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Ethnic Pornography

Controversy in American Pornography

Some scholars claim that African American women are especially subject to racial fetishism within pornography. Mireille Miller-Young, professor of feminist studies at University of California in Santa-Barbara argues that while the porn industry hypersexualizes African American porn actresses, they are often paid less, hired less, and given less attention during health checks, than their white counterparts. Some scholars also argue that white women are upheld as the most-prized commodity in the industry, while black women are often devalued for their sex work, regardless of their perceived erotic abilities.

Interracial Pornography

Some scholars have written about porn actors’ interviews, in which the actors express their view that interracial pornography is a transgressive form of overcoming racism. In Chapter 3 of her book Porn Studies, Linda Williams, professor at UC Berkeley, points to the porn film Crossing the Color Line starring Sean Michaels, a black actor, and Christi Lakes, a white actress. In the interviews of this porn film, Michaels and Lakes express how being “color-blind” is a progressive approach to interracial porn. However, scholars have identified a contradiction between these interviews and the subsequent performance, in which both actors make several references to the differences in skin color between them. For example, Lakes refers to Michael’s private parts as “big and black”. Scholars argue that by advertently pointing out racial differences, race is being made the main point of intrigue for the audience, which perpetuates the exotification of racial differences. Some argue that this eroticized sexual tension in interracial pornography dates back to slavery during which white owners kept white women and black men separate. Williams states that there is a tension between fear and sexual desire within interracial pornography.

Gay Pornography

Bareback

There is a difference in the significance of the terms “barebacking” and “unprotected anal intercourse” . According to the academic journal What We Can’t See? Understanding the Representations and Meanings of UAI, Barebacking, and Semen Exchange in Gay Male Pornography by Mowlabocus et al., “barebacking” and “UAI” technically the mean the same thing, but have different connotations. With increased use of the term “barebacking” in media, the term has been taken on for marketing purposes because the fact that unprotected anal sex directly subjects one to HIV/AIDS is not explicitly implied as it is in the term UAI . Barebacking implies sexual liberation for those who practice anal sex because it is not directly connected to the risks that come with it. A sample size of 95 pornographic films was analyzed in a study and the results showed that a little under half of the sample featured UAI . In a study where participants were shown two different scenes featuring anal sex, the significance of the words bareback and UAI became apparent . The first scene featured group sex in which several men were on top engaging in intercourse with one man on the bottom . The men on top were in their mid-30’s and of varying ethnicities while the man on the bottom was around 18 years old . The second scene featured two men both in their 20’s in a living room setting. During the interview, the participants were much more reluctant to classify the second scene as bareback than they were for the first scene . Participants readily used “bareback” to describe the first scene in which there was a clear power difference and ethnicity difference. The participants described the second scene as being more “meaningful and romantic” and hence more likely to use a condom to protect the other . The implication of this study is that the term bareback ultimately does have a dark meaning as it relates to HIV/AIDS, regardless if it does not mention protection in its name . Thus, studies have shown that barebacking is decreasing in popularity within the gay subculture . Bareback pornography does not necessarily cause more UAI in reality, nor do all men who participate in anal sex necessarily want to have UAI . What is clear is that there is still a sense of risk among participants who engage in anal sex .