Sunday, February 10, 2008

JIGABOO PORNOGRAPHY

© Breeze Vincinz

I remember when the movie Malcolm X came out they had plans to do a X-rated spin-off titled Malcolm XXX. Fortunately they couldn’t find a single African American actor, gay or straight, to agree in a production that would spoof the legacy of Malcolm X. It was a bittersweet revelation whereas at least in one point in history the highly religious African American community looked upon these lost soul sex workers as having some shred of morality. I imagine when Mr. Marcus, Lexington Steele, Midori, Gene Lamar and Randy Cochran collectively and publicly refused to participate in the project, it was similar to Shug Avery proclaiming to her father, “See Daddy, sinners have soul too!” at the end of the Color Purple.

But alas, although there was no Malcolm XXX, there was still Black Meat Warehouse, Black Bitches White Cum, Pain In Da Azz, and the ever so cleverly titled… Black Meat Warehouse 2. And with them returned the flood of judgment and morality. (I always wondered how long that shit with Shug Avery’s father would last once he found out she did it with Miss Celie)

Now the truth of the matter is, I think you would be hard pressed to find somebody who has never in there life watched a porn. I think it’s as American as baseball, apple pie and the denial of any involvement in the Iran-Contra affair. When I was first dealing with my sexuality as a teenager I came to the correct summation that the main cause of homophobia is the idea that once someone declares themselves to be homosexual you automatically imagine them giving head to a member of the same sex. It’s not about love, it’s not about relationships, it’s not about this person wanting to raise a strong black family with his partner… nope, once Julian tells you he’s gay, a hologram of a dick is automatically fixated in front of his mouth. And this is where porn comes in… because in porn, it is all about the sex. It isn’t about romance or love or commitment… nope, you fast forward past all that stuff and get down to the nitty gritty.


I also remember during my trek to become the flaming homosexual that I am today, shopping for porn with my Caucasian cohorts back in Chicago in my twenties. We giggled uncomfortably at all the naked men in various states of depravity, wondering with stars in our eyes, “Will I ever be able to get my ankles behind my ears like that too?” I distinctly remember us getting to the African American section of the store. My twenty something heart was all a flutter at the thought of some Malcolm Jamal-Warner or Alfonso Ribero looking guys butt naked getting it on. Imagine my disappointment and horror as I looked at rack after rack of anorexic and crusty Black men who looked as if someone gave them a couple of bucks to film them giving each other hand jobs then they went off, got some Mad Dog 20/20 and went back to their wife and kids… at the shelter. I remember my friends politely saying, “Hmmm, I don’t like these videos.” I figured the thought bubbles above their heads read, “I wouldn’t touch these jiggaboos with a ten foot pole!” And looking at those boxes of malnourished and inebriated black men… I could concur.

One of the most fascinating and frustrating things about porn is that it is just about the only form of mass communication that is truly carnal, uninhibited and improvised. Outside of Federal laws that (thankfully!) prohibit the participation children, animals and death, it’s a free for all. I have watched some porn that has simply amazed me. Not necessarily because of the sexual acts, but mainly because of the accoutrements that are involved in getting the scene right. I remember this one porno where all of these so called “gangstas” about 20 maybe, were up in a house up in the Hollywood Hills. There was one white girl and she was just waiting to be gang banged, but none of the so called “gangstas” wanted to touch her… except for this one guy who proceeded to fuck her, outside, on the lawn, in front of around 20 other black dudes egging on the scenario. The sex itself was ok… but I was just amazed at how far they went. There was no limit. Anybody can do and say what they want. The words “nigger” and “bitch” are allowed here, at any given time, said by anybody. (Personally I have never heard the word “nigger” uttered as often as I do in gay porn, even more than your typical run of the mill gangster rap song.)

This is why the porn industry is the billion dollar industry that it is today. It is the ultimate release of politically incorrectness in the most sexual of settings. Every stereotype is laid out before you in glittering, slathered up extravagance, the mammy, the pickaninny, the big bad buck, the innocent country white girl… all there for you, lubed for your pleasure, without explanation or judgment, they know you want nothing more than an oiled up black nigger bitch, and for $49.99, they will provide that to you… no questions asked. And who in their right mind, black or white, would ever admit in polite society that an oiled up black nigger bitch, male or female, gets them off? Yeah… that’s why it’s $49.99, and that’s why oiled up black nigger bitch videos sell so well underground.

So I watch the porn of today, mainly man on man, mainly all African American. Not too much is changed. No… I take that back. I guess I have. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older or maybe it’s because my priorities have changed or maybe it’s because with each passing year, a little of the humor I used to consistently find in life’s atrocities is being overshadowed by the historical and sociological attributes that have created the atrocities in the first place, but I look at Black Gay porn today… and I’m not aroused, and I’m not amused. They actually went ahead and made Malcolm XXX. I shutter at what could possibly be next… Stokely “Cock” Michael, Rosa “McArthur” Park… part 4. If porn is a reflection of society’s most basest and carnal attitudes, I wonder if that thread of morality that existed back when the original Malcolm X was released still exists today… or in our heart of hearts do we really see ourselves as oiled up black nigger bitches?

Now mind you; not all black gay porn is plebian drivel, but if I do say so myself, in contrast to our Caucasian counterparts, we got some catching up to do, mainly in the production value of the films. Say for example:


  1. Wave caps. I don’t know when this became a trend but every video I have seen lately the brothas are wearing wave caps. Seriously dude… if you are getting the bottom pounded out of you… do you really care about the curl pattern in your hair at the time?
  2. Eat a meal. Maybe I’m a little bias because I’m about the size of a Buick right now, but even still, it is a bit disarming to see men have sex with each other who appear as if they get fed through a tube when the cameras stop rolling.
  3. The Handsome Factor. Again, a little bias. But I have to figure that at some point the producer or the director of “Cum N My Black Azz” would have to draw the line at someone with… oh let’s say… braces or psoriasis or a care free curl. I know we’re not making an Oscar award winning epic here but… seriously… how about some dudes with large endowments without gunshot wounds.
  4. The Ebonics PR. Now this is something that affects the African American community in general, the idea that if you spell words out phonetically and in broken English it will seem more ethnic. NOTE TO EVERY PR FIRM IN EXISTENCE: STUPIDITY IS NOT ETHNIC, IT’S JUST STUPID. Say for example one of the more interesting loglines I have come across for a porn video: “Be Takin Dat Dick Til Da Brotha Cums In Ma Azz Fa Sho”. I would like to be aroused by this but I don’t know if I can use my own tears as lube.
  5. Acting. There have been many a time when I’m watching these films and going, “Dude, it’s just a movie.” You know what I’m talking about? Where the scene is some “gangster” or “drug lord” taking his revenge out on some poor innocent bottom boy and he’s screaming at him and smacking him and degrading him and really getting into his character of a drug dealer? Okay, dude, you’re not a drug dealer, you’re a porn star, stop yelling at that dude and stick it in… I’ve only got so many quarters left.
I once got into an argument with a friend of mine about the aesthetics of pop culture. Basically he felt pop culture never affects society, only reflects it… which I think is bullshit… I think it can do both. I think Madonna is a prefect example of someone being a product and creator of pop culture. On that same level, I think porn can be both a reflection and creator of sexuality and sexual views. I list all of those things I felt were erroneous with Black Gay porn because I do think it is quite interesting the way our sexuality has been molded over the years. In 80’s and 90’s we had to integrate condoms into our sexual practices in order to survive. Now, it’s being integrated with… wave caps and rusty ankles and… “Be Takin Dat Dick Til Da Brotha Cums In Ma Azz Fa Sho”… and I can’t help but wonder, even though it is pornography and on the cusp of “civilized” society, is this evolution of this particular furrow in our sexuality really healthy? 

Understanding the ripple affect whereas one drop in the pond can affect the rest of the water, I think I would like to see the bar raised on this, our lowest common denominator; putting the maturity back into our movies that are for mature audiences only. In reality, my attention and resources will definitely be used to uplift the people in more traditionally political and/or artistic outlets. I do feel you can inspire and incite change to a wider group of people using less graphically sexual accoutrements, but still… I do think I would sleep easier knowing that the next generations of Black Gay men aren’t masturbating with thoughts of poor lighting and gingivitis kissing. I mean… that has to be a step in the right direction towards liberation.

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