Awards Controversy Brews Over Barebacking in Berlin

Over the weekend, The Venus Erotic Expo in Berlin held their 2nd Annual David Awards and it was nothing if not controversial, with a verbal war begun on-stage by Chi Chi LaRue, who snagged Best U.S. Director and whose company, Rascal Video, was awarded Best Box Cover for In His Dreams.

According to those in the know, LaRue seemed shocked that she was even in attendance at an awards show that was glorifying bareback pornography and voiced her anger over this from the stage, denouncing bareback porn.

Meanwhile, Treasure Island Media was awarded Best U.S. Studio and the representative who accepted it gave LaRue a big, "Fuck you!" ... Yikes!

The show was also slated to present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Titan Media's Bruce Cam, but the company refused it in protest over the bareback controversy.

Now comes word that the U.S. companies are disputing the awards as being "paid off" by the bareback companies. Michael Lucas is chiming in claiming, "This year, the organizers told us point-blank that they will need sponsorship in order to give us a nomination and depending on the amount of money we would give they could even guarantee a win. We refused."


Okay. Let's all take a breath.

First of all, that's the way AVN has been running things since day one. Go talk to Gene Ross over at AdultFYI.com about all that. He used to work for them. Not to mention hordes of others who have since gone on to write for other publications where they openly discuss sponsorship earning awards. It is no big secret that those who pay for the most ads in trade publications win the most awards at their show. Let's not all feign shock over these revelations.

Secondly, I can remember earlier this year at the GayVN Summit in San Francisco, all anyone was talking about was how difficult it is becoming to sell American videos to a foreign market. Why? Because we are the only country left that is producing sex flicks with condoms en masse!

Perhaps the reason The David Awards didn't feel the need to warn anyone about bareback pornography being nominated was because in Berlin, it is considered no more controversial than any other kind of pornography. ...Because it's pornography! Not a sex educational video. The United States is the only country out there that sees fuck films as having some sort of moral responsibility -- namely because we're the only country that believes our citizens are stupid enough to not already know the difference between what is safe and unsafe, right or wrong, and that they're going to emulate what they see on a tape they grabbed wearing sunglasses and put into a paper back that was hidden in the back of a video store.

Condom movies aren't being bought by foreign distributors like they were a decade ago. It's become a problem to the point that Raging Stallion is digitally erasing condoms from the screen! There is no hiding from this issue.

Take a look at the polls here on my site. Bareback wins out every question: What are you favorite kinds of movies?, Where do you most want to see the guy's pop shot?, What companies are your favorite?

Take a look at all of the video on-demand theaters. The majority of the movies in their "Most Watched" columns are bareback.

If it is no surprise that bareback movies are now outselling condom films, you can only imagine what kind of fear this has put into the people who run companies who a few years back said, "We will never! ...Ever!"

And let's face it, those who make porn aren't doing it for their health. They're doing it because it's fun and because it makes them a lot of money. But no matter how much they're making, when they see the kind of dollar signs they could be making and either their ethics or their past vows stand in the way of getting those extra dollars, anger and judgment ensues.

You know, if you want to refuse to make bareback porn, nobody's stopping you.

But creating an out and out divide and a public war between studios, not stepping foot on ground that has a different point of view than your own is completely absurd and childish. Not that saying "fuck you" was all that adult either. Let us be clear on that.

My point is: Can't we all get along and be at the same functions in a civilized manned?

All personal opinions of bareback pornography aside, you have to admit, it's not going to go away at this point.

So don't you think we'd better stop trying to beat people over the heads and stop acting like our way is the only way pornography should be made? Don't you think we should stop saying if bareback pronographers don't do it our way then we're not going to even acknowledge their existence at major functions and we will fight at every turn because they are not worthy of the same rights we have in this line of work?

You know who else screams, "Our way is the ONLY way, your presence will not be acknowledged and you're not worthy of the same rights?"

Crazy born again holy rollers who dance in the aisle and fall over backwards.

Ask yourself how you're any different. Because that's about what you're all starting to look like.

We all know where to find the Bibles and the condoms, thanks.

I do not believe in dividing instead of uniting.

I didn't believe in it with the straight and gay porn communities. I don't believe in it between the condom and barebacking communities.

A lot of people got into this business and fell in love with it because it is a family. And it's us who are going to continually stand up and say it's okay for the crazy uncle and the drunken grandma to come to Thanksgiving dinner.

It's only one or two nights out of the year.