Gay male pornography and the re/de/construction of postcolonial queer identity in Mexico

Abstract

Since colonial times, the figuration of the Latin(o) male homosexual has been highly exoticized and troped in western media accounts (Shohat and Stam 1994; Ramirez Berg 2002), as they are depicted as hypermasculine figures whose raw sexuality functions as an unquestionable sign of their inner primal machismo. This view on male (homo)sexuality has been further reinforced through the kind of images of Latin(o) men that have been presented in male gay pornography. Such stereotyped representations of male (homo)sexuality have permeated into a global, socio-sexual imaginary that persists in placing such men within a sexual and erotic order in which their bodies convey an extreme form of primal sexuality. As a result, the emergence of national gay pornographic industry(ies) in Mexico has resulted in a re-evaluation of the social and sexual notions commonly associated with male (homo)sexuality. The mestizo (mixed race) gay man is both deconstructed from his positions of sexual subordination (differently from submission) to a white subject (even when such coloured individuals take the active role during sex) and reconstructed in a new space of libidinal economy. This article offers an analysis of the role that national gay pornography has played in shaping Mexican gay men's perception of their own sexuality taking as a point of departure their own national and ethnic background. The research will focus on a number of films made by Mecos Films and Eros Digital in Mexico, and demonstrate that such films have challenged notions of gender and sexual universalism, and instead offer new alternatives for the production and execution of desire amongst coloured men.

You Like That, Pledge? Displays of Normalizing Sexual Rhetoric in Haze Him

“…Haze Him denigrates non-normative sexual orientations through homonormative narratives. Haze Him communicates homophobia, masochism, and a lack of self-worth to audience members (Fone, 2000;Hensley, 2011;Subero, 2010). Furthermore, Haze Him supports the neoliberal movement of taking homosexual bodies and only providing tolerance if one can fluidly move between heterosexuality and homosexuality (Duggan, 2003).…”

“…The disciplining of non-normative bodies shapes reality, as certain identities are separated and pushed into socially constructed appropriate public and private spaces. Haze Him contributes to this disciplining and communicates that heterosexuality is desirable and realistically achievable for gay men (Subero, 2010). Johansson and Hammare (2007) and Subero (2010) have argued that while pornography does not fully dictate one's sexual behavior, pornography greatly influences an individual's desire in both body and action.…”

“…Haze Him contributes to this disciplining and communicates that heterosexuality is desirable and realistically achievable for gay men (Subero, 2010). Johansson and Hammare (2007) and Subero (2010) have argued that while pornography does not fully dictate one's sexual behavior, pornography greatly influences an individual's desire in both body and action. Ultimately, Haze Him communicates that one can realistically have sex with a heterosexual body, and that one should strive to have sex with said body, because heterosexuality is the ideal sexuality (Blank, 2012;Butler, 1990;Warner, 1999).…”