He May Be ‘Pro-Porn’ But Is Eric Anderson ‘Anti-Bisexual’?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/masculinity-today/201203/diversity-sexual-imagery
Not the Guardian, but quite a Guardian-esque publication when it comes to sex and gender: Psychology Today. The psychology magazine/website this week features an article by Eric Anderson, who is an ‘expert’ in masculinities. He seems to love pornography, but only because it allows ‘gay youth’ to realise just how gay they are. He writes:
‘Another overlooked benefit to pornography comes from the fact that it provides gay youth a sense of sexual validation. As a closeted 13 year old, the only homoerotic pornographic images I could find were the shirtless boys in newspaper underwear ads. Gay pornography would have given me a visual understanding, not only of the operation of gay sex, but a confirmation that what I wanted to do was possible. Fortunately, today’s young gay males have that ability. This likely helps young boys learn that they are gay earlier in life, too’.
As I have highlighted Anderson uses the terms ‘gay youth’, ‘gay pornography’, ‘gay sex’ and mentions young men who realise ‘they are gay’. My question is:
whatabouttehbisexualz?
Bisexual erasure is a big problem in sexualities research. And sometimes I wonder if it might even be getting worse. As ‘gay’ identities are becoming more accepted and documented, it seems bisexual/pansexual ones are becoming more hidden. Anderson goes on to say:
‘I suggest that the Internet is alive with real people acting out sex in ways that real people, in all their diversity, desire. The Internet finds a place for even socially stigmatized (aged, obese, or otherwise non-hegemonic) bodies to be exalted. The Internet validates real people’s sexual proclivities; and this includes gay men’s sex, too. ‘
Well I disagree that internet pornography is helping to diversify the kinds of body images on display. And it is not just pornography. As Mark Simpson has written, ALL metrosexual media is saturated with images of buff boys with big tits and perfect washboard abs. How is that ‘diverse’?
Anyway I left a comment under Eric’s post which says:
‘I agree broadly with this post – it doesn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. Partly because I have read Male Impersonators (1994) by Mark Simpson which covers many of these issues, and Metrosexy(2011) by the same author which brings homosexuality and porn into the contemporary internet era.
However I object to two points from Eric.
1) He says people are seeing a diverse range of body types in porn. I disagree. I think pornography, including m/m porn, has always promoted very limited views of what men’s bodies (and women’s but this is about men) should look like. Big pecs, abs, slim builds etc. As Simpson has written, gay porn has influenced mainstream media so now we get that norm promoted in all media – e.g. reality TV shows, pop music videos, adverts for gyms etc.
2) I think the term ‘gay sex’ is misleading. It suggests the only men to have sex with each other are ‘gay’. There are lots bisexual men who have m/m sex who don’t identify as gay, and also lots of men who identify as straight and still have sex with men. That is why academics and health professionals tend to use the more inclusive term, ‘men who have sex with men’.’
QRG
