to young men or boys, those who live outside of major urban centers, or those who have no web access.
The early gay pornographers were men who had an interest in or a business related to photography. Sets of photographs were a very popular form of porn, as they featured full-frontal nudity. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the advent of 8mm film cameras enabled these photographers to produce underground movies of gay sex. Sales of these products were either through mail-order or through more discreet channels: 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.
The sexual revolution had a profound impact on gay porn. The seventies saw not only the rise of the gay adult theatres, where men often had sexual encounters, but also the rise of gay publishing. Most gay men who purchased porn, did so via gay porn magazines, as they neither had access to adult theaters, or could not enter such establishments for fear of being "outed". During this time many publications were started including In Touch, Blueboy, and Playgirl, which, while ostensibly produced for women, were purchased and enjoyed by gay men.
In the early 1990s a production company called Campfire Video was borne out of a backlash against the emerging emphasis on hard core sex in gay pornography. The company began releasing several series of videos that focused on non-explicit male nudity. These included: "Hunkiest Home Video," a set of over 10 tapes featuring submitted home video segments by "every day" men displaying casual nudity; "The Movie Buff Checklist," a series that compiled video clips of scenes of mainstream actors appearing nude in films; and others... A sub-company was founded called "AMG" or "The Athletic Model Guild" which distributed photo sets, magazines and videos that mimicked the early days of "posing strap" muscle photography porn. The company has a thriving website at www.hunkvideo.com
Today, however, gay pornography has become a highly profitable enterprise, ranging from the "All-American straight-guy" porn of MarineMeat.com and Sean Cody, to the 'twink' European men of Bel Ami.
A booming ethnic gay-porn industry, led by studios such as Latino Fan Club, Enrique Cruz and Kristen Bjorn, markets an aggressively masculine street-thug image with its models, some studios catering to the urban "down-low" subculture. Tiger Tyson, among others, has emerged as a superstar of this genre.
Some controversy currently exists between studios that produce condomless, or bareback videos, such as Treasure Island Media and Hot Desert Knights, and the slicker, mainstream companies, such as Falcon Studios, Lucas Entertainment, and Titan Media, who claim that condomless videos promote unsafe sex and contributes to the continuing HIV problem, both in the industry and in the gay community as a whole.