THE RACIST REALITY OF PORN
By Philippa Mwayi / 30 October 2019
Illustration by Philippa Mwayi
Racism within the porn industry is something I imagine is rarely picked up on...
Few people are going to use the time they spend on porn sites thinking about the damaging effects it can have on ethnic minorities. I am by no means suggesting we stop watching porn; I am not that much of a killjoy. However, the industry is rife with exploitation and misrepresentation that are both harmful to society, and by making people aware of it, we can do our best to ensure the time we spend masturbating isn’t contributing to social injustice. And who wouldn't want that?
After approximately 30 seconds of research, I was able to find out that actors of colour can expect to be paid as little as half as much as their white counterparts. Before we point our fingers at the employers, the actors aren't entirely innocent in this either. In an interview with James Dean, a porn star most of us are familiar with, he stated that many actors will refuse to film interracial porn out of fear it will damage their image and upset their fanbase, and I don't doubt there is a large proportion that refuse quite simply because they can. He goes on to say that some actors even request to be paid more for an interracial film, as though sleeping with someone of colour is a chore.
Racism in porn videos
The racism at play behind the scenes is inevitably mirrored in the content that is created and streamed on pornography sites. Try and find a video with a person of colour in that doesn't feature ebony’, ‘black’, ‘chocolate’, ‘mahogany’, ‘BBC'; or even more harmful terms such a 'slave' in the title. Even in porn that doesn’t feature people of colour, there are clarifications like ‘fat ass white girl’, as though the actor is exhibiting features exclusive to another race, perpetuating harmful stereotypes that only serve to hypersexualise people of colour. People of colour are very rarely valued in the industry unless their skin colour is part of someone's fetish. Whilst some will argue that everyone in porn is there to be objectified and satisfy someone's craving, it becomes problematic with regards to race; firstly because of the pay gap and behind the scenes racism, but also because these perceptions of people of colour stem from genuine hatred people harbour in the real world, and these videos only allow the perpetuation of this and with no consequence.
Porn in the real world
Racism in porn is part of a vicious cycle: people are racist in real life; this is then translated into pornography, and because so many people at a young age are exposed to this, they project what they've seen and the perceptions they have formed back into the real world. And this continues. For me, the projections are seen most clearly in the past romantic relationships I've
had, more specifically with white men. For many years I was left confused when guy after guy I encountered failed to show me an ounce of respect. I often felt that men viewed me as incredibly mediocre, stupid or, in the best case, only good for sex.
No matter how I acted, what I wore, what I said, I couldn't help but feel like the bar for me to impress the guys I was dating was miles above that of my white counterparts. Whether it was as subtle as guys being dismissive towards me for no real reason or as clear as them telling me they'd sleep with me but never date me because I'm black (oh I how I love Tinder), I knew my hideous luck in dating was not just luck.
I know that black men experience the same issues, as with every porn video comes a title only further perpetuating unrealistic expectations of black men and their sexual performance. Larger than average genitals and hyper-masculinity, especially aggression and strength, are just a few of the damaging stereotypes we see over and over in porn, simultaneously reflected from and translating into wider society.
I would be naive to put all the blame on porn; porn doesn't create racism, it just
perpetuates it. However, the average child is first exposed to porn when they are 11, and some of these children will grow up and carry the ideas they've formed from porn into the real world. So is it unrealistic to believe there is a connection between the majority of interracial porn videos portraying women of colour as a slave or object, and studies that show that black women are given the least amount of interest on dating apps or the fact that I constantly felt undesirable when trying to date?
What can we do to make a difference?
Unfortunately, due to the clandestine nature of porn in the first place I can’t see progress being made at the same rate as other industries, but making yourself aware of the issue and then considering the actions below is pretty good starting place.
1) Don't be afraid to call your friends, family and significant others out if you think they are perpetuating these stereotypes. If you hear someone say they've heard *insert race here* performs a certain way in the bedroom, call them out. If you hear someone say they'd never date *insert race here*, call them out and ask them why. Making someone aware of their problematic behaviour is the first step in encouraging them to challenge their warped beliefs.
2) Think twice about the porn you are watching. Do you really need to click on that video titled 'white master shows submissive black slave who's in charge? I think we both know there are better videos you can be giving views and revenue to. There's no need to get rid of porn or make it harder to watch; it can be great! All it takes is being a tiny bit more conscious of how we consume it and we may be able to disrupt the vicious cycle. Otherwise, how are we ever meant to make meaningful relationships between races when the first examples of these relationships some young people see are so objectively negative?
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