Size Matters - Penis Size and Sexual Position in Gay Porn Profiles
Size Matters - Penis Size and Sexual Position in Gay Porn Profiles
Size Matters - Penis Size and Sexual Position in Gay Porn Profiles
Joseph Brennan
To cite this article: Joseph Brennan (2017): Size Matters: Penis Size and Sexual Position in Gay
Porn Profiles, Journal of Homosexuality, DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2017.1364568
Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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CONTACT Joseph Brennan [email protected] Department of Media and
Communications, University of Sydney, Level 2, John Woolley Building A20, NSW 2006,
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Australia.
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Abstract
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This article combines qualitative and quantitative textual approaches to the representation of
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penis size and sexual position of performers in ten of the most visited gay pornography websites
currently in operation. Specifically, in excess of 6,900 performer profiles sourced from ten
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commercial websites are analysed. Textual analysis of the profile descriptions is combined with
a quantitative representation of disclosed penis size and sexual position, which is presented
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visually by two figures. The figures confirm that these sites generally market themselves as
featuring penises that are extraordinarily large, and finds a sample-wide correlation between
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smaller penis sizes (5–6.5 inch) and receptive sexual acts (bottoming), and larger (8.5–13 inch)
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with penetrative acts (topping). These observations are supported through the qualitative textual
readings of how the performers are described on these popular sites, revealing the narratives and
marketing strategies that shape the construction of popular porn brands, performers, and
profitable fantasies.
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Keywords:
Gay pornography; homosexuality; penis size; porn profiles; sex roles; sexual position; sexual
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This article analyses representations of penis size and sexual positioning in ten of the most
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visited gay pornography websites currently operating. Employing a combination of qualitative
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and quantitative textual approaches to the topic, the article considers the relationship between
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penile size and sexual position as presented in the porn profiles of performers. Penis size is, as
Escoffier (2003) notes in the context of gay porn personas, one of the key “physical assets” a
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performer has—together with muscles and “a ‘fuckable’ ass” (p. 543). The salience of this point
is demonstrated in this study, where in addition to penis size, the ‘fuckable ass’ asset is argued to
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be equally relevant to constructions of porn personas, that is, in those performers with a smaller
disclosed penis size. Those who fall into the lower end of the penis range tend to be marketed as
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making up for this with a particularly impressive posterior, and with connection with a
‘bottoming’ persona. This is why I consider both representation of penis size and sexual position
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This study is important because penile size remains a persistent source of anxiety for
men, many of whom, at one stage of another in their lives, are at risk of exhibiting symptoms of
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‘small penis syndrome’ (see Wylie & Eardley, 2007), where men who have a normal-sized penis
experience shame about its size. It is an issue that also affects gay men, who have been found to
be more likely to suffer from the syndrome (Veale et al., 2014, p. 90).1 Some have sought to
connect penis size dissatisfaction with pornography use,2 which does provide a context for the
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study and opportunities for further research. Yet, I am most interested here in
textual
penis size and sexual positioning are presented in popular sources of online gay pornography, we
gain additional insight into gay pornography as a media form and the strategies of its
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construction, such as the continued professionalisation of performers and the issue of ‘silent
sexuality’ in the way these men are promoted. In this regard, popular sources of online
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commercial pornography are found to enforce certain stereotypes of gay bodies and
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positionalities (see Brennan [2016b] for my analysis of such stereotypes as ascribed to gay
celebrity athlete Tom Daley). Specifically, pornographic ‘scripts’ are propagated across the sites
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and largely imposed upon performers. Such scripts include equations of the well-endowed with
sexual activeness (‘topping’), and the less-endowed with more feminine traits and sexual
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passivity (‘bottoming’).
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This article combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to the representation of penis size
and sexual position in the top ten most visited gay porn websites. Use of the “much less formal”
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term approach (Potter, 1996, p. 13)—rather than method—is deliberate, and in line with my use
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of textual analysis, drawn from the cultural studies tradition (see Johnson, 1986). The
counting disclosed penis size and sexual position and presenting these disclosures visually across
two figures (see Figures 1 and 2). The advantages of this counting exercise are two-fold. The
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figures make immediately apparent dominant trends in nominated penis size and positionality
across the sites (presented according to percentages and including only those profiles that do
provide this information3). A secondary benefit is that the figures also offer support for the
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select and present (see Fürsich, 2009, p. 240) aspects of the profile descriptions that provide
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more detail on the performer himself, often in accordance with details such as penis size and
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sexual position, also known as ‘stats’ (short for statistics). My textual analysis is presented
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according to key themes, or ‘scripts,’4 by which these performers are described, especially as
part of a description of: personality traits, job titles/hobbies, and sexual interests. These
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descriptions also connect with the certain sub-genres to which the sites belong, ‘amateur college
men’ in the case of Sean Cody and Corbin Fisher for instance.
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Internet analytics website Alexa was used to identity my ten websites, chosen according
to those with the greatest web traffic (correct as of 30 September 2016). I began by generating a
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ranked list of fifty gay porn websites.5 Three sites were then excluded from the top ten sites in
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this list—Randy Blue, Next Door Buddies, and Naked Sword, ranked third, ninth, and eleventh,
respectively—as these sites lacked sufficient detail in their performer profiles (did not disclose
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penis size). This process resulted in the nomination of ten websites (in actuality a list derived
from the thirteen most visited gay porn websites at the time). They are, in order of popularity:
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Men (chaosmen.com).
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The final list includes well-established and highly recognisable gay porn brands (Falcon,
founded by Chuck Holmes in 1971; Bel Ami, by George Duroy in 1993) together with the
especially recent (Gay Hoopla began as a blog in 2013,6 while Tim Tales launched as a “reality
porn” site in 20097). With this protracted history comes considerable variance in performer
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numbers accumulated on the sites: Falcon lists more than 2,000 performers, for instance, while
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Gay Hoopla and Tim Tales each have less than 150. For the purposes of this study, each
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individual performer profile from each website was viewed and each performer’s penis size and
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sexual position manually tallied. The results of this tallying are presented in two figures: Figure 1
penis size, Figure 2 sexual position. As can be seen in Figure 2, only five of the ten sites also
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assigned performers a sexual position (Men, Helix, Lucas, Falcon, Tim Tales). This itself is
That Sean Cody and Corbin Fisher do not assign a gay sex position to their performers,
for example, makes sense given they both market their products as exclusive recordings of
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‘amateur (heterosexual) college men,’ positioned (as is Gay Hoopla and, to a lesser extant, Bel
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Ami) within the lucrative ‘gay-for-pay’ (Escoffier, 2003) market. To disclose such a position for
its performers would be to connect ‘men who have sex with men’ (or ‘MSM,’ commonly used in
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public health discourse) with a key signifier of gay male identity (see Young & Meyer, 2005;
Boellstorff, 2011 for discussion of the challenges of same-sex attraction labelling), and perhaps
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betray these sites’ reliance on a profitable fantasy: that these men are gay-for-pay, and their gay
sexual experiences exclusive to site members. As Halperin (2012) notes on the subject of sex
roles and gay identity, “polarized sexual roles (top versus bottom) have not ended up on the
garbage heap of history,” but instead proliferate as part of “those divisions, which structure all
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traditional gay male culture” (p. 206). That Corbin Fisher also produces “Coed” videos—which
depict straight sex—that frequently also star models from the site’s “Guys” (gay sex) offering,
further explains why a gay sexual position is not included as part of model profiles on the site: a
gesture that distances the brand from a distinct aspect of gay male culture.
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Providing additional support for this point, those sites that do disclose sexual positions,
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do not insist through their marketing that the performers necessarily identify as straight, though
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many may do. Siroonian’s (1997) content analysis, for example, concludes: “Falcon videos
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largely represent gay men having sex as opposed to straight men having homosexual sex” (p. 1).
This is a studio that prides itself on its connection with the gay rights movement, as is the subject
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of a recent documentary (Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story, 2015). This example illustrates
further the value of these figures as visual tools that, in conjunction with in-depth qualitative
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reading, go beyond mere ‘stats’ to help explore the representational function of porn profiles in
In Figure 2, the assigned positions of performers are presented according to four penis
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size ranges (5–6.5 inches, 7–8 inches, 8.5–10 inches, 10.5–13 inches), each range which is
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marked by blocks of colour in the figure. This is to help connect sexual position with penis size.
Once again there is benefit in presenting this visually, as revealed is a clear tendency for
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performers in the lower end of the penis range to be defined as ‘bottoms,’ while those in the
higher ranges were increasingly—and eventually, exclusively—aligned with the ‘top’ position. It
is important to acknowledge here that representations of ‘versatility’ were excluded, even though
my manual tallying reveals that the ‘versatile’ position was (almost) exclusively in the
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majority—Men: 48%, Helix: 48.5%, Lucas: 48%, Falcon: 46%, Tim Tales: 15%. Interestingly,
these percentages (with the exception of Tim Tales) reflect studies (Hart et al., 2003; Wegesin &
Meyer-Bahlburg, 2000) that suggest approximately 50%8 of gay men self-label as versatile. For
the purpose of the present project, I wish to focus on representations of the top and bottom
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position exclusively so as to explore how these opposing positions are constructed by porn
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performer profiles in line with penis size and certain stereotypes of active/passive
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homosexuality, which is why I do not include versatility as part of my analysis. Such stereotypes
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include, to quote from Halperin (2012) once more, dichotomist constructions of mannerisms and
personality traits “consistent with the ancient division between queens and trade, […] between
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ironic camp complicity and earnest butch posturing” (p. 206).
While excluded from the scope of the present study, the high representations of versatility
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on the sites analysed are still worth a brief note here with regard to significance within the
context of gay pornography. As Escoffier (2007, p. 174) observes regarding the challenges gay
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adult entertainment performers face in competing with a constant demand for fresh faces:
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maintaining a diverse sexual repertoire is important. (I have also considered such challenges in
my own work, see Brennan [2016a].) In discussing some of the more memorable gay porn
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performers of the mid-nineties, for example, Escoffier (2007) notes that the most successful were
often the performers that varied their sexual repertoire: “Most of them were sexually versatile
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and performed both top and bottom roles at some point in their careers” (p. 180; also see
Hilderbrand, 2013, pp. 395–396 who notes that in the gay world of the 1970s, versatility formed
part of the gay male “macho image”). The trend toward versatility among porn performers is
well illustrated by the profile of Men exclusive Johnny Rapid, who is designated “versatile”
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despite being perhaps the most iconic “power bottom twink” (a young male who emphatically
performs the receptive role in penetrative sex; see Brennan, 2016a) at present—another example
is Sammy Case from Helix. That the versatile position is in the minority at Tim Tales is also
significant; it can perhaps be connected with the site’s genesis, originally marketed as “reality
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porn, made by Tim (Kruger) and his boyfriend,”9 and thus less abashed to perform the
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recognisable divisions of gay male culture. I will discuss the relationship between sexual
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positions and sexuality in the next section.
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In summary, these figures provide a useful background for the qualitative readings of
performer descriptions carried out hereafter. They serve as additional support for the claims
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made around how these men are represented across these popular sites, and function as a point of
reference for myself as textual analyst, to ensure that my strategic selections—from what is a
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large qualitative sample, laboriously catalogued in the data collection stages—are in keeping
with the general trends across the sites. Thus I will draw on these figures throughout. Yet they
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also remain useful independently, as discussion here reveals. The visual presentation of ‘stats’
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from more than 6,900 profiles offers a graphic overview of how similar the representation of gay
porn performers is across the most visited gay porn sites, adding credence to the import of
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understanding the narratives that accompany such similar presentations of performer sizes and
positions.
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Silencing sexuality when profiling gay porn
performers
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As part of his discussion of gay male self-representation online, Lambert (2006) describes a
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“‘stats please’ virtual protocol,” whereby gay men construct themselves in dedicated online
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homosexual spaces via a “rubric of stats” (p. 63). The most important stat is penis size, which
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connotes most clearly “manliness, the definition of what gay men should desire to have and
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desire to be” (Lambert, 2006, p. 63; emphasis original). Penis size takes on greater significance
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in the gay pornography setting, undoubtedly the single most important signifier of desire and
desirability in the erotic male form. The penis is followed in significance by the “fuckable ass”—
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an often opposing position—and then perhaps muscularity (as Escoffier, 2003, p. 543 suggests).
Porn star personas are fashioned from the cultural myths and social roles that define or violate
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male sexuality and masculine traits (Escoffier, 2003, p. 540), and are typically done so along
positional lines, namely: as hung and aggressive (a ‘top’); as small, submissive, and fuckable (a
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This study provides empirical evidence that such fashionings persist in popular gay commercial
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porn, and that such persistence is affirmed through narratives that connect certain
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(though not actually small; an erect penis measuring 5 inches, the smallest that appears in the
sample, is generally considered ‘average,’ see Veale et al., 2015, p. 978) with bottoming with
effeminacy, large (in fact extraordinarily so) with topping with masculinity.
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Underlying the formation of these stereotypes is a narrow, and in some cases silent,
definition of sexuality, which remains a key issue within gay porn. During the 1990s gay
pornography came to promote a view of the porn star as “the professional,” which Escoffier
(2007) describes as “a new kind of gay porn star” (p. 179). “The professional” was distinctly not
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gay, but rather performed gay feats on screen as part of a profitable career, and garnered a
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devoted fan base as a result. Such professionalism within gay pornography continues today with
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the gay-for-pay category. As a side note, the professionalisation of sex within gay pornography
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connects with issues of heterosexism,10 as confirmed by Burke’s (2016) content analysis of
heteronormative markers on gay porn websites targeting the ‘str8’ niche (Chaos Men included).
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In perhaps the most insightful account on the topic of silent sexuality in gay porn to date,
Michael Lucas (2006; creator of Lucas, one of the sites included in this study) describes—in a
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piece published in the Yale Journal of Law & Feminism—gay porn as “the quiet whisper of gay
sexuality” (pp. 301–302). Lucas’s piece is a defence of sorts of the legitimacy of gay
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representations in television and film, which are stereotypical in their depictions (a point not
without merit), that gay porn embraces “the very thing” that distinguishes homosexuals from
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heterosexuals most: sex (Lucas, 2006, p. 302). Yet, Lucas’s (2006) description and emphasis on
sex also seems to distance pornography, in his view, from identity, with Lucas bemoaning that
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too often “gay men are depicted as walking embodiments of their sexuality (as if ‘being gay’ is
the sum of what a gay man is)” (pp. 301–302). I agree that television and film desexualised gay
men somewhat (particularly in the 1990s, see Battles & Hilton-Morrow, 2002 for a critique of
Will & Grace for instance), and that such representations were problematic because of this; yet I
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regard Lucas’s view, and his vision of gay pornography as a ‘whispering’ form of gay sexuality,
problematic also.11
To reveal the problems in Lucas’s logic, one need only point to the struggles over
terminology—is it “gay” or “all-male” pornography? (see Cante & Restivo, 2004, p. 111)—that
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often emerges in scholarly readings of the form; and related to such etymological debate, the
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prevalence—now near standard—of performers being branded as ‘gay-for-pay.’ When
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considered, these points make plain that gay sexuality within gay porn is indeed a “quiet
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whisper,” though likely not in the manner that Lucas was advocating. Gay sexuality is perhaps
quiet necessarily so to not put off viewers only interested in ‘the sex,’12 and disinterested in more
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embodied identities—or more contentiously, interested only in the promotion of a fetish for the
ostensibly heterosexual male. And yet, at the same time, separation from sexuality is not so
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simply achieved. Gay porn also implicates itself by its general reticence
toward sexuality
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becoming entangled within the realm of ‘identity politics’ and what Gamson (1995) described as
a “queer dilemma” (p. 390). Gay porn does this by drawing on narrow constructions of
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homosexuality through the profiles of performers. Much like the more mainstream
representations Lucas sought to distinguish the form from, to my eye, popular commercial porn
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products (such as those included in this study) tend toward stereotypical constructions of the men
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Bel Ami (sixth on my list) emerged during the nineties in the wake of the wave of democracy
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that swept through the Czech states and established the separate nation states of Slovakia and the
Czech Republic (its head office was established in Bratislava). The studio formed during a time
of unprecedented sexual liberalism in the region, and soon established itself internationally as a
quality gay porn product. (See Sikes [2010], whose article on the emergence of the ‘Eastern
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category’ in gay pornography is a particularly engaging account of the conditions that shaped the
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Bel Ami brand.) Bel Ami established—and continues to distinguish itself as—a singular
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embodiment of the professionalism trend within gay pornography. In fact, Scuglia (2015) in his
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recent doomsday reading of the fortunes of the gay male pornography industry, singles out Bel
Ami as an exception to his last-days-of-gay-porn theory. Scuglia (2015) explains Bel Ami’s
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success by noting that
the company’s practice of grooming their actors and carefully moderating their public exposure
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It is an observation that warrants expansion, for it points to the professionalism turn in gay porn,
but also supports a feature I observed in my reading of the site’s profiles, in which explicit
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reference is made to the maintenance of a ‘Bel Ami look,’ a polished and (lean) muscular look
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that is in some respects evocative of the ‘homosexual clone’ archetype that first appeared in the
mid-1970s (see Levine [1998] for an account of the rise and decline of the clone icon).
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Evidence of the Bel Ami look as well as the ‘grooming’ Scuglia makes reference to can
be found in the performer profiles, all written by studio founder George Duroy. (Chaos Men
adopts a similar approach, with founder Bryan Ockert authoring, and editorialising, performer
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profiles.) In profiling his performers, Duroy is unreserved about acknowledging those models
who do not match the studio’s distinctive look, regarding Derek Raser he writes:
Derek is one of those models that I’m unsure how best to use. His facial features are those of a
Bel Ami model, but he has the body of a body builder [… .] Viewers more of less like Derek, but
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it’s this mixed reception that leave me deliberating as to what to do with him.13
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While in discussing Ronny Lamarr, Duroy writes: “He has a light complexion with little no
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pigment. He is thin and unable to gain any weight. […] our decision was to feed you Ronny in
limited quantities […] he is not an archetypal BelAmi model.” There are also examples of ‘the
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professional’ in Duroy’s descriptions, he describes Ralph Woods as “businesslike [… ,] very
professional and reliable.” But it is also evident that a defining feature of the Bel Ami look and
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its success is penis size, and certain positional associations. Duroy describes a performer with a
6-inch penis as “an archetypal bottom” (Brian Bennet), while in profiling a 10-inch performer
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Joel’s story started with my promise to one of our Hungarian model scouts that if he found a
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young man with a 11 inch dick that I would buy him a new car. After several months effort he
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came up with Joel Birkin. Joel’s dick is not 11 inches but reasonably close to 10 (by American
porn standards though it is probably much more, depending on the talents of the cameraman).
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The Birkin profile provides a useful segue into discussion of penis size across the sample.
It refers to an ‘American porn standard’ in suggesting both that Bel Ami is more honest about its
penis sizes, and that American studios tend toward exaggeration, “depending on the talents of the
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cameraman.”14 This illustrates again the value of my approach to this topic. The figures provide
a visual overview of the representation of penis size and sexual position as stated on these sites,
though are not intended to be too precise. This is because porn studios are not in the business of
precision. As Dyer (1985) observes in his early15 essay on the form, within the pornographic
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narrative, emphasis is placed on how penises ‘look.’ These studios are in the business of
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branding gay sex, and it is how this range of popular porn brands market their performers, and
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how these marketing strategies intersect with certain stereotypes of homosexuality, that is of
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greatest interest to me.
Penis size
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On viewing Figure 1, it may surprise some to see that the porn site ranked first on my list also
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has the lowest penis size percentage majority for its performers (6.5 inches accounted for 38.5%
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of Sean Cody models). Most of the sites had 7 inches as their highest percentage representation
(Men: 28%, Helix: 30.5%, Gay Hoopla: 49%, Corbin Fisher: 28.5%, Tim Tales: 34%, Chaos
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Men: 26%). Bel Ami’s was slightly higher at 7.5 inches (31.5%), while Lucas and Falcon peaked
at 8 inches (26.5% and 40%, respectively).16 Yet, these results are perhaps less surprising when
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read in line with the brands they represent. Sean Cody markets itself as ‘amateur porn,’ and its
6.5-inch majority conforms with Kinsey et al.’s (1948) erect penis length average of 16.74
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centimetres (approximately 6.5 inches), drawn from a large sample. In other words, the men on
Sean Cody are not ‘porn stars,’ but amateur talent; at least, that is the fantasy on which the site’s
marketing relies. Sean Cody also does not provide a narrative for its performers (stats only). In
its avoidance of narrative Sean Cody again suggests these are not ‘performers/actors,’ but
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amateur men. Corbin Fisher and Chaos Men also have a comparatively high representation of
men in the 6-inch range for the same reason. While Helix’s numbers in the 5–6 inch range make
sense given the site’s ‘twink’ niche, which is a sub-genre where an 18–24 boyish look (see
Brennan, 2016a, p. 24) is paramount. In the case of Helix, appearing ‘barely legal’ is an arguably
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more important signifier than the appearance of a large penis. Conversely, Lucas and Falcon are
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in the business of more traditional porn stars, and their performers’ penis sizes conform
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accordingly.
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It is the marketing narratives behind the numbers that are most important here. As
Duroy’s profile of performer Birkin suggests, chances are there is little accuracy in the reporting
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of performer penis sizes (and sexual positions for that matter), with these numbers and
positionalities serving a more symbolic function. In other words, details about performers
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concern appearances or the ‘look’ (Dyer, 1985) of the penis rather than facts; these men perform
feats of gay theatre, where size is measured by how the penis appears on camera and the brand
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profiles of the same performers across studios. Corbin Fisher’s “Dalton” is listed as having a 9.5-
inch penis, though as “Hagan” at Choas Men is marketed as 8.5 inches. Similar discrepancies can
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be found across the sample. Rocco Steele is marketed as 10 inches at Falcon, but 7 at Men; while
Jake Lyons (who I featured elsewhere as the subject of a star study [see Brennan, 2016a]) debuts
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as “Greg” at Corbin Fisher with 7.5 inches, then later appears with Lucas as 8 inches, and Chaos
Men as 7 inches. In some cases discrepancies exist within profiles—Lucas’s Sean Xavier, for
instance, is listed as 11 inches in his ‘stats,’ but 9 inches in his description—and with disclosure
of sexual positioning too—Matthew Rush17 is listed as a 9-inch top with Falcon, but as 8 inches
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and versatile with Lucas and Men. Such variance shows the arbitrary nature of such ‘stats,’ but
lower penis measurement in the foregoing examples. And that Falcon comes out on top. Such
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strategies extend to the marketing of site creators also. Site creators Tim Kruger (Tim Tales) and
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Michael Lucas (Lucas) are both listed as being 10-inch tops; Kruger has “a cock to die for and
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really really knows how to use it.” This contrasts with Chaos Men’s creator “Bryan [Ockert],”
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who is 6 inches and described as “a very reluctant performer […] and usually likes to keep his
clothes on.” ‘Bryan’ recruits amateur talent and is appropriately average, spending his days
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driving to collect talent from the airport and filming them in his home studio;18 while Kruger and
Lucas perform in their own pornography as beacons of porn stardom. To demonstrate how penis
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size functions in the maintenance of a particular brand identity, let us consider the narratives
At Lucas, performers with a disclosed penis size of 8.5 inches and above account for
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23.5% of profiles (31% for the same range at Falcon). These ‘Lucas men’ are described as “fuck
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machines” (Topher DiMaggio) and “muscle-gods” (Salvatore Dolce). In place of a penis they
have “massive meat” (Cezar Dior), a “flawless package” (Philip Zyos), a “big fat” (Alejandro
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Castillo) “monster cock” (Antonio Biaggi). In these profiles, the penis is at times assigned near
mythical symbology, descriptions include: “massive, throbbing lance of black20 meat” (Hot Rod)
and “magic wood [… that] could cast a spell on any needy bottom!” (Magic Wood). The
spectacle of all this entitles each man in this group “bragging rights about the masterpiece he has
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between his legs” (D.K.) and claims to titles such as “the biggest in the industry” (Ben
Andrews). Each of these men are masculine, “brawny muscle studs” (Asoka). They have
masculine professions; these are army men (Stephan Bertolli), demolition workers (Tommy
Defendi). They “play all kinds of sports” (Barrington Brooks), and have suitably masculine
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temperaments. These men engage in sex that is “aggressive” (Jow Strong, Jason White), “rough”
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(Jordan Fox), “strong enough to toss you across the room” (Romario Forio). But the most
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important attribute for the vast majority of these men is that they are “alpha” (Arpad Miklos21)
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males, “true” (Kevin Wood) and “total” (Viktor Rom) “power-tops” (Ricky Sinz). A Lucas man
loves to use his thick uncut dick to stretch out each of his partner’s slutty holes (Peto Coast);
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is tall, handsome, hung, and ready to fuck a bottom who understands submission (Roman
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Berman);
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has an epic horse-hung sex-stick that is made for topping (Baptiste Bremont); [and]
is one of the industry’s hottest […] muscle gods, brutally topping and pounding the holes of
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Exceptions to this construction are rare (see Luke Milan, for instance, who “despite
having such a huge cock […] actually prefers to take the bottom bunk in bed”; also see “power
bottom” Jessie Colter and Mercer [2012] for discussion of the power bottom narrative in gay
porn). And the reason for this rarity in variance from a ‘power top’ narrative is given in the
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profiles themselves. Such as in Ben Driver’s, where we learn that “This Calgary resident is a
total power-top, and with a cock like his, it should not be any other way.” In a similar
description, we are told in the profile of 9.5-inch Vito Gallo, his “dick” means his top status too
“shouldn’t be any other way.” While Michael Lachlan’s profile goes so far as to suggest that
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since “Lachlan is packing a big, thick nine-inch uncut cock in his pants that was made for
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fucking, […] anything else would be a waste.” What I wish to suggest here is that these
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constructions can be considered both in line with the brand of the site on which they are hosted,
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yet also as part of a particular marketing strategy that reifies homosexuality by connecting
endowment with topping and masculinity, and smaller penis sizes with bottoming and
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femininity.
In support of this, similar readings can be undertaken of the Lucas profiles in the 5–6.5
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inch range, which results in antithetical narratives. These boys (not men) are frequently
described as “adorable […] with a beautiful baby face and smile” (Johnny Davis). These are
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“cuties” (Kevin Roberts) “with twinkling brown eyes, a slim physique and a hungry attitude” (AJ
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Milano). They are “completely gay” (Aaron Blake). They are “stylists” (Potter), “aerial acrobats”
(Duncan Black); the ‘sports’ they enjoy include “inline skating” (Zach Jayden). Overwhelmingly
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these boys’ “favorite sexual activity is bottoming” (Colden Armstrong). They fantasise about
being fucked “rough and hard” (Dylan Hauser). These are “needy bottoms [… with] a hole that
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not only invites but begs for a pounding!” (Grayson Palmer). And are happiest when “ass-up and
face-down” (AJ Milano), with some enjoying “getting fucked with toys” (Ian James). Again,
exceptions exist (see Parker London), but they are few. In one case, a performer’s preference for
18
topping is met with apparent scepticism, perhaps for its transgression of expectations around
David fancies himself a top, but once you start playing with his asshole a little bit he will be on
his back quicker than the world’s neediest bottom. (David Sweet)
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The above leaves me unclear as to whether the described turn-to-bottoming is an anecdote that
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David himself shared with his profiler, or instead the profiler editorialising, bringing David
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Sweet into line with the ‘bottom script’ his 6.5-inch penis (and stage name) perhaps connotes. I
suspect it is the latter. Equally, it seems unlikely that the same would be said of a ‘top’ with a
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penis larger than 8.5 inches; after all, to not see such a penis inside a ‘needy’ bottom would be a
‘waste.’ The constructions of Lucas tops and bottoms will now be further supported by a more
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sample-wide reading of the connection between penis size and sexual positioning among other
Scholars have sought to assess the relationship between sexual position and personality traits
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before, with correlations made between self-identified tops with more masculine traits, and
bottoms with more feminine ones (see Zheng et al., 2012; Wegesin & Meyer-Bahlburg, 2000).
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Hart (2003) also found self-identified tops were more prone to internalised homophobia, while
Moskowitz et al.’s (2008) analysis of gay male personal advertisements concludes a high
association between self-labels and sexual roles. In fact, scholars have also considered the role of
penis size in gay male identity; Drummond and Filiault’s (2007) qualitative investigation into
19
gay men’s perceptions of penis size concludes: “penis size is important to them in terms of how
In a study more aligned with the approach of the present one, Hoppe (2011) proposes
‘bottom scripts’ based on interviews that suggest bottoms desire to produce pleasure and submit
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sexually for their partners. While more recently, Reilly (2016) draws on interviews and web-
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based data to connect the bottom persona with “feminine pursuits of fashion and aesthetics and
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gay identity as well as contemporary views of ‘gayness’” (p. 167). Clearly there is much interest
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in the role that such correlations between penis size, sexual position, and personality traits have
in the maintenance of gay identity, and of the resultant stereotypes and challenges that come with
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such correlations, such as the “censuring” power of the word ‘bottom’ (Reilly, 2016), or the
connection between topping and homophobia (Hart et al., 2003). The current article’s
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contribution to this debate is through its venture into the realm of gay pornography, an arena
profiles, narrative connections arise around personality and positionality traits of performers, and
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how these connect with the performers’ disclosed penis sizes. As with my foregoing reading of
Lucas, I will consider these narratives across two extremes of the penis size range, which as
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Table 2 demonstrates, have a tendency to correspond with particular sexual positions: bottoming
with men of a penis size in the 5–6.5 inch range, and topping with men in the 8.5–13 inch range.
For this final section of my article, I will focus on the profiles hosted on Men, Helix, Gay
20
Hoopla, Corbin Fisher, Tim Tales, and Chaos Men, chosen as the remaining sites yet to be
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It is important to note from the outset that all of these remaining sites include similar top/bottom
narratives that also correlate with penis size ranges: topping with the largest penises, bottoming
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with the smallest. To consider in the first instance the 5–6.5 inch range, there was significant
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connection with bottoming in the ‘stats’: 75% at Men were listed as “bottom,” 84.5% at Helix,
100% at Tim Tales (Lucas was 89.5%, and Falcon 75%). The descriptions at these sites also
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connect performers with certain stereotypes of bottoming, as shown with regards to: personality
Regarding personality traits. At Men, performers are “shy” (Joey Cooper) and “funny”
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(Duncan Black), “super friendly” (Corey Haynes) and “sweet to everybody” (Tyler Sweet). They
love to “snuggle” (Cody Avalon), “cuddle” (Trent Atkins), can be “chatty” (Cody Robbinson),
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are partial to a “tickle” (Jimmy Ranz) and “can be hysterical” (which is both the “best” and
“worst thing about me,” Brandon Moore), and “sarcastic” but also with a “sweet caring heart”
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(Asher Hawker). At Helix, hobbies include “fashion” (Felix Russo), “dancing” (Noah White, for
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Casey Tanner of the “go-go” variety), and “shopping” (Brad Chase, Corey King). These bottoms
are of course also “beautiful” with “bubble butts” (Bastian Hart), most are “submissive” (Sean
Michael Bradley), “insatiable” bottoms (Jesse Starr) that look “forward to showing you what a
sassy boy he can be” (Joshua Parker). These are interests that relate well to the sexual desires of
the 5–6.5 inch range at Tim Tales, who consist of “angels” (Max Schutler) with “delicious”
21
(Derek Reynolds) and “tight holes” (Dani), “always looking for huge boners to make [them]
Gay Hoopla, Corbin Fisher, and Chaos Men do not disclose sexual position of
performers, yet even so, there is evidence of similar narratives within the 5–6.5 inch range. To
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select one from each to illustrate:
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Big Booty Blond gamer who could take any sized cock you wanted (Logan Vaughn, Gay
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Hoopla).
We are no strangers to requests from fans, but when shy and attractive Terry contacted us to help
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him fulfill his horny fantasy to be completely owned, used, and fucked by two of the biggest
cocked jocks we have on our roster- there was no way we could turn that down! (Terry, Corbin
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Fisher).
Chase is kind of a hard sell as a straight guy […] He has twink written all over him, and I
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suspect, given the dildo play in this video, he will eventually be a big ’ole bottom (Chase
In the case of bottom-by-request Terry, the profile almost reads as a justification for the inclusion
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of a 5.5-inch performer on the site’s “roster,” reflecting a sample-wide trend toward focusing on
the “booty” (bottom) rather than “cock” (top) of performers in this lower range. While the Chaos
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Men example equates physical characteristics (a slender ‘twink’ frame) with bottoming, as it
does bottoming with a gay identity (“hard sell as a straight guy”), an equation that rarely applies
for large ‘tops’ in the amateur, gay-for-pay category. The connection of smaller penises with
bottoming is given further support in the profile for another performer, Gunner from Chaos Men.
22
Gunner has a 5.5-inch penis, which seems to factor in to the need for him to bottom: “He says he
is pretty much a top, but I really need some guys to bottom to help break in the straight guys.” (I
suspect that such a ‘sacrifice’ would not be asked of a performer with a large penis, such as 11-
inch Josh Messick at the same studio, who has a profile with the note: “Now let’s see if I can
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find someone to sit on that ginormous tool!”)
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Top narratives: 8.5–13 inch performers
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As was the case with Lucas, antithetical narratives dominate in the high, 8.5–13 inch penis size
range, aligning these performers with a particular position, this time with topping. At Men, 77%
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of those in this range identified as “top,” 95.5% at Helix, 96% at Tim Tales (Lucas was 76%,
Falcon was 87%). To take a similar approach to the foregoing 5–6.5 inch range, across these
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profiles an archetypal top emerges, which can again be read in accordance with certain
At Men, performers confess to having a “temper” (Enrique Romo, Travis James, Diesel
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Washington) and being “not always the best listener” (Bryan Cavallo). The responses of Cliff
Jensen seem to particularly evoke the characteristics of a big-dicked top, listing his “hobbies” as
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“jerking it and surfing,” his “cock” as the “best thing” about him, and “fuck it” as his favourite
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quote. While Jay Rising too lists his cock as the best thing about him, and more specifically its
“size;” regarding his worst attribute, his response reads: “my ass lol.” Similarly, at Helix, the
well-endowed men are keen on the outdoors and camping (Brent King), and into contact sports
and working out—“I play lacrosse, work out twice a week and love to run” (Ryan Bailey)—, are
vocal about their interest in women—“I like all types of girls” (Michael Lee)—, have masculine
23
jobs—“I’m a young construction worker, from Kentucky […] I was a wrestler and always end up
on top” (Blake Mitchell)—and a few have that “country boy” (Colton James), ‘rural masculine’
(see Brandth & Haugen, 2005) charm that is “the product of a small town” (Ty Roderick).
Naturally, these men have “a sexual appetite that is second to none and the stamina to wear out
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the best bottom” (Mason Coxx), making them among “the most requested new tops in the
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business” (Dalton Briggs).
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Profiles in the 8.5–13 inch range on Tim Tales further develop the ‘top’ persona. Among
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the largest of the large, these men’s penises are often inscribed with machine and weapon
metaphors (see Cameron, 1992). Logan Wolve is nicknamed “Mr. Machinegun, Jackhammer,
an
Turbofucker,” and Edward Fox is “an enduring powerfucker who knows how to use his tool.”
Here, the penis takes on a character of its own, a “beast between his legs” (Bastian Winkler), “a
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very rare thing from nature” (Devin Moss). “It’s a weapon!” we are told about Esteban’s 11-inch
penis, a “supercock” for which “he almost needs a license” (Cubano). Such ‘tools’ are “expert in
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filling holes” (Alexey) “with a big load” (Chase Coxxx), and ideally suited “to handle hungry
pt
At Gay Hoopla, Corbin Fisher, and Chaos Men, we find further examples of similar
narratives, even without the nomination of a sexual position. To select three illustrative
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examples:
Monster cock blond military boy Aiden Miller is large and in charge downstairs. He’s also your
California dream boy who enjoys riding the waves and kicking back relaxing (Aiden Miller, Gay
Hoopla).
24
Vaughn has an amazing deep voice that sort of makes your knees go weak when you listen to
him. Combine that voice with his amazing eyebrows, ripped muscles, and big cock, he will
Nathaniel is a dirty boy…litterally! He’s a rough and tumble guy, who spends his time working
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on greasy mechanics, with little thought to his appearance. I talked to him a couple of times on
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the phones, and he was just such a straight dude that I had to work with him (Nathaniel, Chaos
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Men).
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These final extended examples emphasise certain masculine traits of well-endowed performers,
while also pointing to the popularity of ‘str8 markers’ (see Burke, 2016) in gay pornography (“he
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was just such a straight dude that I had to work with him”). But they also remind us that
commercial gay porn is in the business of gay fantasy (“he will definitely inspire some
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fantasies”),23 which is a nice segue into my concluding thoughts on this study, its findings, and
Conclusion
pt
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This study provides empirical evidence of the rather monolithic nature of gay porn profiles in ten
of the most visited commercial porn offerings currently available. Specifically, I analyse profiles
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of performers in the high (8.5–13 inch) and low (5–6.5 inch) penis size ranges, and resultant
correlations with ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ sex roles. The study finds that active/passive dichotomies
persist in popular gay commercial porn, and that such persistence is affirmed through narratives
that connect certain characteristics—penis size, sexual position—with certain stereotypes of gay
25
life—small with bottoming with effeminacy with passivity, larger with topping with masculinity
and activity. I argue that such constructions can be understood both in line with the brand and
genre of the site on which they are hosted, yet also as part of a particular marketing strategy that
reifies homosexuality in the name of a profitable fantasy: connecting endowment with topping
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and masculinity, and smaller sizes with bottoming and femininity. The study demonstrates that
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the top/bottom dichotomy and its concomitant narratives are clearly an important aspect of gay
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porn. Yet it is important to acknowledge that it is an aspect, not the whole truth, given that
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versatile gay porn personas and performers are not included in the study. Consideration of the
example, it is clear that a chief fantasy developed across these popular sites is one where the
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well-endowed make use of that and generally perform in the penetrative role, which begs the
question of whether there is any harm in catering to a fantasy. After all, as is also demonstrated
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here, such a fantasy allows for the more ‘ordinarily’ sized to still participate—through the
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expression of complementary talents, and other physical attributes, a “fat ass” that leaves viewers
“hoping he’s a catcher” (Jimmy Bona, 6 inches, Gay Hoopla), for instance. (Elsewhere, I [see
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Brennan, 2017, p. 428] acknowledge viewer interest in the bottom position, as presented through
the POV shot [point-of-view] of the penetrating performer.) Further, associations between penis
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size and sexual position are not without support in wider contexts. Moskowitz and Hart’s (2011)
survey of 429 gay men offers in principle support for the narratives observed across these sites,
these researchers concluding that “generally, tops reported larger penises than bottoms. They
also reported being comparatively more masculine than bottoms” (p. 835).
26
As for the conclusions I draw from this study, while the business of fantasy is perhaps
expected across these sites, it remains important to be aware of the strategies employed in
marketing profitable pornographic fantasy, particularly when such strategies tend toward the
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defined sex roles within gay pornography, and privileged alignment of opposing positions
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(top/bottom) and ‘prototypes’ (see Mercer, 2003) that connect action, power, and penetration
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with extraordinarily sized, masculine men. Such critical questioning perhaps challenges the
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valorisation of heteronormativity characteristic of the gay-for-pay category in contemporary gay
porn. Yet more importantly, recognises the potential of pornographic media to influence gay
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identity (see Rothmann, 2013), and the very real impacts that such alignments and stereotypes
may have on the well-being of males,24 gay men especially. Such criticism seems vital for gay
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men who do not self-identify with the small-bottom/large-top fantasy on offer (see Moskowitz &
Roloff’s [2016] surveys, which found that anxieties around penis size have led self-identified
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tops to adopt a bottom label). And with such questioning comes the belief that it is equally
productive to call for greater opportunities within the pornographic imagination for
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representations of gay sex that offer viewers greater variation of fantasies among the most
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popular sources of gay pornography; and perhaps, in the words of gay porn magnate Michael
Lucas (2006), to expect something more than a “quiet whisper of gay sexuality” (p. 302).
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Figure 1. Penis size
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Figure 2. Sexual position
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Notes
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1
Also see Alvear (2003) who recalls that insecurity around penis size accounted for “most of the letters”
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(p. 5) he received during his time as a gay sex columnist.
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2
A correlation Cranney (2015) argues for; also see Pierce (2016, p. 6) who notes that in her experience
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speaking with college students about sex, men expressed that their porn consumption had led them to
question the adequacy of their penis size.
3
an
In calculating percentages for the purposes of the two tables, non-disclosed details (penis size, sexual
position) were excluded from the value of the whole.
4
The term ‘scripts’ is used in line with scripting theory (see Simon & Gagnon, 1986) and is a gesture
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websites. His list provided a useful starting point for this study’s own top 10, see
http://str8upgayporn.com/best-gay-porn-website-2016-best-gay-porn-studio/ (Accessed 3 November
2016).
pt
6
As Wayback Machine’s archive.org serves reveal:
http://web.archive.org/web/20130610173451/http://gayhoopla.com/ (Accessed 3 November 2016).
ce
7
See: http://web.archive.org/web/20090416215037/http://timtales.com/home.html (Accessed 3
November 2016).
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8
Wei and Raymond (2011) found a result in the lower 40s percentile.
9
http://web.archive.org/web/20090416215037/http://timtales.com/home.html (Accessed 3 November
2016).
10
Such issues of which have been observed within gay online communities (see Phua, 2002).
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11
Lucas (2006) also states that the depiction of condomless sex in gay pornography “sends a destructive
message to the gay community,” and that he “strictly” features sex with a condom in his “movies” (p.
301). His company has since bowed to the demand for bareback pornography; a recent title,
Barebackula (2016), a play on the Dracula myth, seems particularly distasteful given, in Lucas’s
t
(2006) words, connections bareback practices continue to have with the real-world horror and
ip
“devastation of the AIDS epidemic” (p. 301).
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12
I acknowledge here certain studies (i.e., Morrison, 2004), which suggest that for many gay men
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pornography serves a utilitarian function, by which potentially negative influences of the form are
us
reported to have little personal impact. Such research also points to viewer identification with gay porn
performers and the fluidity of such identification. See, for instance, Hallam’s (2004) personal account
of porn viewership over a 40-year period.
13
an
Porn profile discourse is included as is complete with typographic errors.
14
See Healey (2010) who argues that in Russian gay pornography the bottom position is coded as
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“powerful, because of the desire it evoked in the viewer” (p. 219). Such an argument adds credence to
the construction of an American-centric obsession with size and privileging of the insertive position in
gay pornography from that region.
ed
15
For another early perspective on gay pornography, see Waugh (1985).
16
That Gay Hoopla and Tim Tales do not use a .5 inch measurement both makes their averages look
pt
higher, and also adds credence to a practice of ‘rounding up’ endowment measurements.
17
It is interesting to note that Rush, once marketed as an archetypal top, made his bottoming debut to
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much fanfare in Falcon’s 2004 film Taking Flight: Part 2. This both illustrates Escoffier’s (2007, p.
180) view on the strategy of a varied sexual repertoire in a successful porn star’s career, and accounts
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for Rush’s versatile listing at Lucas and Men (notably, with a smaller disclosed penis measurement).
18
A daily routine explained in this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/DeXDLvD3TXk (Accessed 17
November 2016).
19
Falcon is not considered here as, like Sean Cody, no description is provided for performers in profiles.
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20
Though beyond the scope of the present study, I feel it is important to acknowledge the signifying role
of race within gay pornography. In particular how representations of race can serve to maintain
stereotypes of penis size and positionality; whereby “being black means being masculine and a top”
(Smith, 2014, p. 117), or Asian means you have a small penis and are a bottom (Han, 2016, p. 62; also
t
see Fung, 2005). Such stereotypes inscribe the non-white body as a form of fetish (see Williams, 2004
ip
and her essay on pornography and race). An example of the use of racial stereotyping can be seen in
Lucas’s Mickey Lane profile, where he is described as “the quintessential black top ass-pounder.”
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Spongberg (1997), in her historical account of the penis, traces “mythical estimations of black penis
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size” (p. 23) back to the colonisation of Africa by the Romans, and Fung (1991) explains the racialised
us
connections between penis size and sexual position when he writes that the black man’s savage
hypersexuality is “proven” by his large penis, while the Asian man’s lack “down there” results in his
an
positioning as a bottom, a process whereby “Asian and anus are conflated” (p. 153).
21
Miklos died in 2013, yet his porn profile remains visible, and therefore is accounted for in the study.
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22
Dworkin’s (1989) work, and specifically her criticism of gay porn’s use of “devalued males” (p. 61),
including men of colour, is broadly relevant here. Though, as Harris (1997) points out, the “pious
hysterics” and “absurdly literal relation between fantasy and reality” (p. 157) in Dworkin’s arguments
ed
dilute the value of her contribution somewhat. See Kendall (2004), who adopts views similar to
Dworkin’s in the context of gay pornography. On the topic of sex roles, for example, he writes: “gay
male pornography merges with an identity politics that personifies all that is masculine, hence gender
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‘male,’ and which rejects all that is non-masculine, feminized, hence gender ‘female’—an identity
through which, as Andrea Dworkin explains, gay men are not only penetrated like women but are
ce
expected to lust after pain and degradation like women are thought to under male dominance”
(Kendall, 2004, p. 67). Dworkin and Kendall are placed in a note, as their arguments tend toward
essentialism in proposing that pornography is a form of sex discrimination. Their arguments are
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examples of ‘harm-based readings’ of pornography that I find more problematic than helpful for the
purposes of my argument in the present study, which strives for a more complex understanding of
certain problematic aspects of gay porn.
23
In thinking through the appeal of binarised and exaggerated sexual roles in the marketing of these
performers, I am reminded of discourses I encountered (see Brennan, 2017) in a recent reading of
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viewer reaction to Boys Halfway House (boyshalfwayhouse.com), a commercial gay pornographic
website catering to abuse fantasies. In reading this discourse, I observe both “anxieties and
appreciations the site has prompted in viewers” (Brennan, 2017, p. 423). I argue that those viewers
who are appreciative of the offering “engage in the construction of a pleasurable common fantasy”
t
(Brennan, 2017, p. 434), whereby the more extreme the depiction, the more pleasurable that
ip
subversive fantasy is.
24
Many of whom are dissatisfied with the size of their penis, even while perceiving themselves to be
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“average,” see Johnston et al. (2014). Also see Mondaini et al. (2002), who found that penis size was
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