Disgusting, dumb, depressing: affective encounters with heterosexuality in gay pornography

This article investigates the affective encounters between heterosexuality and homosexuality within gay pornography. Looking at three examples – Fraternity X’s Trump Pump, Men.Com’s Fuck the Phony, and Icon Male’s The Therapist – affective resonances of disgust, amusement, and sadness (respectively) are uncovered. Academic writing on straightness in gay pornography has often emphasized either its oppressive effects or its subversive effects. While these three case studies are widely different in tone, style, and content, they all incorporate a more ambivalent affective relationship between gayness and the heteromasculine power represented by straight men than previously discussed. All three films mix the erotic adoration of straight men with derision and mockery, allowing heteromasculinity to remain an object of desire while still maintaining an affirmative gay identity.