Behind the Scenes

Porn has become so ubiquitous these days -- everywhere you look there's another porn website vying for your attention. Anyway, for some reason I got an e-mail from MansImage.com explaining that they'd give me a chance to explore their site if I was interested in doing a review. Free porn!

In case you haven't noticed, internet porn has evolved to the point where every site needs an angle -- from straight, college jocks to men in suits to midgets. And so it is with MansImage. Their angle is that they are focused on behind the scenes action. Along with their photo sets, they include videos from the photo sets, along with interviews and webcam stuff.

One of the things I like about the site is that they have different guys than I'm used to seeing -- who the hell tells the supposedly straight college jocks that they're supposed to shave every bit of hair on their body so they look like a pre-pubescent boy? Ick. So, thumbs up to MansImage to having some hot guys with hair. That brings me to my favorite part of things -- model Matt York (pictured above). Reminds me of a gay Dan Futterman. HOT! Strikes me as a nice Jewish boy you'd want to marry, in addition to being hot.

A few downsides -- on just a technical level, their navigation system freaks out when you use Firefox. Content-wise, there isn't going to be as much as a more established site. Because these videos are taken from photo shoots, there's also not much beyond solo stuff and some playful groping. Not sure if they're looking to do more hard-core stuff.

On a conceptual level, there's one basic issue: In my opinion, porn is all about fantasy and appearance. Obviously real life doesn't happen the way it does in porn. What's more, the reality of what happens on a photo shoot is removed from the finished product. At least with the video content, all you're getting is the behind the scenes looks, which consists of the photographer taking photos and glimpses of the video guys -- even if they're off camera, there is no fantasy element, just the reality that this is a job for all these people. In an interview with Matt York on the site, he hits the nail on the head saying that when he watches porn, he's objectifying the guys and doesn't really want to know their personalities or look behind the scenes. I tend to agree. I think the behind the scenes stuff is great, but that's more icing than cake.