Demand for more accurate depiction of African Americans in the adult entertainment industry

The images of African Americans in the adult industry are largely atypical of the true African American experience. The perpetuation of racist and stereotypical images prevalent in the adult industry work to foster unhealthy and diseased perceptions of African Americans and render the majority of African Americans without avenue for healthy erotic expression. The perpetuation of the Black woman as the Ghetto Bitch, Ghetto Whore, and Ghetto Freak is not reflective of the vast and overwhelming majority of Black women. The perpetuation of the Black man as the barely literate, one-dimensional bull is offensive and steeped in sick prejudices that are not reflective of the vast majority of African American males.

The quality of Black or Ebony adult material available is horrific. Internet sites tend to list ebony or interracial content as fetish as if there is something freakish or abnormal about Black sexuality that sets it apart from the norm. The videos available are as low budget as one can possibly get; the actors and actresses are usually taken from the most disenfranchised and marginalized portion of the population, the sets appear to be nothing more than housing project residences with cameras and lights set up. Similarly, Black oriented magazines seem to produce a fair amount of income from the most minimal of investment. This not only fosters a belief in the members of the economically disadvantaged Black community that sex is somehow the equivalent of Black identity and the only way out of poverty but also reinforces a false and offensive belief in members of other races that people of African descent are nothing more than highly-sexual, primitive beasts.

We, the undersigned, hereby demand that the following conditions IMMEDIATELY be set forth by the decision makers of the adult industry that knowingly and willfully sustain these offensive images of African Americans in order to make a profit. We call for:

The immediate cease and desist of the use of the word Nigger (or any pronunciation thereof) in adult films. That word should not ever be used in connotation to sexual arousal. When used in that context, it becomes the sexual trigger for some and they then associate that word with Black sexuality. The word nigger is a racial slur, not an aphrodisiac. While the use of the word has become commonplace in African American vernacular, that does not mean that its acceptable to promote or convince anyone that its meaning has somehow been morphed into something positive or benign.

Intentional and concerted effort to be made to show African Americans in a more favorable and well-rounded light. Black people are capable of more than interracial couplings and Freak Fest Extravaganzas. Black adult stars are rarely ever featured together, implying that Black people are only arousing when paired with white people. All black adult entertainment usually panders to the lowest common denominator, virtually excluding those individuals that might be seeking adult entertainment that does not originate from housing projects or Black Bike Week.

The reinvestment of profits made from the adult industry Black market be made into inner city neighborhoods to improve schools and provide job training to rectify the intentional exploitation of lower income African Americans. If there is to be even the pretense of racial equality in this country, then there must be concerted efforts made to rectify the educational and vocational imbalances that exist in urban areas. Reinvestment of funds made from the exploitative measures of the adult industry that has capitalized on disenfranchised Black people is step one in a good faith effort to show the African American community at large that mainstream America believes that everyone can achieve given the proper tools.

An immediate cease and desist of the practice of using economically disenfranchised African Americans as tools for adult entertainment. The very nature of the practice is racist and offensive. It gives people of other races with the false impression that Black people are stereotypical caricatures only capable of base behaviors. It leaves the victims themselves with a false sense of identity by promoting the concept that all they are capable of is sex in exchange for money. Most importantly, it is not entertaining or arousing for the vast majority of African Americans that exist outside of that reality. It is offensive to suggest that showing such a miniscule portion of the Black community in an adult light will be source for arousal for all.

African Americans that come from all walks of life and aesthetic expression be represented in tasteful, erotic scenarios. Black women can be beautiful and sexy with natural hair yet they seem to be dangerously missing from the adult industry. Showing image after image solely of African American female buttocks simply serves to objectify and dehumanize the subjects. Apparently, lighter complexioned African American men are not considered attractive or sexual because their presence in the adult industry is minimal which only serves to reinforce the Mandingo, cotton-picking, big-dicked-Negro-as-Buck stereotype. That negatively defines Black manhood as being equivalent to skin tone and penis size.

While it is true that if these demands are not met, the adult industry will continue to operate utilizing these racist and offensive practices without much repercussion. Implementing these changes however will usher in a new wave of Ebony adult entertainment that will appeal to larger percentages of African American and mainstream populations alike. The adult industry must be held accountable for perpetuating and profiting from stereotypes that must be dismantled.