07/05/2007
Porn Again Legitimacy?
If F. Scott Fitzgerald was right when he wrote that "there are no second acts in American lives" then how do you explain the careers of former porn boys turned mainstream fashion models Scott Andreasen and Thierry (aka Terry) Pepin?
Andreasen -- who is absolutely adorable -- is represented by Next Models USA in Miami, yet he can also be seen as the ironically named "Harry" in JO films for SeanCody.com, the famed producer who gets "straight boys to unload." And Pepin starred in the hard-core gay porno flick "Minets du Quebec" (plus the less salacious "Danny in the Sky"), most of which have been pulled from shelves. Does being the face of Ralph Lauren's Romance get you some top-notch legal representation? What do you think?
Unlike some publications, I'm not exactly ready to deem these two examples a full-scale trend. But I do think it's safe to say we're living in a post-Paris Hilton sex tape world now in which the stigma of pornography is quickly disappearing. The phenomenon began back in 1990 when John Waters cast Traci Lords in his 1950s musical "Cry Baby" (Roseanne Barr took it a step further and put Lords on her smash sitcom -- on Disney-owned ABC, no less!). Then Jenna Jameson wrote a bestseller and started popping up in mainstream venues, which wound up being a prelude to Hilton's overnight superstardom (let's be honest here: it wasn't "The Simple Life" that took her from Page Six darling to international headlines). I used to think it was sad 15-20 years ago that the only recognizable "stars" the gay community had were the likes of Jeff Stryker, Ryan Idol and Joey Stefano -- or someone famous with HIV (Greg Louganis), but these days I almost find it sadder a lot mainstream "stars" aren't much different.
The fact that Hilton hangeroner Kim Kardashian and "Brandy's brother" Ray J can't stop "accidentally" leaking their so-called "private" sex tape (it's even available on pay-per-view at the Waldorf Astoria!) -- and have wound up becoming tabloid darlings as a result -- further proves that pornography is not only no longer the kiss of death in Hollywood, it's often an entre. Maybe this is a good thing that indicates Americans are finally getting over our sexual hang-ups, Or maybe not.
You can see some COMPLETELY NSFW shots of the boys here, here and here. There's more information on the Terry Pepin legal action regarding "Minets du Quebec" here. (The post isn't NSFW but the site is.)
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 1:55 PM EST by Kenneth Walsh in Porn | Permalink
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Okay...if anyone knows the name of the porn titles that Thierry Pepin starred in *please* post those titles here...there's got to be a copy or two floating around the video stores here in West Hollywood.
Posted by: peterparker | Jul 5, 2007 2:17:02 PM
Now if I'm not mistaken, I believe Theirry Pepin was first a model/actor then the adult career kicked in.
Spank my ass and call me Charlie, if I'm wrong!
Posted by: marks | Jul 5, 2007 2:18:59 PM
Harry is HOT!
Posted by: Dave | Jul 5, 2007 2:20:35 PM
Eh. I don't think the stigma is disappearing. Just a few months ago, didn't some guy quit his (minor) position at the Israeli consulate when the NY Post found out he was a porn star? The fashion/entertainmen industries are a lot more forgiving about porn than the rest of the country. Whatevs. If these guys can get a fashion career out of this, I say go for it.
Posted by: Dennis | Jul 5, 2007 2:24:51 PM
PETERPARKER - The 1 film that I've been able to find info on is called Minets du quebec and it looks like Mr. Pepin successfully got them to remove his 10 minutes of fame...but there are screen grabs at a link on the following page:
http://gcspotlightmag.typepad.com/gcspotlightmagblog/2006/06/minets_du_quueb.html
I'm tempted to see if anybody at Video West has a behind-the-counter copy...
Posted by: Rey | Jul 5, 2007 2:48:47 PM
I wouldn't exactly call the N2N Bodywear ad a step to legitimate modeling. That underwear brand routinely features full nudity on its website, so it's not surprising that they would recruit models form the porn world. They, like other companies like them, have done just that in the past. It's not exactly like scoring an Abercrombie billboard. I think it's more a case of the invisible wall that separates porn from other entertainment. The entertainment industry seems forgiving of a few Simon Rex-style youthful indiscretions, but we have yet to see a porn star on the scale of, say, Matthew Rush be embraced by the mainstream.
Posted by: Aaron | Jul 5, 2007 3:34:00 PM
Once former child pron star Tracey Lords got into legit films the doors were kicked open for all porn stars to grab the money. Hey, these gay boys are hot, why not let them be seen by the public. All they did was have lots of sex anyway!
Posted by: new day | Jul 5, 2007 3:39:40 PM
Many large companies have stakes in the porn industry which means that actors can get agents that work in a variety of fields. Any company that wants an "edge" to their brand will risk the PR backlash from hiring a "porn star" if they want, particularly minor stars without reputations. And Harry is beyond cute, so who's going to complain?
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Jul 5, 2007 3:47:04 PM
@Aaron:
Embrace Matthew Rush? How could the mainstream ever hope to get its arms all the way around a porn star of his "scale?"
Posted by: 24play | Jul 5, 2007 3:51:31 PM
I have a couple friends who've worked in the office side of the gay porn industry and they won't put it on their resumes either.
Posted by: Ridwah | Jul 5, 2007 3:55:42 PM
Well it's nice to know that no matter how uptight and conservative our political climate gets, sex will always sell. There's hope yet.
By the way, let's not forget my all time favorite hottie Joseph Sayers, who got his start with a set of amateur porn shots and went on to become a legitimate, big-time fashion model. Luckily, despite his success, he has no issues with nudity and still likes to show us the yummy goods from time to time.
Posted by: Matty | Jul 5, 2007 4:07:25 PM
Nothing new, the gay porn star (now of cheesy bareback videos) "Jason Tyler" had a legit modeling career and that was a number of years ago. He's was never truly gay-A, but did rank Falcon box covers.
Posted by: Rich | Jul 5, 2007 4:11:53 PM
Someone remind me - didn't some other ex-adult (gay) film star recently make the jump to "legit" modeling? I thought I read about this not too long ago....
Posted by: PistolPetey | Jul 5, 2007 4:20:33 PM
Yes, but are gay porn stars "gay"? Remember Matt Sanchez.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Jul 5, 2007 5:02:14 PM
Ray...bless you!
Posted by: peterparker | Jul 5, 2007 5:44:02 PM
PistolPetey...maybe you're thinking of Erik Rhodes doin' a photo shoot for a department store?
Posted by: Jason | Jul 5, 2007 5:49:33 PM
Five foot three
And all girlie
One inch less
he’d be a she.
Posted by: tokojo | Jul 5, 2007 5:59:14 PM
So how come Thierry Pepin's attorneys did not go after the Russians too?
Posted by: Krishnan | Jul 5, 2007 6:40:33 PM
Porn is actually a very regressive concept that is bad for gay rights. Consider straight porn movies. Straight porn movies completely ban the male-male sexual interaction. In contrast, female-female is encouraged alongside male-female. It's a complete and utter double standard. The porn industry is the only industry that completely bans the male-male sexual interaction in movies that contain both men and women.
Posted by: tom | Jul 5, 2007 8:01:32 PM
The problem with gay men in general is that they think that advertisers are being gay-friendly when they depict posing beefcake . It's not gay-friendly in the slightest. If these advertisers had any balls, they would show two men embracing in the same way they show men and women embracing in cliched heterosexual poses. They don't have balls, and that's why they're not showing it.
Posted by: michael | Jul 5, 2007 8:07:01 PM
My porn job is front and center on my resume. Companies in LA don't really care if you have worked in porn.
Posted by: Lano | Jul 5, 2007 8:09:00 PM
When an actual gay person makes it like Joseph Sayers or the like then it'll be something. Otherwise it's the same old story. Gay and straight people have a bias in favor of straight people that's why porn stars like Joseph Sayers and Jenna Jameson made it in the mainstream. Look at this site besides the Pride photos where are the gay men? Are Thierry and Andreasen gay? Are the guys in the sporty post at the bottom of the main page gay?
Posted by: Jack! | Jul 5, 2007 11:12:13 PM
let's not over analyze this. the two boys are hot. harry has a small dick, but it's cute as hell.
Posted by: nic | Jul 6, 2007 12:34:28 AM
"The phenomenon began back in 1990 when John Waters cast Traci Lords in his 1950s musical "Cry Baby"
-Actually, Canadian horror guru David Cronenberg cast porn actress Marilyn Chambers as the lead in his 1977 biological vampirism movie RABID. She plays a woman who sucks people's blood with a phallic organ in her armpit...And more recently, Jeff Stryker starred in *his* first non-porn role, the Italian splatterfest horror film ZOMBI 4...
Posted by: Wirrrn | Jul 6, 2007 1:21:04 AM
So the porn industry should be commended now?
Wow...I think as gay men, in our hunger for diminishing the conservative bible belt that tend to be closed minded, we went on the other EXTREME of things and adopted pornography as not only the norm, but our "TAKE THAT!"...
In reality...that's what everyone pigeon holes us to begin with. Horny, perverted, good for nothing, SEX addicted, dick starved, sex, sex, sex, sin mixed with drugs kind of breed. That's the stereotype. All those elements exist in the porn industry and we promote it as a community. So not only are we giving into what the nayayers are saying about us, we are back peddling in the process.
I won't celebrate a guy who takes off his "panties" for money...who jacks off for a camera as a source of income...who uses all of his body parts except but his brains, to make a living, even if he's gay...ESPECIALLY if he's gay. A gay man who has sex for a living won't be role modeling my lifestyle.
We wonder by promiscuity is rapid in our community. Why monogomy is a long lost artform. Why everything in virtually any conversation between two attractive gay strangers eventually boils down to "size"...Is it much of a wonder when we get our kicks and giggles from a 20 something model who happens to have lot's of muscle definition and isn't the least bit reserved in having strangers lick it on camera for cash. Yeah...way to make an equal rights statment to the world.
Give me a chemist, a teacher, a Noble peacea prize nominee, to someone who cures a lethal disease who happens to be gay..and I'll roar with PRIDE. The real kind.
When Paris Hilton and her equally repulsive side kick, Kim Kardawhogivesadamn, is your point of refrence for driving that point home...(point being the acceptance of porn trash) then it's a lost cause from the word GO.
Sex isn't everything in life. It's really not. There's alot more out there to explore, enjoy, and actually stimulate your other head with.
You know..it's okay to be gay and have morals, values, ethics, class, limitations, standarads and respect (for your mind,body, and soul and others as well) It may not be "popular" and make you "hot"...but it's really quite alright (and very noble might I add) to inheret those traits.
What a terrific message sent loud & clear to that 14 year old closeted boy in Middle America sitting in his room in Tulsa seeing a gay porn star as the poster child of "his kind" and aspiring to be that. "Look kid, this is what you can be too if you move to Weho, Soho and club hop! Come out already and join the bandwagon" (insert eyeroll facial expression followed by dissapointment).
Posted by: Kyle | Jul 6, 2007 3:38:25 AM
Kyle, you're an absolute legend.
Posted by: Darren | Jul 6, 2007 4:11:11 AM
Kyle, will you marry me!
Posted by: rufus | Jul 6, 2007 9:20:15 AM
Kyle: You shouldda' been a preacher! Dammit, you are a preacher! What a sermon!
...just a tree planted the water, we shall not be moved...Amen.
Of course, Kyle, you make perfect sense. We homos don't really like porn, but we just need it. It gets lonely out here, brother.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Jul 6, 2007 9:53:41 AM
Bravo, Kyle, BRAVO. I couldn't have said it better myself. I addressed this similar issue in one of my only blogs on my Myspace page, you should read it as it seems we could wax poetic on this issue all night long. Thanks for that comment. =).
http://www.myspace.com/faithandcourage
Posted by: Cory | Jul 6, 2007 10:20:38 AM
Gay business owners can really be the pits in the way they sexualize anything and everything. Yes, sex is important. But it isn't the ONLY thing. Memo to gay business owners: no, we are not all obsessed with perfectly formed male porn stars posing as gay-friendly icons.
I don't walk into a straight mainstream bar and expect to see naked pictures of women on the wall to satisfy the urges of the sleazy straight guys who are there. I therefore don't see why I should have to walk into a gay bar and see male porn models posing on the TV screens.
Posted by: adam | Jul 6, 2007 11:12:37 AM
A lot of these "gay" male porn stars are actually gay-for-pay and quite homophobic in terms of their attitude to gay men. They do what they do because they're being paid for it, and not out of the goodness of their hearts.
I think we in the community should distance ourselves as much as possible from the sleazy porn industry, an industry that is based on drug use and self-debasement. Let's not go there.
Posted by: henry | Jul 6, 2007 11:16:03 AM
Kyle,
Brilliantly said. Using porn stars as role models for the gay community is truly creepy. It's like using female porn stars as role models for young women. All it does is lead to a culture of sleaze. It devalues real achievements and turns everyone towards the "I must look sexy" notion.
This obsession with "looking sexy" is going to be the downfall of the gay community because it plays right into the hands of those who are seeking ways to demonize and trivialize us. When we trivialize ourselves by conforming to stereotypical "sexy" notions, we are giving our enemies ammunition. We are handing them the goods they require to demonize us.
Posted by: john | Jul 6, 2007 11:23:16 AM
A lot of companies wing it on the issue of gay-friendliness. They'll put a good-looking piece of beefcake in posing mode in an ad and expect the gay community to lap it up as a sign of inclusiveness. Give me a break. The true sign of gay inclusiveness is to show a gay male couple embracing or doing other romantic things that straight couples are frequently depicted doing.
I think even the so-called gay-friendly companies need to be held up to light for not coming to the party on gay-inclusiveness. Has Calvin Klein ever showed a gay male couple in a romantic entanglement? I doubt it. We really do still have a long way to go.
Take home message: don't mistake beefcake for gay-inclusiveness.
Posted by: henry | Jul 6, 2007 11:29:34 AM
I don't see what's the big deal about a guy who was/is in porn, stepping into the fashion world. They are good looking, and they are obvious wanted in the fashion world. All this talk about these boys's past gives the clothing companies just more publicity, so I don't think that they mind at all...
Posted by: Dutchimport | Jul 6, 2007 11:41:12 AM
Kyle et al:
You may deride porn all you want, but in a society that condemns male/male sex and constantly oppresses the gay community, gay porn is ABSOLUTELY an affirmation of our sexuality.
Yes, we can be very proud of all gay people who are successes intellectually, financially, historically... But for many, many folks - gay porn is not only a thrill, but a confirmation that we are indeed "not alone" in our desires.
The straight community does not need porn "role models" because straight sexuality is confirmed in every public hug, kiss, and touch seen every day in public, in the media, in artwork, literature, poetry, blah blah blah...
Gay porn stars ARE in fact role models for the simple fact that they are not only proud of their sexuality, but they live it.
There are many ways to live a life. Your moralistic preaching may make you feel better about yourself, but truly there is no need to belittle folks who are able to earn a living because they are blessed with a physical beauty.
Posted by: Gregg | Jul 6, 2007 4:37:25 PM