Then there’s the necessarily smaller scale of gay companies, where an ethos of queer family can keep many models beholden to employers that value them in ways they’ve rarely experienced. For one thing, it’s difficult for us to openly express grievances about our labour conditions without being coopted by efforts to stigmatise and prohibit sex work altogether.
These factors are obscure to most people outside the industry. They zone out when I talk about it like any other freelance gig – how uncertain future work can be, how bookings can abruptly eat up my calendar, or how hard it is to assess and demand your own worth. They want to know how I prepare, how long I’m on set, whether I think my scene partners are hot. When people ask me about gay porn, they’re mostly curious about the sex, not about the admin.
