By Jason North

        The objectification and racial fetishizing of black men is a controversial topic, even in the porn world. Harvard University Professor and Post Colonialism Theorist Homi Bhabha noted that stereotypical representations of African-Americans represent remnants of colonial fantasies and fearful responses to miscegenation. Many stereotypes have been embraced by the black community, but even when benign they can sometimes have detrimental effects on social progress. The dynamics of this tension are best exemplified by the (possibly ironic) appropriation of common cultural stereotypes for black men such as pimps, playas, B-Ballin' athletes, and thugs on the downlow. Is it empowering or exploitative – or perhaps both?
        In 1986, similar questions and criticisms were posed shortly after the publication of Robert Mapplethorpe's The Black Book. Mapplethorpe's ebony-themed nudes suggested that these tensions arose from the polarized terms of racial identity.
        In 1989, American Poet and Filmmaker Marlon Riggs' PBS documentary Tongues Untied noted the use of exploitative racial imagery in porn. Riggs' documentary provided visual examples of Tom of Finland caricatures that often repeated and exploited gay Mandingo-inspired themes involving black male slaves with ridiculously exaggerated penises being enslaved by a white master.
        A handful of respectable studios are working hard to push the limits of this genre beyond the tired, clichéd racial stereotypes of the past. Thugs, punks, and homeboys may still be sexy to some – but it's even more exciting to see different types of men in various shades of black, brown and beige being represented. Instead of just “boyz in the hood”, one can now enjoy porn featuring pictorials of Nubian men who are business executives (the kind who wouldn't be caught dead in Mapplethorpe's cheap and tacky Man in a Polyester Suit) as well as students, geeks, and bossy bottom jocks.        
        But enough about the binarisms of post-colonial racial discourse! If you like your amateur guys tall, dark and a little rough around the edges, you'll love Thug Boy, who were nominated and won this year in the category of Best Black Themed website at Cybersocket's 9th Annual Web Awards. Thug Boy has taken home this award five times since 2004.
        If you are cuckoo for cocoa flavored boys, then check out Coco Boyz, a site run by the Miami based company Flava Works. This site has been online and partying since it actually was1999. Their sites are fairly popular in both the Black and Latino community. Coco Boyz had been nominated for two categories this year, Best Live XXX Show and Best Amateur Webcam. In 2008, Flava Works was the only company, besides Epoch, to walk away with more than one Cybersocket award.
        Another site featuring a stable of black stallions is the romantically themed Thug Seduction. The site unequivocally “promises Detroit's hottest brothas” via live video camera chat rooms that are bi-weekly updated. The website is noted for its voyeuristic, behind closed doors themes. If these walls could talk. The same studio is also offering a DVD titled The Trap House. Exactly how deeply these guys are “on the down low” is debatable (since they’re online for the world to see) but it’s real enough to appeal to even die-hard fans of homemade porno.
        Another live video camera site all the way from the Motor City to the Big Apple is Street Life, which boasts “New York City's hottest men in pictures, movies and a nightly live show. The site has been featured in Time Out New York magazine, Out magazine and Dan Savage's syndicated Savage Love column.
        Another live video reality porn site is Lost in Da Hood which is also owned and operated by Flava Works. The premise is simple: White boys take a wrong turn and end up in da hood! Watch what happens when they realize their mistake! The site is yet again another play on eroticizing the visible differences of race as well as a fantasy of power and mastery over the other.
        Crooklyn-based porn star Tiger Tyson is truly rough trade (now that he’s served time for drug charges.) After his release from prison, he had another kind of “release” – on camera – and thus entered the hallowed annals of pornography. He temporarily left the industry in 1999, but returned in 2002 to help us rise above issues of black and white (by focusing on green.) He founded Tiger Tyson Productions and a media mogul was born.
        If you’d like to take a shift in racial paradigms to a site where it don't matter if it is black or white, then check out Pure FCUK a new black/ethnic gay line produced in New York. It diverges from similar ethnic content in that it is not "thug"-oriented, according to a 1Distribution spokesperson.

Contact Jason North at freelance@cybersocket.com

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