Crazy Models—Whose Fault is It?

About XXXWriterDude Ken Knox is an adult industry insider who has written for a number of industry publications, including Unzipped, Men, Freshmen, Honcho, In Touch for Men, and X-Factor. He is the associate editor at AVN Online magazine, and is the former associate editor of GAYVN.

Today I just received an email noting that an up-and-coming gay adult model was returning to the industry after a short hiatus. This email came just a month after the model had allegedly left the industry in a mad huff, claiming he was “done with porn” for good and having pissed off several of the producers that he’d previously worked with. This, of course, sparked several adult directors, producers and webmasters to cry foul, proclaiming that said model’s career was “over,” and that they “would never work with him again.”

How soon they forget.

Now it seems as if the model has kissed (or is it sucked?) and made up with all of the enemies he made, and is once again looking for work. While it remains to be seen just how many of the people he allegedly “screwed over” want to work with him again, it got me to thinking: In a business in which models are primarily rewarded for purely superficial reasons, is it any wonder that they end up acting like children?

We’ve all heard the stories. Some young little diva with a sense of entitlement shows up hours late on a set and keeps everyone waiting, then generally misbehaves and causes tons of delays during production. Such erratic behavior has become, sadly, par for the course in porn, but it’s also behavior that we consistently reward and sanction by continuing to hire these models again and again. What’s more, by stressing the importance of big dick size, huge muscles and Hollywood good looks, porn producers have helped to turn these models into ego-swelled monsters who feel like they can afford to get away with murder because of how hot they are.

The porn business can be a great place to explore your sexuality. It can also be a place to lose yourself in a sea of unending narcissism and ego wars. A young 20-year-old with no discernable skill other than sucking cock can make a great living taking it up the butt on film and turning tricks on the side, but what does he learn about himself in the process—other than how hot he looks when he’s on his knees? I keep wondering if there isn’t a way that we, as producers, directors, agents, journalists, etc., can help these kids understand that there’s more to this business than just looking good and making money? Is it possible—in a business that essentially commoditizes and objectifies people as “trade” rather than human beings—for us to rear mature, respectful porn stars?

I’m not sure. Sadly, in today’s world, porn is really all about the bottom dollar. It didn’t used to be. It used to be about the sexual exploration and liberation on film—a collective discovery of our identities to be shared with anyone brave enough to walk into an adult theater or rent a VHS tape from their local video store. Today it’s all about content delivery, units sold and special effects. We’ve dehumanized the business, and in essence dehumanized the people who take part in it. That a 24-year-old Abercrombie-hot jock with a fat 8-inch cock behaves like a spoiled rotten child comes as no surprise to me, but it still makes me just a little sad that it has come to this. After all, it’s one thing to raise your own kid, but to have to raise a supposedly adult porn star is something that none of us should have to deal with.

 FBI Pays Diabolic Video a Visit—Are You Next?

About XXXWriterDude Ken Knox is an adult industry insider who has written for a number of industry publications, including Unzipped, Men, Freshmen, Honcho, In Touch for Men, and X-Factor. He is the associate editor at AVN Online magazine, and is the former associate editor of GAYVN.

With Monday morning’s impromptu visit by FBI representatives to the offices of Diabolic Video—the first such visit since the institution of the 2257 Regulations 11 years ago—a ripple effect went through all of Porn Valley and beyond. I received at least 3 phone calls at the AVN office from porn producers who asked how serious this really was, and what they should do about it. My response to them was, “Well, are you compliant?”

People are worried—as they should be. With Bush still in office, things are not looking very bright for civil rights, let alone privacy and the right to enjoy certain kinds of entertainment in the seclusion of your own home. Porn producers, on the other hand, have it even worse: They are the people who are putting themselves out there every day when they go to work. They are making themselves targets for the government’s own silly kind of war on all of America—and, indeed, the world. While Bush seems to be on some kind of demonic quest to prove himself the greatest dictator America has ever had for a leader, his minions are busy trying to get re-elected by snuffing out the smut that pervades American society. Never mind that porn is a multi-billion dollar industry that is kept in business year in and year out by the very people the government claims to be “protecting.” Never mind that for the majority of the industry’s existence, most porn producers have made it their priority to make sure that underage models are not employed in their videos. Never mind that this is—the last time I checked—the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. And who is more brave than adult producers who are willing to give the proverbial middle finger to a government who seems more interested in bullying us around than in taking care of our country’s welfare. Sheesh!

Yet we can all sit around and bitch as much as we want about the 2257 regulations and how we feel about what the government is doing. In the end, however, getting all self-righteous and indignant isn’t going to do us any good. It’s certainly not going to protect us from the Big Bad Wolf when he finally does come knocking on our doors. Today the FBI paid a visit to a straight company, but with gay rights consistently under attack from pundits with much to gain politically, if the inspections continue it’s only a matter of time before gay companies are singled out as well. It’s imperative that all of us in the industry are prepared when the Big Bad Wolf comes calling. Otherwise, the ending to your fairy tale is not going to be one of “happily ever after.”

 2257 Ruling - The Good and the Not-So-Good

About Dick Hunter Dick Hunter has been webmaster of popular gay sites such as RateARod and QueerFetish.com since 1999. In 2004 he began directing hardcore videos, such as his latest release "An Army Of Fun". In 2006 he launched this website, GayWebmasters.com.

As you may have heard, a ruling was issued yesterday on the motion for a preliminary injunction in the FSC's 2257 case. Here's my summary of the outcome.

The Good Stuff:

• Secondary producers aren't responsible for maintaining 2257 records. This means if you bought your content from a content provider, you don't have to worry about obtaining the model age verification documents.
• Primary producers aren't responsible for keeping track of where people they've sold content to use it.
• Webcam and chat operators aren't responsible for archiving their data.

The Not-So-Good Stuff

• If you maintain 2257 records, they need to be available for inspection during normal business hours. As I understand it, this means there has to be someone at your office from 9 to 5, five days a week.
• The judge did not agree that 2257 violates models right to privacy.
• Apparently only FSC Members are covered. If you're not a member of the FSC, Dave Cummings, or one of the other plaintiffs in the suit, you're not covered by the injunction, you need to be compliant with the new 2257 regulations.
• If you're a primary producer, you apparently need to maintain a list of URL's on which an image appears within your own website. I'm still not really clear on how this is supposed to work. If Joe Schmoe does a shoot for me, am I supposed to record every URL that every image of him appears on in all my websites? That could be a pain in the butt. But not nearly as bad as things could have turned out.

Unfortunately, this isn't over. Both sides are expected to appeal the ruling on the preliminary injunction. Plus, it's preliminary because the real case is yet to come. This is just a temporary thing until they decide it for real. But it's definitely a good sign that, for the most part, the first round went our way.

The Judge did point out one thing I found interesting. Everyone is always saying how 2257 does nothing to deter child porn, and in fact this was one of the FSC's grounds for an injunction. However, the Judge referred to a case on the books which pointed out that because of 2257, producers are required to verify a models age, and many scrutinize the ID to determine if it's real. Without 2257, I suppose there would be a lot more underage performers who "sneak" their way into porn. But then again, to me there's a big difference between Tracy Lords and "child porn".

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