Gay-for-pay
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Gay-for-pay is a slang term accorded to male (and, less frequently, female) actors, pornographic stars or sex workers who identify as heterosexual but are paid to act or perform gay professionally. The term has also applied to other professions and even companies with the same core concerns and criticism in place.[1][2] The stigma of being gay or labeled as such has steadily eroded since the Stonewall riots began the modern gay rights movement in 1969. Through the 1990s, mainstream movie and television actors have been more willing to portray homosexuality, as the threat of any backlash against their careers has lessened and society's acceptance of gay and lesbian people has increased.[3]
In the gay pornography industry, which utilizes amateurs as well as professional actors, gay-for-pay speaks to actors labeled or believed to be straight who do gay sex scenes. Some actors who are actually gay or bisexual will be marketed as straight to appeal to the "allure of the unattainable", because straight men (or those newly coming out) are virgins to sex with other men, and "as in most gay male settings, the young, the muscular, and the unfamiliar are more sought."[4]
Critics[who?] object to the term because many people define sexual orientation by which gender one is attracted to regardless of which gender one has sex with. Others[who?] object to the term because it promotes internalized homophobia that being straight is more desirable.
