Race and Masculinity in Gay Men’s Pornography: Deconstructing the Big Black Beast

This book systematically analyses representations of Black masculinity in gay men’s pornography. This book unpacks 1) the character of pornographic representations of queer Black masculinity and 2) how these representations vary between corporate and non-corporate producers. This book unpacks the character of pornographic representations of queer Black masculinity and how these representations vary between corporate and noncorporate producers. The author argues that representations of Black men in gay porn rely on stereotypes of Black masculinity to arouse consumers, especially those which characterize Black men as "missing links" or focus excessively on their "dark phalluses." Moreover, these depictions consistently separate gay Black and white men’s sexuality into bifurcated discursive spaces, thereby essentializing sexual aspects of racial identity. Lastly, though such depictions are less prevalent in user-submitted videos, overall, both user-submitted and corporate content reify stereotypes about Black masculinity. This book is written for researchers, lecturers, and graduate courses in the social sciences and humanities, including Sociology, Social Psychology, Sexuality, African American Studies, Women and Gender Studies, LGBTQ Studies, Culture and Art Studies, Porn Studies, Social Media Studies, and Public Health.