Gay porn directors, break out your legal pads, because you’ll be taking some notes. Reddit users in the AskGayMen community have been listing the turn-offs that turn XXX films into total buzzkills.
For many of the commenters on the thread, socks are a nuisance in NSFW fare. “Feet are very expressive,” one person argued. “Are those toes curling or not? Homosexuals want to know!”
Other people begged to differ, though. “The socks make it relatable,” another commenter added. “My feet get cold sometimes!”
Here are other comments from the thread, edited for readability.
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“When the guys look so similar that you don’t realize it was a flip f—k.” (“Oh… my… god… You read my mind,” another commenter added. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Is that the original top? Oh, no, he has the Apple Watch. This top has a mole on his inner thigh… so they flipped!’”)
“Too hardcore, not enough intimacy.” (Another Redditor replied, “I started watching massage porn. It’s kinda filling the void.”)
“Over-dramatic moaning. Also, a ‘first timer’ when it’s obvious the guy is a pro because ‘it’ just slips in with no effort.”
“When they play music!” (“Yes!” exclaimed another user. “Let me hear the guys. The worst is when it’s like new age or classical. I’m not here to jerk off to Enya, thank you.”)
“When the top is too busy looking into the damn camera instead of being in the moment with the bottom. I hate that shit.”
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“I prefer the full shot of the guys, like a wide shot. I hate when it’s just a closeup.”
“The glug-glug fake gagging noises and performative bottoms.”
“Not enough vocal tops or not showing the top’s face. … Everyone deserves mind-melting orgasms, and I wish they showed the tops getting that too.”
“Not enough romance/sensuality. And above all, the fake moaning. That’s horrendous.”
“The haircuts. I’m sorry, but these damn side buzz with curls or the ice cream cuts just turn me off. And it’s all I see when it comes to twinks.”
“I understand they have to appeal to the widest audience possible, but do they have to go through the same formulaic steps of intimacy in every video? Eventually it’s like watching the same thing and having the actors swap out.”
“The straight guys doing gay for pay. It’s like false advertising, lol.” (“Yes!” another user agreed. “It’s such a turn-off because they’re just not interested.”)
“The unrealistic body shapes. Most gay men are not muscular or have a huge package.”
“Extremely corny story lines.” (“Really? In front of my salad?” quipped another commenter.)
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Covid Hermit
“The unrealistic body shapes. Most gay men are not muscular”
YES! Thank you! And BTW, the rest of the gay media landscape (looking at you, editors of Queerty) needs to get this message too. Not everyone is under 25 and buff…and average guys can be pretty f-ing hot too!
Wentz
Have some standards. Not every gross bloke is worth a platform.
newtonfarmer1
Sick of all the tattoos
frapachino
No one wants to fantasize over average every day bodies.
FreddieW
I don’t like paying a gay porn studio a subscription fee and then being offered a selection that includes things that aren’t gay porn. Leave the political correctness to HRC and Lambda Legal.
newtonfarmer1
Sick of paying for a subscription and then have to pay per video I downloaded
monty clift
Right!! They should have mentioned the abundance of women/FTMS with the G4P straight guys forcing their way into gay porn. Nobody wants to see that homophobic conversion therapy bs.
SteveInQueens
I registered just to comment on this article.
Why can’t the porn studios figure this out?
I get that the mechanics of gay sex can be very titillating for some men. But some of us want more than something that can quite frankly come across as a instructional video. I know how gay sex works. I know where everything goes. How ’bout showing some guys actually enjoying themselves doing it rather than focusing on the fact that it is being done? Most of the stuff out there is so unbelievable. It’s always the same positions to improve sightlines for close-ups, the same verbalizations, the same disproportionate facial expressions and body postures.
What makes things worse is that it seems like lately even the amateur porn which had previously been more authentic is now all guys in worse shape copying the same things you can get in studio porn.
bachy
Welcome! And don’t hold back!
abfab
No edging, bachy?
bachy
Hehehehe!
chuck gaines
Why can’t they show average guys meeting a trick? No endless oral sex scenes, or fisting, and the obligatory oral anal. Just missionary “trick” sex.
bachy
@chuckgaines:
How do you characterize “trick” sex, chuck?
abfab
Let me entertain you
Let me make you smile
Let me do a few tricks
Some old and then some new TRICKS
I’m very versatile
And if you’re real good
I’ll make you feel good
I’d want your spirit to climb
So let me entertain you
We’ll have a real good time
Yes sir
We’ll have
A real good time
(I had to bachy–carry on with your question deary)
Diplomat
Omg visions of Natalie Wood. God I loved her.
dali
I’m also turned off by the “glug-glug” fake gagging noises. I also can’t stand corny acting as you can see in studios like @mendotcum.
Finally, I hate when the guy (usually gay4pay), spits on the d**k before sucking it.
Gay porn is now like straight porn, but without the women.
Man About Town
What makes people think the moaning is fake? Even if it is, it beats the crap out of guys who make no noise at all, implying they’re not even into it.
Granted they’re probably thinking about their paycheck, but still!
Leo
And how about those guys that go through an endless BJ without ever getting hard.
GlobeTrotter
God knows I’m no prude, and there are a couple hundred guys across Europe from my “Whoring 20’s” that can readily attest to that, but I’m getting REALLY turned off by the deviant and perverted direction porn has been taking as of late. You can’t watch porn nowadays, regardless of which studio, without someone spitting in your face, f*cking you in the ass then shoving his d*ck in your mouth for you to lick, being forced to drink cum out of some guy’s dripping *ss, and the list goes on and on. And before someone chimes in with, “don’t watch it if you don’t like it”, it seems that ALL the porn studios are moving in this direction, so it doesn’t matter what you watch. And whenever I point out the disgusting nature of these sex acts on some forums, I’m the one that has to justify my stance – that’s the extent to which extreme and deviant sex acts have become so widely accepted in the gay community. And it just keeps getting worse and worse because at its core, this is all about addiction, which you can never get enough of. And so a lot of directors have to resort to more shocking and more extreme sexual depictions to keep their addicts happy. I just can’t anymore…
bachy
100%.
Kangol2
Skip the porn studios, go to Onlyfans/Justforfans and follow vanilla sex guys! Problem solved!
Doug
I agree. A lot of porn now seems to border on humiliation and abuse. I’ve also seen some straight porn that absolutely disgusted me in the way women were treated… slapping, choking, continually being called sluts and whores. I hope gay porn isn’t headed in that direction.
newtonfarmer1
There are two things I really hate about gay porn, first is all the Tattoos, it’s as if everyone has a tattoo these days and it’s a real turn off. Second when you pay to join a site and you have to pay for each video instead of being able to download as many videos as you want to
bachy
1. I have zero interest in cold sexual professionalism: it eliminates any pretense to a real encounter. I’ll take amateurs over pornstars any day. Couldn’t care less that they don’t have six-packs or f*ck eight people at the same time.
2. Enough already with the bright, surgical lighting. Anybody on a porn set ever hear of mood lighting? It’s not a medical procedure. I’m not there to perform a cystectomy.
3. A little mystery can be exciting. Actors don’t need to be 100% exposed/nude. Partially clothed, a garment hanging off the neck or thighs can be so sexy…
4. Stop waxing the genitals. What are you, eight years old? No fussy topiaries either. Pubic hair is a secondary sexual characteristic in humans, which triggers an instinctual erotic response. Why eliminate a natural erotic feature?
abfab
Bachy…..regarding your number 2. The dentist office. I’ll skip the fetish and get right to my point. Many an appointment for the root canal or 4 quadrants of deep scaling and cleaning, I fantasize that I am………………full stop. It’s the only way to get thru the torture. Bright lights and all! A medical procedure turned porn flick.
And as a teen I had THE HOTTEST hygenist with thick, hairy, muscular arms and a huge bulge.
bachy
Was it a male or female hygienist?
abfab
All male and I lied. It was the dentist. And he smoked.
abfab
Your #3, bachy. Getting your clothes ripped off you, slowly. Wrecking a three piece suit…priceless. The silk tie—becomes the co ck ring. Tight. Yes, clothes make the man.
mildredspierce
Circumcised masturbation facial cum shots. The actors should be genuinely aroused by each other, like in a Kirsten Bjorn film. Turn off to watch some guy endlessly rubbing his knob and waste a load anywhere but in the other guy’s mouth.
abfab
Bjorn men. OMG. The ”no-rubbing” cum shots.
bachy
Did anyone ever tell you two that you’re a couple of sluts?
abfab
Ha! This really is most unbecoming……
Diplomat
Pros:
Onlyfans full body shot high production quality.
Cons:
Over dose of close ups urks me to no end.
Bottoms w limp dicks. Limp dicks in general.
Poor camera angles.
Guys swallowing loads instead of pushing it out their mouths.
bachy
Has anyone every told you you’re a slut, Diplo?
Diplomat
Now it’s official.
Jim
I hate the close close ups.
Really.
It could be any dick mouth or ass.
I wanna completer fantasy.
Jim
I like Belami films.
Not for the hot guys though I do enjoy the eye candy,
But the models look like they are enjoying themselves!!!
winemaker
Surprisingly I didn’t see barebacking as one of the turn offs. As someone who lived through the AIDS crisis, saw lots of men go through hell with all kinds of infections and die well before their time, I’m saddened by this irresponsibility with the attitude: that was then and now we have all kinds of maintenance drugs and prep. So there’s prep, big deal but does that give you license to do anything and everything thinking you’ll never catch something nasty? What about syphlis, clamydia or any of the other nasties floating around out there that’re becoming drug resistant? Over the past several years, more and more porn companies are doing bareback videos like there’s no STD’s or AIDS, what’s this irresponsibility about? For those guys who lament condoms take away the feeling and pleasure, they’re a pain in the ass etc to use. Condoms have advanced technologically over the years and the new ones are are so thin and sensitive, they’re undetectable and believe it or not, they’ve devised a condom for the UNCUT guys among us. Years ago UNCUT guys being ultra sensitive had problems with having the condom fall off thus rendering it’s use ineffective. And for those out there who say ‘so what if I get something, there’s a pill for everything nowdays’. Really for those out there who’re unaware, drugs wreak havoc on your systerm over the long term and then there’s the costs involved for lots of prescription drugs that seem to get higher and higher. Ask anyone on long term prescriptions how they feel after having to take drugs for some malady that many times could have been prevented.
andrewl
Good point and wise words.
abfab
Another long, boring lecture from an angry, celibate Roman Catholic.
ScottOnEarth
ALL gay porn is a turnoff. It’s so formulaic and soulless and boring. In today’s world, we’ve all heard the stories from porn stars that describe the entire industry cold, greedy, shady, sterile and not at all sexy. It’s just guys going through the motions, fake-moaning (or it’s dubbed in) and the audience, of course, knows that it’s just two or more strangers or co-workers humping for their paycheck. Mechanical and cold.
wikidBSTN
“The unrealistic body shapes. Most gay men are not muscular” – that is the REASON to watch gay porn. I don’t want pedestrian reality . I want my fantasies!!
esrosejr
I am an older guy who came out in his late thirties. In those days, porn was kinda rough and ready and, while a bit instructive, more in the vein of getting plugged face down on a motorcycle. Today, a site like PornHub has so much variety and quality that it is not difficult to find something to my taste. The filters are pretty good and one can set up as close to a personal menu as you might want. I like handsome young porn-boys as much as anyone but they have not learned the subtle art of stimulation here and there on their partner’s body to get surprising results…often to both the guys involved. I love it when laughter breaks out and the enjoyment is obvious. I do not mind the fancy site from time to time but it sure takes a humpin’ for them to get there. I realize this is partly because they are waiting for the viewer to get there with them. It takes us voyeurs a bit more time to keep up. And so on. Good porn is not hard to find. The problem is that any porn becomes everyday after a while.
Thad
I like a variety of porn. But I sometimes say aloud, “Show me his chest!”
I’m not bothered by music. 70s porn always had it and it was cheesy but I didn’t care.
And I like scripted porn! Tell me what the cowboys did before they ended up naked in the barn. Build excitement.
abfab
Tom Katt getting ganged on in the barn, wasted out of his mind.
abfab
Raging Stallion
abfab
Handsome, interracial deep french making out…long kissing scenes. Sometimes one just has to make homemade films and get what you want!
Kangol2
Sounds like someone’s been watching EricFilms/Voyr/Noirmale!
barryaksarben
I get very tired of no one showing true desire. I know they are doing it for money but I want to hear the bottom begging for more and looking like it not stone faced. AND A TOP TO LOOK THE BOTTOM IN THE FACE
bachy
whore
abfab
Ho.
Diplomat
When u2 act like nuns it’s truly entertaining.
Mr.Gavin Elster
Um…..sexy, naturally hairy guys shaved and waxed. The whole attitude, even amongst non-gay men that a hairy, masculine body is somehow ugly. Subtle, artistic tattoos, i e. Celtic arm bands, etc , can be attractive, but the all-over, seemingly prison ink, and all the boring poetry and phrases written-out: UGH!
KissBananaPeels
1. More diversity in race, ethnicity and body type but white gay men are the consumers and target audiences for porn…therefore as white gay men are generally racists and biased I do not expect this to change. They want to get pounded by a Black or Hispanic man white pounding an Asian man. While, never losing any power.
2. Gay actors are mostly looking to make their money, buy their drugs and/or clout chase because they are running away from some issue whether it be the law, the abuse, etc.
3. “Straight” gay porn actors are mostly acting in porn because they have a felony arrest, addicted to drugs, or some other crime that prevents them from getting an honest job; some are actually curious but after getting paid they return to their lives.
4. There is less sex and more anal assaults so that is a BIG TURN OFF…
FreddieW
It’s not going to change because the number of gay guys who are turned on by porn that was scripted by political activists is some number approaching zero.
Political activists tend to decide that porn should be outlawed. They have the same hang-ups about sex as the Christian Right. They just get there by a different route.
FreddieW
And if political activists won’t try to outlaw it, they’ll attempt to make it inclusive. Throw some women and transgendered males into Men.com. Surely those horny gay guys won’t notice. Wrong! You just added brussel sprouts to Bananas Foster. I’m not going to notice?
monty clift
“white gay men are generally racists and biased”
Maybe you should stop trying to guilt people into finding bipoc/trans attractive. Your rape and conversion rhetoric is a major turn-off.
Kangol2
Monty, you reveal your racism by assuming “people” are all White and only find other White people attractive. Get help!
Magnus1999
There are a thousand less obnoxious ways you could have said the same thing. Your problem isn’t that “all white men are racist.” It’s that you clearly live in a small bubble and no one outside of it likes you because you’re an ass. Live your truth, bitch. See where that’ll get you.
Georgeiv2
The constant mechanical grunting often not in time with the action, This means that I just turn the sound off ,which is a pity for if anything is said which is part of the “plot” I miss it !
BEPVA
I don’t get the negativity about str8 guys in gay porn.
Many among us are wishful-thinking of certain str8 guys around us.
Heck, I’ve had sex w more than a few str8 guys when I was in the Military – and it was good…
My personal porn turnoffs – whether amateur or professional:
Too many skin issues – tattoos & piercings – blemishes, zits, rashes… (Whether from steroids, drug use or diet/hygene)
Bad/strange haircuts.
Femininity: including clothing, high voices and demeanor – this includes shaved body hair (trimming is fine)
Skin & bones or layers of blubber.
If the bottom can’t get hard – put him in a jockstrap or backless briefs please.
Dramatic moaning. Just be real.
Complicated story lines. Nobody is up for a Golden Globe here…
Pulling out for the cumshot: In real sex we shoot inside, whether its mouth or ass. Just be real.
Of course those are my preferences – and not everyone else’s.
I know how to select a different video if I see what I don’t like.
dbmcvey
Thank you for using “gay for pay” correctly in this article!
Kangol2
Kristen Bjorn, DawgpoundUSA, Papithugz, Citebeur, BiLatinMen, Alexander Studios, BigCityVideo, Taggaz, and Cazzo used to set the standard!
mateo
Aren’t we, after all, just talking about individual tastes when it comes to porn? And are there not niche categories to satisfy those tastes? I would think it’d be easier just to find your niche (if it can be said that your tastes limit you to that extent), ignore the rest of the genres, and leave them to others who may be into them. That, to me, seems more constructive instead of pissing and moaning about things that we might hate but which might be someone else’s bread and butter.