One day after the contract of his fellow CockyBoy Ben Masters was terminated after a racist video rant, the recent Grabby winner started a discussion on Twitter and made a call for better representation for people of color in the industry.
“I’ve been getting a lot of questions about CockyBoys today. And this thread is only to explain to you guys my experience. I can not speak on the experiences of others and the past of the studio,” starts Brock Banks. “I have had nothing but the most amazing experiences shooting with CockyBoys (Jake Jaxson) and RJ Sebastion…they have always made ME feel welcomed and safe and loved. They have never made ME feel like my race was an issue or a factor in why I was in a scene.”
I have had nothing but the most amazing experiences shooting with @cockyboys and @RJ_SebastianNYC they have always made ME feel welcomed and safe and loved. They have never Made me feel like my race was an issue or a factor in why i was in a scene
— Brock Banks (@Brock_Banks_) June 2, 2020
He continued: “Also when the video of Ben Masters was released they were not at all condoning it. I had a conversation with them immediately after I posted the video. And they were horrified but also trying to figure out what to do.” Jaxson posted a tweet noting that he had terminated Masters’ contract shortly after the clip went viral.
Performer Kuper had tweeted this yesterday: “Honestly Ben Masters you are so fucking tone deaf and privileged. I’m sad to think we were friends. I encourage CockyBoys to take a stand against this but seeing as I asked countless times to work with black models with no response…”
Honestly @BenMastersxxx you are so fucking tone deaf and privileged. I’m sad to think we were friends. I encourage @cockyboys to take a stand against this but seeing as i asked countless times to work with black models with no response… pic.twitter.com/SNNZrx3QP0
— BLACKLIVESMATTER (@onlykuper) June 1, 2020
Brock went on to say this: “I don’t think that they are racist at all. And I can’t speak to what Kuper has said. But I can say is that I don’t believe Kuper to be a liar. And I trust him very much. That being said I think that like any entertainment business. CockyBoys is giving there customers what they want to see. What I do think needs to happen is that there needs to be a collaboration of studio and model change. We as models need to call out studios for not trying to make a change. And the studios need to be willing to loose some money in order for us to start changing the way people view blacks and Latinos in sexual situations. I am done being the ‘Gardner’ the ‘hip hop dancer’ the ‘gas station clerk,’ ‘the super’ and we need to stop giving black (performers) the same roles and only always referring to them for the ‘BBC.’”
And the studios need to be willing to loose some money in order for us to start changing the way people view blacks and Latinos in sexual situations.
— Brock Banks (@Brock_Banks_) June 2, 2020
Brock then called on other leading studios to speak up: “And if we are going to do it, let’s talk about other studio(s) who have literally not said a word about the cause…Raging Stallion, Falcon PULL UP!”
Other performers joining the conversation included Nic Sahara, Armond Rizzo, Colton Grey and Sharok, who shared the Best Newcomer honor at Saturday’s Grabbys, which he missed as he was out protesting (one day after he was injured by anti-protest protestors).
The absence of black/brown bodies in porn has helped form who we’re attracted to as we become sexually active. We don’t realize it until it comes down to
“it’s just a preference”.
No. You were tought this through watching yt hairless men fuck on screen.— Sharok (@TheSharok) June 2, 2020
“How many times have you been asked by a director, ‘How do you feel about shooting with a black guy?’ Within the last 2 years, more than once,” wrote Sharok. “The absence of black/brown bodies in porn has helped form who we’re attracted to as we become sexually active. We don’t realize it until it comes down to ‘it’s just a preference’. No. You were taught this through watching yt hairless men fuck on screen.”
You can see the full thread here.
First of all, thank you for taking the time to reply to me. I’m sorry if it came across that way. Porn absolutely attracts talent. But not just the models/actors, but the script writers, camera operators, directors, producers, editing etc. it’s a legit business and continues to improve. Although I sometimes really enjoy vintage porn. A bit cheesy but some good fucking.
My comment that I didn’t explain very well was that sometimes I feel that some actors are only hired for their cock size or hot ass or stamina or how much & far they can cum. The porn I enjoy the most is when the models can act too. And by acting I don’t just mean speaking lines, I know shoots can be very long, so maintaining excitement and passion is important in creating a great fantasy scene that fans will enjoy. I’m a big advocate for porn and sex in general. We are far too uptight in the US. The industry is evolving and I hope to see more diversity in actors, scenes, storylines, settings and the sex itself. A lot of Gay porn is fairly predictable. For me I really enjoy a good story line – it makes the fantasy more real. Yeah I read about the husband fucking the doctor while he delivers his wife’s baby. That’s a story line alright, but not even close to being something that could possibly happen.
Ethan
Love what you do.
Oh yeah. I really loved Brent Corrigan for that reason. Then the murder happened and he just wasn’t quite the same.
I think James Deen, though straight, is universally loved. A lot of it is how much he engages with his scene partners, make & female. He brings you into the scene instead of the campiness which takes you out of the scene.
The Belamis are cultivated for their sexiness and talent, though the scenes are DEFINITELY predictable. Their OnlyFans pages are a little better. I really love Niko Vangelis & Viggo Sorensen … GAWD, those two are hot AND hot together!
I love to see different talent in porn. I hope as the US and abroad breaks down its sexual hang ups, that we see better influences in the adult entertainment industry.
To Universal Potentate,
The following article spells out very clearly what I’ve been fumbling to say.
I mean let’s get to the facts a lot of these studios are owned and run by white men, and they’re usually putting up what they’re into and not the mainstream. Hence why things like onlyfans are taking off because people are tired of the same white on white porn.
Let me state unequivocally that Ben Masters statement was completely valid and not in anyway, shape or firm racist.
A segment of porn has become about woke virtue signaling by extremists trying to censor any voice noncompliant with their aforementioned woke virtue signaling.
While studios need to be aware of social issues, they cannot be dominated by them. Try some ideas on a test market and see how audiences respond. The model’s input is important but the customer is always right.
In a previous post we discussed that body hair, not race or penis size, are big determining factors in porn watching.
Porn is not (necessarily) the place for your political statement. It’s a departure from reality and into fantasy. Studios responding to a porn actors political views in as dumb as responding to their Netflix watchlist. You’re not changing the world. You’re just annoying!
While what you say is true, from a certain point of view, it is also true that fantasy isn’t limited to what is currently on offer. Implying that everyone shares the same fantasies or suggesting that consulting marketing groups to determine the direction that a studio takes is exactly what has gotten the industry into the state it currently is. Why is it blonde hairless young guys are considered the ideal? Why couldn’t the ideal be a caramel young guy with wavy dark hair? Or, a chocolate boy with a shaved head? Who decides what is physically perfect? Is it you or people who look like you? Beauty exists in all races, creeds and breeds. The idea that people think it’s OK to assume that considerations must be made to go outside the “norm” of what is considered ideal by the porn industry is another example of privilege and white supremacy.
Regarding Ben Masters statement, it is true that gay white men receive harsher treatment than straight white men. There is no doubt about that. I’m not going to comment on whether or not it was racist. However, do this. Look to see how many posts you can find from gay black men complaining about discrimination in the way that Ben Masters did. If you think gay white men have it bad, imagine being a gay black man in America.
I don’t think you read what I wrote, so I’d encourage you to re-read it.
But to clarify, I mentioned test markets, audience response and customer-is-always-right. I never mentioned or intended “marketing groups” or “similar fantasies.” I have no idea how you saw that in what I wrote.
As far as Ben, we’re not here to virtue signal to win the oppression Olympics. You are implying one person’s pain negates another’s. Ben was saying “If you negate my pain, I won’t participate.” So STOP NEGATING HIS PAIN!!!
If you march with him, he’ll march with you. That’s what he said. He’s under no obligation to stand with the protestors and he has a right to explain himself.
So I will not compare his pain. If we did that, we should al be standing up for the Bacha Bazi boys of Afghanistan. I’m pretty sure they have it the worst.
Instead I will understand his pain and evaluate for myself the validity of his concerns, as I will do with everyone else. I see a need to work together for common civil rights in an organized, strategic way. Not have disorganized protests over perceived grievances one month to the next.
Yes, Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter because Our Lives Matter. We should act like it.
Alright, I hear you. You’re saying that all lives matter. That everyone can feel pain. That there isn’t a need to compare pain. I get it and I agree with you. I didn’t mean to imply that Ben Masters shouldn’t express his pain or clarify it when people misunderstood. I apologize for causing any aggravation.
That said, the point of this article was about representation. It’s not political. If you look at the model pages of studios (Cockyboys, Falcon, Raging Stallion) there is one huge similarity. A large number of the models share one characteristic. They are Caucasian. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love me some white dudes. However, that doesn’t mean that only white men are beautiful. It doesn’t mean that mainly white men should have opportunities in porn. When I re-read your message, what appeared to be implied is that what we currently have in the porn catalog makes customers happy. Nothing should change unless customers request it. Well, that’s a problem. Why? Because the people who speak out and make their dissatifaction known with models who don’t fit the current preferred preference (read: Caucasian) are people like you. You very good at veiling what you REALLY mean, so I am being blunt. I hope you don’t mind. I’m also making the call for studios to take risks. Look for beauty where beauty can be found. There’s a lot of it. People often don’t know what they like until they see it, anyway.
I didn’t veil what I meant and I didn’t mean the current catalog is just fine the way it is.
What you just described “people don’t know what they like until they see it” is called test marketing. It’s how you gauge audience response.
What I was saying is that studios need to do more of that so they are not insular, aka creating the same product which appeals only to a limited audience.
Test marketing expands the audience and seeks new sources of revenue.
I mentioned body hair before but another thing people like is contrast. They like seeing dark actors with pale actors and latinos work well in all groups. Honestly, Arad Winwin (dark) and Alam Wernik (pale) being a couple is amazing! They’re both Brazilian. But Steve Rickz (Pale Ass White Guy – PAWG) and Phoenix Fellington (black) is also SSSOOO hot.
However, sometimes people tend towards white-on-white and away from black-on-black because of contrast. They want to see what’s happening. This isn’t racist but it’s related to race … but more connected to clarity within a visual medium. I try to keep my mind trained on these types marketing technicals and not assume cultural judgements. That said, I also believe restricting these conversations from cultural reasons will miss important audience factors. A black guy who barely shows his face, doesn’t smile, is only in fuck scenes (not storyboard porn) and has a name like X Dawg has already made himself into a nonhuman. And if that’s the exposure audiences have to almost every black actor, that will create a prejudice. Phoenix Fellington and DeAngelo Jackson are real gay porn actors. They’re people who can do an interview. Give them proper lighting and a backstory (like every other porn actor) and people will love them, not because they’re black dudes representin’ but because they’re real relatable people. That’s always a turn on.
Universal Potentate – I absolutely agree with what you are saying. Test markets do work if they are set up correctly and the methodology is valid. I’ve never thought about the contract aspect of porn and how that can be subconsciously affecting our preferences. I love a variety of porn, from the actors themselves (regardless of skin color or race), to story-telling, to just fuck scenes, to FTM, to bi, to kink & rough sex. When I think of the scenes I usually skip over it is the one without the contrast or it’s a certain type of porn. I love twinks but don’t like twink on twink sex – but I do enjoy the older/younger sex contrast. I’m 100% gay but I’ve really been into FTM and MMF bi scenes lately. Personally I’ve never been into orgies. I don’t care who’s in them, they just don’t do anything for me. Maybe it’s just way too much going on. I enjoy anon sex and rough sex, but not into BDSM sex. Another example, I’ve enjoyed a few Eric Videos BUT for me they get boring because it’s usually cast with the same looking guys – skinny dudes with facial hair who don’t speak much. I think this is why I don’t care for Sean Cody or Corbin Fisher much. I started my intro to gay porn with those two studios but it didn’t take long before I got very bored with then. 99% white college dudes. Don’t get me wrong, I really like watching a few of those dudes but it gets boring. I like that some of those actors have switched studios to change the porn they deliver. I also like your point about how porn names can play a role too in preferences. Max Konnor, Jacen Zhu, Sharok, Adrien Hart – these are performers I enjoy and can remember their names too. I enjoy story line porn but I agree with Brock Banks, don’t always put POC in stereo typical roles. My final thought is on BBCs. It’s obvious to me many of these porn actors were ONLY hired because they have a BBC. Most of the time they can’t act and usually show zero personality. It’s all about shoving a BBC into a white twink who is going to scream and moan initially because it’s soooo big but later rides that monster like nobody’s business. At least the twink shows some reaction and emotion, whereas the model with the BBC could easily be replaced by a fuck machine. Bottom line, I enjoy porn. I respect porn actors / sex workers. I wish more was done to protect their rights. If one good thing came from this awful pandemic, it’s the explosion of OnlyFans. Porn actors getting to create their own porn, story lines, settings, and fuck partners – it’s fucking awesome!! I hope it really shakes up the porn industry and forces change.
THANK YOU!!
Yes, we all have these different little preferences. But it’s in aggregate. We don’t have these fantasies and turn ons, we share them. That brings its own certain joy.
The “porn formula” you were referring to seems to be … well, porn doesn’t attract talent. It attracts drop outs. So you get profitable business models, but not dynamic and interesting profitable business models.
If you watch your basic R-mated movie, some of the sex scenes or basic nudity is SSSOOO hot. They know how to build sexual tension and use proper lighting, angles, editing to deliver fappable scenes.
This isn’t to say there isn’t A LOT of rising talent in porn. There is! But there’s a lot of formulaic campy porn as well. TheSword just posted about a scene where the husband fucks a doctor during his wife’s delivery. Everyone was like WTF?
Also, I notice when I’m horny and looking for porn, there’s maybe low key or entertainment porn and eventually it leads to more intense porn. Is that the same or different from how standard Hollywood or talented indy movies build sexual tension or something different? Definitely something which should be studied!
Anyway, thank you for your response, Ethan J. It really gives a lot to think about!
“let me state unequivocally…!?” Who the fuck are you and why do you think you can magically interpret what someone meant in a situation you (likely) weren’t a part of again!?