Ohhhhh, I could go on and on for HOURS about this topic, but every time I start to assert the opnions I have about it, I get raked over the coals by defensive webmasters who think I'm trying to attack them personally.
I did, however, do a feature on this very topic for an upcoming issue (May) of AVN Online magazine. I got a lot of people from this board to comment for the story, but I had to keep my opinions completely out of the piece. And even though the questions were presented very objectively, a few of the people who participated got very heated in their responses, as if I was the devil incarnate just for asking them. But I may revisit this topic for my new opinion column in the magazine. I just have to choose my words VERY carefully.
Personally, I think this niche is rather tired (not to mention just a little exploitative of both gay and straight men), but it's the bread and butter for a lot of people, and it's impossible to criticize something that makes people money. Nobody wants to hear anything negative about the thing that pays their rent. The businessperson in me agrees with them completely, and I think they are very smart for exploiting a genre that is, at the moment, very lucrative. The politically active, socially conscious gay man in me, however, is still uncomfortable with how much this niche continues to infiltrate gay culture and influence the way we think of ourselves and other gay men.
I think I should stop there, though. I can already feel the heated stares being directed at me.
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Originally Posted by Dzinerbear
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