The Encyclopedia Of Smut: Q Is For Queer

June 7, 2012
OTTIMO-MASSIMO

We talk about queer porn quite a lot on this site, as you may have noticed, and that's because it's one of our favorite sections of the porn world. However, when asked what it is, we often fall back on the old Potter Stewart phrase, "I know it when I see it," and that doesn't feel right. So, we're going to try and explore this subject as best as we can; it'll be an educational experience for everyone!

What is Queer Porn?

This is the simplest way we can answer that question: queer porn is any porn that seeks to subvert the narratives and expectations set up by mainstream porn. If we assume that most pornography answers questions such as "What is sexy?", "Who should be having sex?", and "How do people express their sexuality?" then it is queer porn's aim to give open-ended answers to those questions, to explore alternative answers, and to push the idea that no single answer is correct.

Although the term "queer" comes with specifically LGBT connotations, heterosexuality definitely has a place in the community. In fact, a block of text on the front page of Courtney Trouble's QueerPorn.TV seems to state that all are welcome and wanted, including but not limited to:

Proud modern sluts, feminist porn stars, sexy amateurs, trans men, trans women, genderqueers, cisgendered folks, fags, dykes, tops, bottoms, switches, real couples, sex educators, non-normative heterosexuality, sadomasochists, perverts, activists, punks, and artists at their kinkiest, raunchiest, filthiest, rawest, most passionate, radical, and real.

You can see why it's hard to define this stuff! It's big, cumbersome, and all-inclusive.

[Above: a couple of cuties from "Lesbian Life: Real Sex San Francisco"]

Hallmarks of Queer Porn

If you want to fall back on the "I know it when I see it" method of pointing out queer porn, then allow us to provide you with a few distinguishing quirks that will help you on the hunt.

· Fisting - It's inherently subversive, but more importantly, everyone has a fist, so anyone can do it.
· Pegging/strap-on play - Traditional smut narratives show men with penises and women with vaginas and assholes; queer porn gives cocks (strap-ons) to everyone that wants one and inserts them into whichever hole is willing and able. Such is the beauty of butt play: everyone has an anus, so anybooty can do it.
· Little to no distinction between professionals and amateurs - Pornstars and civilians are given equal respect and attention. This is largely because queer porn prides itself on authenticity, and even though performance is always an aspect of pornography, it's de-emphasized so that the participants are having sex for themselves first and the viewer second.
· Body acceptance/gender subversion - All shapes, sizes, mindsets, etc. are sexy.
· Transparency - That's not a very good title for this subsection, but we couldn't think of a way to describe queer porn's attempt to present sex and sexuality according to how the participants experience it, not according to what would look hot on a DVD case. Perhaps "honesty" is a good word for that.
· Variety - If you buy a lesbian porn DVD, you can bet that all of the performers will be cisgendered ladies and that there will probably be some cunnilingus. If you buy a queer porn DVD, you'll get a lesbian and genderqueer person in the first scene, a man with a vagina in another scene, a BBW pornstar masturbating in the third, and so on. Since queer porn isn't bogged down by set narratives, it encompasses a wide range of bodies and banging styles, and queer porn producers like to stretch their wings when it comes to content. This isn't always true, but it's something to be aware of.

[Above: Wolf Hudson and James Darling via Queer Porn Tube (queerporntube.com)]

Our Recommendations

The best way to learn about queer porn is simply to watch a bunch of it, so here are some neat places you can go online!

· The Crash Pad - "Crash Pad" is a long-running series about "a clandestine San Francisco apartment where a voyeuristic landlord supplies keys to the pad's pleasure-seeking occupants so that she can observe their sexual escapades through hidden cameras." Basically, performers bring who they want, do what they want, and the location takes care of the rest. It's a glorious and illustrious series and we've recommended it to you, like, two dozen times by now.
· Meet the Mayhems - Maggie and Ned Mayhem are an adorable couple who love fucking the snot out of each other and putting it on camera. Plus, they're both deeply involved in the larger San Francisco Bay Area porn community, so they pop up on sites like Kink from time to time. We may or may not have a crush on them.
· Queer Porn Tube - A tube site for queer porn? Yes, that's exactly what it is! And it was thought up by the brilliant Courtney Trouble.
· Anything and everything Courtney Trouble has done - She's pretty much the go-to person for anything related to queer porn--in fact, she may have even coined that term! Anyhow, if you want a good sense of what all this QP business is about, you should look around her empire. In addition to Queer Porn Tube, she runs QueerPorn.TV, TROUBLEfilms, and Indie Porn Revolution (formerly known as No Fauxxx).