Ever come across the term \u201cgay for pay\u201d? No? Well, let me explain a little bit about what it is, why it\u2019s controversial, reasons behind why someone straight might participate in gay porn and if it\u2019s ever okay to spend your money and time on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGay for pay\u201d refers to straight porn actors and sex workers who participate in same-sex sex scenes and acts in exchange for money. Usually, more money than they would receive doing straight sex scenes or acts within mixed sex pairings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some will disclose they are straight, others won\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some, straightness is part of the sex appeal, for others it\u2019s a violation of the queer experience. This creates a nuanced and multifaceted controversy that surrounds the gay for pay industry at large. Is it ethical, or exploitative? Does it appropriate queer culture, or provide a service? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several clashing and interconnected issues make gay for pay a controversial topic. From the allure of a better pay day and the fetishisation of straightness, to the weaponisation of gay for pay porn in anti-LGBTQIA+ arguments, it makes it thorny and divisive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Way back in September, 2001, a website for gay porn popped up. The site, known as Sean Cody, was filled with solo, group and hardcore porn showing seemingly straight-coded men. They were young, muscly, twunk-ish looking jocks that wouldn\u2019t have looked out of place on the football field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The all-American boy, straightness and the \u201cI\u2019ve never done this before\u201d trope were a shoo-in. The site rose in popularity, with many fresh-faced young men becoming household names. There was Brandon \u2013 real name Jefferey \u2013 for example, who peaked in popularity around 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Brandon\/Jeff has openly discussed his no-label approach to his sexuality, his peer Taylor \u2013 real name Justin Matthews \u2013 has long been open about his straight identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with the Shut Up Evan<\/em><\/a> newsletter in 2023, Taylor\/Justin opens up about being scouted at 17 (this seems to be a commonality shared between the stars, as Brandon\/Jeff was scouted at just 19 while waiting tables at Arbee\u2019s) and his career as a gay for pay porn performer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Brandon\/Jeff, Taylor\/Justin came from a humble background. At the time they were both recruited, they were both working hospitality jobs, looking at ways to make more money. When they were both approached, they both felt like getting paid for doing something they were doing at home for free (i.e. jacking off) was a pretty sweet deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking on the gay for pay aspect of his work, Taylor\/Justin said that he originally had thought, \u2018absolutely not,\u2019 but soon changed his mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was thinking about the dollar signs. I was born into poverty, so I was just thinking, \u2018How can I get my mom out of poverty? What can I do?’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to various posts on forums like Reddit and Quora, gay sex scenes pay better than straight-seeming scenes with women. Though it\u2019s hard to know, exactly, as there isn\u2019t necessarily a credible log of who gets paid what for what, just knocking about. However, some reports of it do exist in the digital archives of Mic Magazine<\/a><\/em>, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For straight men (and I do not include bi, heteroflexible, homoromantic or any other forms of sexual orientations within that umbrella), more money seems to be the main motivator for participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The appeal of straight men in gay porn is still popular today, as according to the 2025 PornHub Pride Report<\/a>, it is one of the most commonly viewed categories for 18-24 year olds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also the most popular category of porn in places like Poland, a country notorious for its anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment<\/a>, and the most-viewed gay categories across Colorado, Louisiana and Iowa. Colorado is currently facing a threat to its ban on conversion camps<\/a>; Louisiana recently voted against discrimination rights for LGBTQIA+ citizens<\/a>; and Iowa\u2019s new law bans updates to gender markers on birth certificates.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n It might be unreasonable to assume that this interest in straight porn is one of two things, a subversion of comp-heterosexuality and machismo, and a means to explore desire while combatting internalised homophobia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Subversion of this kind is seen in kink all the time \u2013 particularly kinks related to sportswear or scally-lads<\/a>. It can be freeing, liberating and affirming when explored consensually and mindfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, for those with internalised homophobia, it can be about exploring same-sex desire without feeling \u201cgay\u201d. In a VICE report on scally lads published in 2014<\/a> (read with caution \u2013 it\u2019s a product of its time) the author comments on one profile, which states \u201cI hate those fucking skinny jeans-wearing, glitter-faced queens. I like guys to be guys, and I might be a bottom, but I ain\u2019t no sub-bitch either.\u201d That the \u201cobsession with heterosexuality\u201d and \u201cfear of effeminancy\u201d is extreme enough to sound, well, homophobic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, straight gay-for-pay porn actor Andy Lee stated in an episode of the All Out<\/em> podcast with John Dean<\/a> \u2013 which tackled reasons behind the homo-erotic nature of laddish culture and its appeal to the gay community \u2013 that he owed his lifestyle to his gay fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n