A long long time ago and in what almost feels like another lifetime, my boyfriend got offered a gig making unconventional gay porn. This was back before the Internet was quite fast enough for streaming serious porn, so the gig meant VHS tapes produced by a co-op. We watched some of them together, and they were really nice, quite a refreshing change from professional porn of the era. Real guys getting together for really fun sex without a lot of toxic tropes.

My boyfriend ended up not accepting the offer, feeling not quite confident enough about his body. (Also, he said he'd feel weird if our foster son ever found out about it.) But the fact that he was not a preternaturally sculpted gym queen well supposed to be part of the appeal, I think.

I don't know whatever happened to the porn co-op, but professional gay porn hasn't gotten any better. It's all about gym queens and the kinds of perfect bodies that are unattainable for most people.