LOS ANGELES—Sean Zevran, one of the most popular and prolific performers in the industry, shared his opinion on the current state of race in the gay adult space in the article “Race, Porn, & Naked Honesty” on EFNIKS.com—which began in 2016 as a blog for hobbyists in the LGBTQ/people of color community and positions itself as “the space for Queer & trans people of color at the intersection of art, scholarship, and community.”
Written under his real name of Josiah Jennings, the opinion piece comes as a reflection on race and the industry following the announcement of the 2018 GayVN Award nominations the day before Thanksgiving—and the subsequent backlash over the Best Ethnic Scene category and small overall number of non-Caucasian nominees. The discussion trended on social media following performer Hugh Hunter’s refusal of his nominations three days later, when he took the industry to task for its “veiled racism and bigotry” in a Twitter post. (GayVN announced three days later that the Best Ethnic Scene Category was being eliminated and merged with the Best Duo category, noting, “We’ve done the best we could this year to be inclusive in all categories, but we know we can and must do better.”
In his EFNIKS post, Zevran acknowledges a long history of award shows (both straight and gay) using ethnicity as a differentiator in categories, “But this year it seems these categories are coming under scrutiny, and the subject of racism in gay porn and, indeed, the gay community as a whole, is lighting up gay media.”
The performer, who is biracial, notes he reached out to AVN CEO Tony Rios for more clarity and information on the company’s decisions. On EFNIKS, he writes: “I’m fairly confident there was never any racist intent behind the initial decision to include a Best Ethnic Scene category. However, people of color know all too well that intent is not a sufficient test for whether the person or thing in question is inherently racist, particularly when said person or thing reinforces systemic racism and racial stereotypes.”
Zevran shares that he is torn on the issue, and describes his reasoning for also withdrawing his own nominations (including Performer of the Year and two Best Duo Sex Scene nods initially included in the Best Ethnic Scene category). On EFNIKS, he says that he wants “to show my fans, especially those of color, and the rest of the industry, that I am serious about wanting to see real change.” He also questions Hunter’s motives.
In “Race, Porn, & Naked Honesty,” Zevran shares that his conversation with GayVN was “professional, understanding, and compassionate. GayVN has acknowledged its missteps and expressed interest in reaching out to more actors, studios, and fans of color in order to better understand how to tackle this issue. That is how progress is made: by talking to people, getting their perspective, listening, learning, and turning knowledge into action.”
The award-winning Zevran initially grabbed the industry’s attention in 2013 as a performer with Randy Blue, and a year later began his long and successful relationship with the Falcon Studios Group, appearing in dozens of hit films under the Falcon, Raging Stallion and Hot House banners—most recently including the smashes Earthbound: Heaven to Hell 2 and Code of Silence. He has also worked with CockyBoys and has a contract with Fleshjack, which offers a replica dildo of the performer.
To read Zevran's full commentary on “Race, Porn, & Naked Honesty,” go to EFNIKS.com.
