Do You Think Webmasters In The Gay Industry Are More Socially Responsible?

[Lee]

As a whole when compared to their straight industry counterparts?

Not towards any specific topic but rather how we seem to be more responsible so far as how we not only treat our surfers but also ow we portray the types of sites we build / promote or, do you think that we are the same as those in the straight side of the business and purely go for whatever makes us the most money at any given time?

For example, i very rarely see companies on the straight side of this industry sponsoring charity events and the likes on a regular basis whilst companies such as Naked Sword, BadPuppy etc sponsor a lot of events.

Your thoughts?

Regards,

Lee

[curiousbunny]

I think any biz that is making money should contribute to charity. Gay or Straight, it doesn't really matter.

[longboardjim]

i'm not saying all here but i very rarely see "straights" contribute to the whole unless it's for some "religious" and/or "disaster relief" cause.
and the ones i do see "contribute" are using "charity" as a "tax write-off" cause there making too much money! ( anybody attending my talkshow will recieve a "free" car! )
as for some gays ( not all! ) due to the fact that most of us have no "distractions"..err.."children" we have somewhat of a "disposable-income"
so we have the means to be "charitable"
i believe "charity" starts at home and although my heart goes out to all those less fortunate in foriegn countries i think we need to focus on the charities in our own nation!.

sincerely ~ ..."in this life one thing counts! , in the bank large amounts! , charities fine subscribe to mine! , got to pick a pocket or twoooooo!".... :goof:

[EmporerEJ]

What kind of Dumbass (Racist?) comment is that?
:nowords:

[Lee]

What kind of Dumbass (Racist?) comment is that?
:nowords:

One that was open for discussion.

Do you have any aspects you would like to share one way or another on the topic?

Regards,

Lee

[longboardjim]

i didn't know "straights" & "gays" were "races"? , who would have thought!
as for being a "dumbass" , i hardly think so!

sincerely ~ ..."your not getting validated!"... :goof:

[basschick]

i saw a lot of str8 porn companies put in some valuable stuff and money toward the tsunami survivors. and every year, i "adopt" a child through christmas through a str8 porn company - although the one i used to do this with is now supporting a different charity.

i think it's more a question of what boards you hang at then a question of gay or str8. i was surprised and pleased how many people on awi regularly contributed to various charities...

i will say that there are less charity events in str8 porn, more online donations. although there were str8 porn charity fundraisers for children of the night and some other stuff.

[gaystoryman]

Are we more socially responsible? In some ways we are, in others I don't think we do enough. I think that many 'gay' sites do act more in line with a social conscience simply because we are a 'hated' minority in many segments of society, whether it be Canada, the United States or elsewhere.. and being hated you tend to feel more for those less fortunate and so dig a bit deeper and more often. In some respects its an attempt to show 'them' that we are better than they are, in other respects I think it is to sort of try and fit in.

On the other hand we are also more conservative in some respects, as we try to stay under the 'straight' radar and so we tend to live more within our own world, our own niche. Not a bad thing in itself but I think it tends to make us a bit withdrawn.

As to giving to charity, I used to but so many these days are tainted by high administration costs that it really is more like pissing the cash away. Doesn't mean I don't give, just am far more cautious as to who. Unfortunately I think a lot of the internet driven charities are tainted too by the perceived notion that our industry is nothing but sex maniacs, perverts and scammers.. though not true i think in some ways we buy into that ourselves... sadly enough.

Just my opinion though.

Ian

[desslock]

It would take a lot of time, effort and homework to scientifically compare straight adult webmasters' to gay adult webmasters' charity behavior. As if someone has that knowledge... and not just general impressions.

Are you trying to put your finger on a social behavior? for example, are you arguing that jewish americans happen to give their money to jewish culture centers, causes, etc, much like gays and lesbians easily look to aids charities or advocacy groups? Maybe. That's not a scientific statement though.

Gaystoryman and others make a great point as well - just because you hand some cash to charity, that does not necessarily give you value. Does checking off on your tax form money to the President Public Election Fund constitute charity? You didn't have to.

Is there a difference between someone who quickly scribbles out a $250 check to wear a tux and eat caviar at a HRC Black Tie dinner, versus someone who mans on a weekly basis a phone bank at a battered women's shelter, a gay youth shelter, etc.

If people want to find a cause or help something greater then themselves, that's great. I don't think you should necessarily be judgemental (like people think the Pope behaves) about people's behaviour for their own pursuit of happiness.

Steve

[Squirt]

I see no difference in the kind acts of Gay webmasters compared to straight webmasters.

I think as a community we are tighter, because we're a minority. Do I think we give more then the straight community? No. Do I think we're better organized then the striaght community? Maybe, again, because we're a minority and tend to stick together more.

I think any adult company giving openly to charities is difficult. The people I was working with in the Philippines found out about my adult work and sent me an email refusing to work with me. I felt bad for the kids I was sponsoring to goto school, now they are not getting an education because of someone elses moral beliefs.

[gaystoryman]

You know that is sad, reminds me of ages ago when I was watching the Phil Donahue show (if anyone can remember that far back) he had a priest on who had written some lurid mystery romance pulp fiction and the local diocese had refused to accept the royalties from him, claiming it was blood money... yet as the priest pointed out, they had just accepted a large 6 figure donation from a well known mafia bossman... the hypocrasy is amazing at times...

[basschick]

desslock - you're making an assumption when you talk about writing a check. adopting a child for christmas means finding out what they want, and then going out and buying it, giftwrapping and sending it. it's not just sending a check. the people who actually put those programs together work hard to find the kids, communicate with the parents, and make sure about a million other details.

i also know a couple straight webbies who work feeding the homeless - they not only donate food, but actually help distribute it. i know one webmaster who makes and hosts a dog rescue site (can't remember what kind of dogs). i could go on, but you have the idea.

sure, a lot of people just write a check - but money helps a lot of causes, and you can find out administration costs before you decide to donate. but a lot of webmasters put time and effort, not just money, into what they do.

[Madame0120]

Humm ..


Most recently..
YNot Radio collected and donated over $250,000 DOLLARS to the Tusimi Relief Effort.

But good deeds from the straight webmasters goes way back. As an example:
On Monday, August 27, 2001, a benefit dinner and auction for the prevention of child abuse was held at the Eden Roc Renaissance Resort in Miami Beach. The semi-formal affair was the highlight of the CyberNet Expo

I could continue to research and tell you about other acts of kindness the industry has performed, but why gild the lilly?

[Dzinerbear]

Everyone is talking about donating money to charities, which is fine. But I know where this thread came from, so I'm going to change the direction.

This thread came from a discussion about some bareback sex galleries produced by a straight company. Some gay people freaked about them. The straight webmaster was like "what the fuck's up with gay people being so sensitive, it's just bareback sex." And I brought my perspective to the table.

On the issue of bareback sex, this community is fairly clearly divided and there are a lot of emotions involved. I see vast differences between how the straight and gay side of the business approaches this issue.

As I see it, the straight side apparently tests a lot of their porn stars. (I don't know if you can say mandatory testing because I don't know if that's true.) And then, from there, porn stars aren't necessarily required to wear condoms. I suppose some straight production houses require condoms and others don't. And I'm sure some individual stars make their own demands. But by and large, it does appear that condoms play a big part in straight porn.

Whereas in gay porn, we use condoms more often than not and did for a number of years. With the advent of drugs to treat and slow the onslaught of AIDS, people's position on condom use started to change. About the same time the circuit party culture was on the rise. And we all know that circuit parties and drugs pretty much go hand in hand. And when you're high and having sex, you're not always making sound decisions. So all of this combined created at atmosphere where bareback sex seemed to be more acceptable, popular, and in some circles even celebrated.

So, on this particular issue – bareback sex – I think the gay side of the business is more socially responsible than the straight side. Straight porn is largely relying on blood tests to ensure the safety of their porn stars. And this is flawed because a blood test taken last month doesn't guarantee that the porn star hasn't sero-converted inbetween blood tests (there is a window period) or that they haven't engaged in unsafe sex with an infected person.

If anyone knows of any straight companies who are doing other things, please let us know. I'm not as familiar with straight porn as I am with gay.

In the gay sector, we have companies like Titan Media demanding that all of their porn stars use condoms not only on Titan productions but any production. Failure to do so will mean the porn star never gets to work with Titan again.

Maleflixxx does not promote bareback movies on their site. They don't demand webmasters have sites totally free of barebacking, but they will not promote it on their site and they will ask you to remove banners from any page on your site if it's being too closely linked with barebacking.

Universal Bear has a number of bareback galleries and on every one of them is a warning button that says the following: "Hey guys, this gallery is a fantasy. AIDS is a reality, so talk to your partners and make informed decisions. Don't make assumptions with barebacking. Ask first. Want more information, click here." And the link takes the surfer to a page discussion my position on barebacking, which is that you need to talk to your partners first. If two consenting adults decide not to use condoms, that's fine with me as long as they've been completely honest with one another. The page on my website also contains links to some AIDS service organizations around the world. I feel that I've done more than most porn sites on the planet to deal with this issue, so I make no apologies of hosting bareback galleries on my site.

There are other production houses that make movies for the bareback market, like Hot Desert Knights and Treasure Island Media. And I'm cool with that, too. I don't know what their process is with regards to communication with their stars before the shoot. I just hope there is one.

So, on this one issue, I see lots of evidence that gay companies are putting principles before dollars. I'm not seeing the same thing on the straight side. But to make a blanket statement that we are more socially responsible I think is wrong because I think generalizations are dangerous places to venture.

dzinerbear

[Madame0120]

There was a thread going on awhile back, on another webmaster board about a bearbacking site . My contention was that it was wrong squared, since there was little attempt to educate their customers in this more dangerous form of sexual activity.

The person in question got my point and took the time to find me in Phoenix to tell me about the resource site he was getting ready to launch. Yaknow, I always have good days .. but some days are more excellent that others.

Soon as I get caught up, and everyone stops being sick...

I'll be adding his site to all my gay member based ventures. Pretty good timing, cause I was just starting my research to find a good link for clear information, and becoming frustrated.

My thanks to bearbackjack for taking my concerns to heart, and really stepping up to the plate. I know if I was a gay man .. I'd be finding me a tasty hunk, charming him and testing him, all so I could slip him my meat unwrapped.

Hey wait! I do all that! All my lovers since the 80's kept their pistols in their holsters till the second set of blood work cleared. Shit, I got a thousand dollars worth of insertables, the real dick can wait.