I call it SES. Sexy Elbow Syndrome.
I rent a XXX feature in anticipation of seeing my favorite male porn hunks. Only to see their arms and elbows as they clasp and support the focal point of the scene: The woman.
It is very rare in porn that the male form is highlighted in any aspect. You still don’t see them on too many DVD covers, and their names always appear behind those of the actresses–if at all. Sometimes they don’t bother to choose male talent based on looks or charm, but simply on if they can last the duration of The Bohemian Rhapsody or thereabouts in the wood-wielding department.
We’ve all seen it, Ladies–and suffered through it. You’re watching a flick starring your favorite hunk and you think, “When is the camera going to focus on him? Oh wait a minute, the angle is changing, the lens is shifting in his general direction, yes yes ye–nope, denied. Urgghhh!”
Or you watch a flick starring your man’s favorite starlet–and when you take a good look at her possibly hygienically impaired co-star, you’re suddenly thanking every saint you know that the camera does not focus on him.
This first occurred to me when I developed my first porn crush, on Gerald Pike. Pike was an absolutely stunning ex-stripper and Playgirl model who appeared in at least 157 films, including my all-time favorite XXX romance, Immortal Desire.
Now just look at that man. He should be featured on the cover of, like, every erotic movie made, even those in which he does not appear. Plus he is Australian, and his deeply voiced accent is to die for! Yet of his 157-film oeuvre, he has appeared on only four DVD covers–Immortal Desire, Homo Erectus (in which he plays a caveman), The Fuckingdales and Reverse Gang Bang–in which he has one big ol’ sex scene with 10 women. And where was I on casting day?
He did appear in a starring vehicle, Sex Part One, in which he shows some real acting chops while portraying an actor trying to make it in Hollywood. But without knowing this, I walked right by the movie the first time I saw it at an adult video store, because (shocker) he did not appear on the cover. And he was the star. Any semblance of sense, this does not make.
With his looks and acting skill, Gerry Pike should have been the male Jenna Jameson–or, at the very least, the subject of his own spotlight DVDs. And if he had been female, he surely would have been.
I had much better luck with my second big crush and all-time fave, Jean Val Jean. A sweet, beautiful man with whom I had the pleasure of conversing during my time at PlaygirlTV. Playgirl had the good sense to showcase this stunner in a number of showcase titles–and on a number of classy box covers; as did several other studios that produced couples fare. Ah, but alas; Playgirl is gone, and Jean has retired–though he is now enjoying a fruitful mainstream career in movies and TV.
Along the same lines–has anyone heard of Damian Duke? This beautiful blond British dynamo appeared in specialty titles in the early 2000s. Arriving on the scene in his early 20s, Duke happily submitted to many a dominatrix in a number of his films. In others, he performed alongside BBW women and older ladies, always showing them the utmost respect and investing true passion in his performances. He retired much too quickly for the Feminist Sexpert’s taste–but perhaps with more money and acclaim, he would have stayed.
We find a most interesting case in Ryan Ryder, the Scottish pantomime actor who was fired from a production of Cinderella, where he was portraying Prince Charming, when it was discovered that he was making hardcore films.
If Ryder had been a female, a major porn studio would have cast him immediately in a XXX version of Cinderella. Instead the gorgeous Scot hunk appeared at first in motion pictures such as Big Tits in School and College Whores. Now, in a refreshing twist, he was eventually cast in fairy tale porn, playing Peter Pan in an Axel Braun film, and as a sexy superspy in Spyfall and a British lord in Down On Abby. And in 2015 came Ryan Ryder: Stud on Tour. Now that’s more like it!
On another positive note, more and more hot male stars–like my current faves and muses, Nathan Bronson, David Lee and Jay Smooth–are showing sexy photos and clips, along with custom vids, to ardent followers through OnlyFans accounts.
Still and all, attractive male actors have yet to reign as stars in straight XXX stars. I have heard a good number of women voice my complaint–others even watch gay porn in an effort to 1. see men 2 see attractive men, even. And indeed, I have heard male talent say that they do gay porn, not because they like having sex with men, but because they make more money and get more attention by doing so.
What’s a woman to do? Well Ladies, for starters….
1. SOS–Support Our Studs. Support their Only Fans, write letters to porn studios requesting your guy’s presence in their films, follow them on social media, buy their pics and customs. For that matter…
2. Buy your porn. If you owned a sandwich shop, you probably wouldn’t appreciate someone just running into your store, grabbing a hot turkey with cheese, and running out the door without paying. How is your stud going to pay for his workout equipment and styling products, if you’re bootlegging his movies? Same difference.
3. Start fan pages for your faves, helping them spread their fame.
4. Write and direct your own films. But that’s a whole other blog…
Down with SES! Up (most literally) with SOS! Support Our Studs!
afterglow is the creation of entrepreneur Lilly Sparks, who considers afterglow her true and literal passion project.
“I envisioned porn that could inspire lovers,” she said. “Visual explorations that are sensitive, that show a holistic view of sex.”
Dr. Megan Stubbs 
