The Strange Community of Gay Porn Message Boards

Online commentary around gay porn creates a rich and varied form of queer community.

Like many of gay men I know, I spend a lot of time watching gay porn (probably too much time, to be quite honest). I could justify it by saying that it’s a scholarly interest of mine, that I’m conducting some sort of elaborate ethnography in order to see understand how it is that gay porn both reflects and influences the way that gay and queer men conceive of their own desires. And, given that I’m a scholar whose work does examine those things, there’s some truth to that. The truth, though is that the biggest reason I watch gay porn so much is because I enjoy it. I like the way that it makes me feel. I like the way that it allows me to explore new types of erotic experience, without necessarily having to do them in the real world. The pleasure is in the fantasy, in the realm of the unreal.

Lately, though, I’ve discovered another way that I take pleasure in porn, and that is by perusing online gay porn message boards. I’ve discovered a rather strange and wonderful community in these spaces, and while I rarely participate by commenting myself, I nevertheless feel as if this is a place where desire in all of its weird and myriad forms can be explored and expressed. What’s more, I’m fascinated by the…