“I honestly would start by creating a safe space for BIPOC to speak freely about their concerns within the [gay adult film, ed.] industry and adding insight on the changes they want to see brought life”, replies DeAngelo Jackson to Il grande Colibrì, when asked what would be the first he would change in the gay adult entertainment industry. DeAngelo Jackson is an actor and the first black man to win a GayVN Award for best actor, as well as an activist and the director and producer of the documentary ‘Being Black In Porn’, coming this autumn. “While producing this project, I learned that many people are afraid to speak up. They feel that they will be blacklisted or worst. But in order to see other things change, we must start there first.”
The documentary breaks the silence through the stories of DeAngelo Jackson himself and of other Black talents of the gay adult fil industry: Max Connor, Dillon Diaz, Rock Rockafella, Micah Martinez, August Alexanderxxx, and Ray Diesel. Each one of them relate a daunting version of the porn industry, marked by episodes of racism and by forms of structural discriminations, with regards to payment rates, and career opportunities. Moreover, adult movies reproduce and bolster racist sexual stereotypes which, for example, portray racialized men as brutes.
The co-producer of the documentary is Dwight Allen O’Neal, writer, producer, influencer, and owner of the Bigo Live broadcasting agency ‘OneAppeal Agency’. Last year, during the episode of his podcast ‘Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda’ on the murder of George Floyd and the BLM, he mentioned the homotransphobia of many cis-straight African-Americans against their queer counterparts. In his opinion, ‘Being Black In Porn’ is a tool that will help to overcome homotransphobic bias and discrimination within the African-American community. “This documentary will create so much dialogue – he says – I think it will definitely help start the conversation, however the actions need to be aligned as well. All Black lives matter, but, until we act accordingly, we will remain divided.”
Things change
Nevertheless, the murder of George Floyd, as well as the isues and demands of the BLM movement, have already had an impact on the US gay porn industry. DeAngelo Jackson recalls that: “Some of the larger and well known studios have finally hired more black models. It took shaming and calling them out on their lack of diversity for changes to be made. But it’s happening. My goal is for this documentary to continue that work.”
The road for a consistent change is still long, but some are starting to speak up. In the documentary, Micah Martinez, a black actor openly criticizes ‘Noir Male’, the interracial gay porn label that distributes ‘Being Black In Porn’, for its belated support in favour of the the BLM movement. However, Dwight Allen O’Neal disagrees. “Noir Male responded through their actions. During the timeframe that the BLM Movement began to get a ton of attention in 2020, Noir Male was actually reaching out to models directly to make changes. I don’t think it was them choosing not to say anything but them ensuring their actions match their words,” he explains.
I point out to DeAngelo Jackson that black porn actors frequently play the part of stereotyped characters, whose bodies are mere accessories for the pleasure of the main character, who is white. I indicate the problematic nature of these stereotyped characters, in that black talents of the gay porn industry are an example to many black queer men, especially to the youngest of them, with regards to their sexuality. “I have to disagree with the premise of that question. I don’t feed into any negative stereotypes. If you’ve seen my work and seen my full catalog, you would see that most if not all of my characters are not stereotypes nor a fetish.” “DeAngelo is a very talented individual that I respect”, adds Dwight O’Neal.
Problemi e speranze
“I was so surprised by the lack of respect many BIPOC receive from studios, other talent, and the fan base – he continues – It was sad to learn that talent have been called ‘sell outs’ or ‘co*ns’ because they work with mainstream bigger production companies. Also, having a few people confirm payment rates being different was also sad to learn.”
Many adult entertainers have chosen to produce and post their own contents on platforms such as OnlyFans, a choice that gives them a much major control on the quality and on the content of the product. Yet, some actors are sceptical regarding this new way of becoming famous in the adult film industry. But this is not DeAngelo Jackson’s opinion. “Studio produced porn by adult film actors and amateur-produced clips or videos can coexist, I believe. There are ways for everyone to be successful.” Dwight Allen O’Neal is on the same page as Jackson. He says: “I was excited to hear how talents have taken back their power by producing fan content. The industry is changing and it’s very exciting to see.”
I end the interview by asking O’Neal what did he learn, as a black queer man, from the conversations between these 4 African-American queer talents of the adult film industry, that he would share with other queer black men. “I learned that we should never judge a book by its cover. We often stereotype the sex industry, and I learned each of them have the same struggles as any other profession. These men were so brave to share their stories and I cannot wait for the world to see their journey”.
Stefano Duc
©2021 Il Grande Colibrì
images: ©Mile High
