Flava Works and “Ethnic” Porn: Harmless Fun or Exploitative?
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Where the fuck was I while all this was going down? I always thought Flava Works models looked like homeless black men, and there’s good reason for that: they were. Or at least some of them were. I have to be careful with my words here since Flava Works owner Phillip Bleicher has already threatened two prominent LGBT bloggers with libel lawsuits for even reporting his company’s recent woes. According to Jasmyne Cannick, there are also allegations that the business used unusual labor contracts with its models, which, according to one source, “at least bordered on illegal servitude.” 
The 30-day contracts allegedly required the models to perform a certain number of sexual acts in exchange for a stipend. But, when the models tried to collect the stipends, they were told they were being charged for such things as food and bed linens, leaving them, in some cases, in debt rather than collecting money. They were then pressured to sign new contracts. Yes, this is the same tactic that unscrupulous textile companies *cough, Abercrombie and Fitch, cough* use in developing countries to keep their workers indebted to the company and amounts to one sad reality: modern day slavery. The comparison doesn’t look any better when you take into account one important fact about Bleicher: he’s white.
I won’t bother to go further into it or mention the HIV allegations by the City of Chicago or the company’s current battle with the City of Miami since Cannick and NBC 6 cover the story oh so well. But take a moment to ask yourself a few questions relating to the topic: Why are so many of the “ethnic” porn companies owned by white men? Who exactly is this porn made for? Why is gay porn so often segregated? Is there a purpose behind it other than satisfying a fetish of middle-aged white men?
More from Jasmyne Cannick at this link
More from NBC 6 Miami at this link
More from Keith Boykin at this link
Note: Previous posts about the Flava Works websites and movies have been taken down to avoid any possible DMCA violations (a tactic the company used to temporarily shut down another website that reported in this).
I don’t know if the men who appear in “ethnic” porn have altogether entirely different reasons for participating in movies than their white counterparts. Which isn’t to say that their experiences aren’t colored by the racially segregated market that does exist in porn. There does seem to be an undercurrent of (passive) racism in porn that casts whites as the universal, while forcing non-whites to exist in fetishized special categories — apart from the “regular” models. (It’s interesting how it compares to the heterosexual side of porn where women are separated into those who do scenes with blacks, and those who don’t.)
If I were being generous I could argue that at least non-whites are being cast in porn at all. But at what cost? This “Flava Works” story seems like proof that non-whites are not even being exploited equally; and that’s a pretty low bar…even for porn.
Then, on top of all this, Chicago Department of Public Health has levied allegations that Bleicher knowingly allowed the spread of HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases by his models engaging in sex with other men in the community. The fact that Flava Works did market bareback films only serves to validate that claim. So not only were these men contractually obligated to have sex on cue, but also risk their lives and engage in risky sexual practices with strangers. It then becomes insanely ironic that Flava Work’s vice-president Dekenric Wiley recently died of pneumonia. You know, since it’s so common for otherwise healthy 32-year-olds to up and suddenly succumb to pneumonia!
I’m just terribly disappointed with the way that Bleicher has chosen to respond to the allegations. Using Wiley’s death to deflect criticism rather than provide hard evidence of his innocence is damning in my eyes.
But yes, you’re right Arch. I know of many young poor white and “passably white” Latino guys that have been drawn into porn for similar reasons as the Flava Works models – money and attention. They’re completely responsible for willfully allowing themselves to become part of this, but the porn proprietors that facilitate this system in the first place need to be looked down on as the scum that they are. Men this young shouldn’t be lulled into believing they can make a career out of taking the bareback loads of 12 guys every night. And people that buy these films should be ashamed of supporting it.
Perhaps this story should be seen as a symptom of the porn industry itself. What would stop anyone from assuming that this treatment isn’t the reality behind the selling of easy money and sex? And even if it isn’t true that all of the allegations being made against Bleicher are what every man should expect when getting into the business, these investigations might do something about some of the illegal working conditions that actors sign into.
But I don’t think that will happen until the support for it by consumers stops. Where are we supposed to draw the line though? Can we assume that only soft-core porn is okay since they aren’t making bareback movies? Should we assume all porn is bad unless we’ve made certain that the company isn’t involved in drawing up contracts with enslaving terms? How do we know we’re not supporting it?
Thanks for passing along this information on to readers. The dubious tactics being used to silence Cannick are telling, and probably a good sign that she’s fighting against something really wrong.