Lesbians in Gay Porn... Questions -- Answers?

[BretK]

I was just thinking... actually pondering...

Perhaps, it was the election thing (especially, the Kerry / Cheney comment)

.. I dunno..

But why are there so many Lesbians working in Gay Porn?

Not that it's a bad thing.. and don't get me wrong (for the Lesbians reading this).. My Mom and Her Life Partner are Lesbians..... (and have worked for me - past and present)

But there does seem to be a lot of Womyn working and/or producing Gay Male Porn.

Yes ???? Or I am correct....?

Thoughts?

Bret

P.S. I write this as my Str8 male friend is coming over to go to a Gay Bar with me.. so go figure...

[basschick]

i'm a bisexual woman in a str8 relationship. i work the gay market for the same reason i work porn at all - years in the adult business as a phone sex line owner, strip club manager, and bdsm club manager have made me aware of sex marketing to men.

also i find gay sites not as hostile, and often not as badly done. marketing for gay niche sites rocks. the people who own the sites are nicer, the traffic is lower but sales are higher.

btw, there are NO good lesbian sites to market, so what's a grrrl to do?

[Lee]

Hmm interesting question.

Im sure its because many of the Female Webmasters feel comfortable working in the gay market because they arent looked at as pieces of meat by the guys. At least that has to play a part in it i would think.

Regards,

Lee

[basschick]

not for me, lee! but you can't beat low traffic, high sales, and nice people - especially when you add in often better retention :-)

[Squirt]

Lesbians have a kinship with Gay men. I think of Lesbian and Bisexual women like sisters. Going through many of the same difficulties growing up, and in adult life.

Working in Gay porn, a Lesbians perspective of Gay men gives them a competitive edge, in the Gay porn market, that Gay men might loose being a part of the demographic.

And Basschick is right ".. I find gay sites not as hostile, and often not as badly done. marketing for gay niche sites rocks. the people who own the sites are nicer, the traffic is lower but sales are higher." A lot of good people in our side of the adult industry.

[thetwink]

Maybe it's simply because Lesbian women are more open-minded.

[Lee]

Originally posted by thetwink
Maybe it's simply because Lesbian women are more open-minded.

You know i would have to agree with you there however, i would also have to append that it seems [to me at least] that many of the women in general that work in the adult industry are far more open minded than many of the males, gay, straight or, otherwise.

The one downside that myself and a couple of other people have commented on privately in the past however is that with this open-mindedness also comes a slight lack in 'business' orientation. By that i mean we have come to the conclusion that many females working the adult industry are more concerned with menial things as oppose to business orientated topics when it comes to playing a part in their community.

Regards,

Lee

[RainGurl]

Originally posted by Lee
with this open-mindedness also comes a slight lack in 'business' orientation. By that i mean we have come to the conclusion that many females working the adult industry are more concerned with menial things as oppose to business orientated topics when it comes to playing a part in their community.

I have to strongly disagree with this statement, Lee. I think that many of the women in this industry are very business oriented, lesbians or not. I honestly have more professional relationships with women than men in the biz.

As for why lesbians work in gay porn, i think it is a mixture of things. As basschick said, the sales and conversions are good. Also, the "straight" industry can be homophobic. If you're a lesbian, I'd venture to guess that you might find a more acceptable working environment in a gay company.

I have been in the biz since 97 and have only recently been working with "gay" companies. I found that when I went into consulting, the gay webmaster community was very supportive and helpful when looking for clients. I would, however, hope that my clients hired me based on my skills and abilities rather than my sexual orientation.

[Lee]

Originally posted by RainGurl
I have to strongly disagree with this statement, Lee. I think that many of the women in this industry are very business oriented, lesbians or not. I honestly have more professional relationships with women than men in the biz.

Rainey, i would refer to you Female Webmasters as a point of reference as to my above statement in addition to the other 3 female orientated forums, 90% of the topics have no true bearing on the 'business side' of the adult industry however, thankfully that is changing on Female Webmasters as of late :thumbsup:

Regards,

Lee

[RainGurl]

i can see your point, but forums do not always accurately represent the business.

[basschick]

i was one of the webmasters - well, webmistresses - who told lee i found women are less businesslike. i've never noticed that about you, raingurl, but i have noticed it for my entire 8+ years on the web - and for years before that.

women are a lot more apt to tell me about their personal lives very early on in meeting on a board or icq. i have worked with men for years who i still don't know if they're partnered, or what their spouses' names are or whether they have kids, dogs, etc. but i know about their sites, what they do with them, where they get their traffic, how it works for them.

i've been on several webmistress boards, talked to lots of women. they were more apt to let personal loyalty or preference sway their business actions. the men i've known focus on business more. not all of them, but overall by far.

i have almost never known a women who wouldn't let business slide when they start in a new relationship. it's probably healthier emotionally to be that way. but most men i know, after the first couple weeks, wouldn be back at work as hard as ever. there are a few who weren't - but mostly that has been my observation.

[Harlan]

Rainey, Aly, Kimmy Kim, Tina F just to mind immediately as uber-professionals. Many people got into the adult biz on a lark, as hobby...for many different reasons but very few set out with this as a goal prepared for in college, honed in an internship and then executed after a careful business plan. That is where the culpability for the lack of professionalism comes from IMHO...not the level of testosterone. Just take a look at the overwhelming preponderance the asinine threads on GFY...seems lack of professionalism is an equal opportunity employer in this industry not subject to gender bias!

[basschick]

i'm not just talking about boards, but also icq exchanges. also if you look on the gfy board, you will see women's responses ARE different. more women there try to vamp the guys - not all, but a lot. and women have very different takes on things.

are there any medium to large programs that are owned by women? i don't know of a single one, but they could be out there... i don't count ars. becky is super nice, but when she took over with arsri, ars took a nosedive... so they brought back marc.

[Squirt]

Originally posted by Lee
"with this open-mindedness also comes a slight lack in 'business' orientation. By that i mean we have come to the conclusion that many females working the adult industry are more concerned with menial things.."

I haven't seen women that way at all online. The level that you are in the industry dictates your online personality/behaviour. If you're a webcam girl you can be more personal and fun online then you can be as head of marketing for a megasite. This goes for men as well.

Originally posted by Lee
"90% of the topics have no true bearing on the 'business side' of the adult industry "

This isn't a woman thing, this is a board thing. Quite honestly the way I work online is to get personal with people on boards (by that I mean personal, not like best friends or something), you know why?
Because I might never meet them in person, see their facial reaction to comments, etc. Communicating online is a handicap and without getting personal it's really hard to tell where someone is coming from unless they have superior wrtiting skills, which most of us don't.

Working with people you don't have a bond with, or commonality, is less fulfilling in the end because when push comes to shove in business, they wont go the extra mile to make things work.

Lesbians and bisexual women have a knack for digging in to our souls as Gay men and helping direct our energys, that sometimes can be scattered, while keeping their eye on the ball. Anyone who can't see this is either too full of themselves, or isn't really looking at how Gay men and Lesbians interact. IMHO

[basschick]

you know, i was just working on a site when i realized yet another reason i work with gay sites - content availability.

i like working niches, and i'd love to have a muscle woman site, but i'd have to shoot the content. there is a fair amount of muscular men sets out there, however. the same goes for most niches i want to create sites for. there are a fair number of niches i'd work with for solo male or solo female - but can usually only find the solo male.