Page 110 - AVN January 2018

GAYVN
GAYVN | By Marc W.
TIME TO LISTEN
Five performers of color talk about the changes they’d like to see in porn
categories of Best Ethnic Scene and Best Duo Scene, there was further consternation caused by verbiage that inadvertently suggested performers of
color were a niche category in line with bears or kink fare.
The team at AVN offers a sincere apology to all who were angered by this controversy and any missteps taken in explaining the original intent
Shortly after AVN Media Network decided to make a change to the 2018 GayVN Awards nominations in response to industry outcry, merging the
behind including the category. But eliminating the category would be meaningless without working toward a more inclusive environment for all
participants.
As part of that, AVN enlisted the assistance of Marc W., the creator of ChroniclesOfPorniaBlog.com, to reach out to performers and offer a
platform to address their concerns—not only just about the awards process, but also the overall climate of the gay adult business and how to foster
inclusive practices.
Performers Stephan James, Cooper Dang, Jacen Zhu, Eli Lewis and Sean Zevran agreed to speak to AVN about issues they feel must be tackled at this critical juncture.
(For more indepth comments by Sean Zevran, see his essay on EFNIKS.com.)
Below are their voices, views and concerns, as relayed to Mark W.:
“When asked about the Best Ethnic Scene
category the only way I can describe my
feelings are Not Surprised! I think this is
a feeling most people/performers of color
experience on a day-to-day basis. I wasn’t
outraged. I wasn’t upset. It was just another
moment that I’ve experienced my entire life
being a person of color. To me, this was just
another instance of an industry that wasn’t
made for us trying to be ‘inclusive’ without
taking the proper steps to actually talk to the
people it’s attempting to help.
“When it comes to my overall feelings
about the adult film industry there isn’t
much to say. The industry is filled with
over-inflated mainly white egos that have a perception of what ‘beauty’ is and they
don’t stray from it. It is also filled with self-righteous mainly white performers
who have nothing to say and hide in the shadows when it comes to social rights
issues of people of color until they see a benefit for themselves in speaking out.
“Lastly, I leave everyone with a motto that I’ve have to adapt throughout my life
to try to make sense of the ignorance that goes on in people’s minds. ‘You can’t
expect people to do better who don’t know better.’”
—Stephan James (@stephanjamesxxx)
“To be honest, my initial reaction to the
Best Ethnic Scene category was no reaction
at all. I’m sure many performers did the
same thing I did and just scrolled through
to see if they were nominated for anything.
I was unperturbed because most of my life
I have always experienced issues with racial
discrimination and sometimes do not even
recognize it anymore. It was not until other
performers initiated the conversation did
I take a closer look at it. Upon reflection, I
do think the category was tasteless and do
believe all performers should be considered
regardless of their ethnicity. I do not,
however, think it was AVN’s intention to
divide certain groups of people, but everyone makes mistakes. Their decision
to pull that category shows that something was learned and for that I think is
honorable.
“As far as its alignment under ‘fetish’ I really have no comment on that. I
personally believe it’s all a matter of perspective. I see being Asian as an advantage
for me because it is an underrepresented ethnicity and I do not mind playing that
card.
“The industry has a lot of growing to do and I believe we are heading in the
right direction. I have been blessed to work with some great studios and have met
some great people through all of this. At the end of the day, we must understand
that these studios are a business and if you were in their shoes you would want
your business to be profitable. It is the audience that dictates a lot of what
110 | AVN.com | 1.18
happens. Why are we putting blame on the studios when the viewers are the ones
being racist about who they want to see?”
—Cooper Dang (@cooperdang)
“If I say I was shocked it would be a lie. I would like to believe that we have
solved racial issues within the industry. When I saw the awards list and came
upon Best Ethnic Scene category, I laughed! Not because it’s funny, but because I
knew GayVN assumed they were doing the right thing. If we don’t explain what
inclusiveness looks like they’ll create the narrative that makes them comfortable.
“What was honestly more offensive was that those models of color in the
Best Ethnic Scene were not nominated for Best Actor or Newcomer. When they
claimed Best Ethnic Scene was to fit some sort of ‘fetish’ or ‘niche’ market, I
laughed, again. This time because I knew that explanation was bogus. So, now
being a model of color is a fetish?! This is the issue! When models of color do the
work they get ‘Oh. it’s good for XYZ,’ unlike other models that get an abundance
of praise. We [POC], especially black men, are fighting to be identified beyond
‘thug’ and/or urban labeling. We aren’t just those things! It’s not to say we can’t
be those things, but would you assume that all white people are Trump-loving,
Bible-thumping rednecks? Why can’t POC, especially black men, be varied?
“Why is it that black men are only sought after for the size of the penis? Why
aren’t there more black porn models that look like me? They’re out there! But if
we keep trying to propel this divided industry notion of ‘mainstream’ and ‘urban’
we won’t get anywhere! Let’s be serious, it’s PORN. Unless it’s an actual fetish it
shouldn’t be separate.”
—Jacen Zhu (@jacen_zhu)
“For a person of color and adult entertainer,
it is not uncommon to have your work
overlooked or even ignored by the industry
at large. I am not fazed by the category of
Best Ethnic Scene or having my line of films
considered a ‘fetish’ because that is how we
have shaped porn, as well as popular culture
and media. That I am saying it does not
surprise me does not mean I am not bothered
by it; if anything I think the conversation
needs to be continued and addressed for
what it is: institutionalized racism. While
I have not experienced direct racism in the
industry, I believe it is commonly understood
that the male gaze is limited to what we as a
society epitomize as our ideal of masculine, male beauty: white, cis, men.
“However, if we don’t provide a platform for the ‘niche’ that is entertainers
of color, especially because we are so few in number, I fear that our work will
continue to be dismissed. The issue is bigger than porn consumption; it goes
back to how we view gay men in our society. Anything that steers from the cookie
cutter masculine, muscular Caucasian Adonis is fetishized and discriminated
against. If we want to change the prejudice against porn performers of color, we
must first address our own perceptions of male beauty and how that is not only
detrimental to our consumption of media, but also to our interactions among
ourselves—just no fats, fems, or Asians.”
—Eli Lewis (@elilewisxxx)