Crazy Models—Whose Fault is It?

About XXXWriterDude Ken Knox is an adult industry insider who has written for a number of industry publications, including Unzipped, Men, Freshmen, Honcho, In Touch for Men, and X-Factor. He is the associate editor at AVN Online magazine, and is the former associate editor of GAYVN.

Today I just received an email noting that an up-and-coming gay adult model was returning to the industry after a short hiatus. This email came just a month after the model had allegedly left the industry in a mad huff, claiming he was “done with porn” for good and having pissed off several of the producers that he’d previously worked with. This, of course, sparked several adult directors, producers and webmasters to cry foul, proclaiming that said model’s career was “over,” and that they “would never work with him again.”

How soon they forget.

Now it seems as if the model has kissed (or is it sucked?) and made up with all of the enemies he made, and is once again looking for work. While it remains to be seen just how many of the people he allegedly “screwed over” want to work with him again, it got me to thinking: In a business in which models are primarily rewarded for purely superficial reasons, is it any wonder that they end up acting like children?

We’ve all heard the stories. Some young little diva with a sense of entitlement shows up hours late on a set and keeps everyone waiting, then generally misbehaves and causes tons of delays during production. Such erratic behavior has become, sadly, par for the course in porn, but it’s also behavior that we consistently reward and sanction by continuing to hire these models again and again. What’s more, by stressing the importance of big dick size, huge muscles and Hollywood good looks, porn producers have helped to turn these models into ego-swelled monsters who feel like they can afford to get away with murder because of how hot they are.

The porn business can be a great place to explore your sexuality. It can also be a place to lose yourself in a sea of unending narcissism and ego wars. A young 20-year-old with no discernable skill other than sucking cock can make a great living taking it up the butt on film and turning tricks on the side, but what does he learn about himself in the process—other than how hot he looks when he’s on his knees? I keep wondering if there isn’t a way that we, as producers, directors, agents, journalists, etc., can help these kids understand that there’s more to this business than just looking good and making money? Is it possible—in a business that essentially commoditizes and objectifies people as “trade” rather than human beings—for us to rear mature, respectful porn stars?

I’m not sure. Sadly, in today’s world, porn is really all about the bottom dollar. It didn’t used to be. It used to be about the sexual exploration and liberation on film—a collective discovery of our identities to be shared with anyone brave enough to walk into an adult theater or rent a VHS tape from their local video store. Today it’s all about content delivery, units sold and special effects. We’ve dehumanized the business, and in essence dehumanized the people who take part in it. That a 24-year-old Abercrombie-hot jock with a fat 8-inch cock behaves like a spoiled rotten child comes as no surprise to me, but it still makes me just a little sad that it has come to this. After all, it’s one thing to raise your own kid, but to have to raise a supposedly adult porn star is something that none of us should have to deal with.