This post is the fourth post in a series of coverage from the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference 2010, that took place Feb. 19 to Feb. 21, 2010, at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

WARNING: This post is not explicit, but it may not be work appropriate.

“Like alternative medicine, some people think porn is crazy and others think it is the best thing ever,” said Allison Lancaster, leader of the session “More Than Meets The Eye: Sexual Minorities in Porn.”

Often times, in girl-on-girl and guy-on-guy porn, the actors are straight people simply acting gay, not usually enjoy the sexual acts and are performing their job of showing pleasure. These films are made for a male audience, catering to stereotypical portrayals of these groups (like always showing two feminine women together).

But in porn made specifically for lesbians and gays, the actors usually identify as the sexual orientation they are portraying and seem to be enjoying themselves.

Porn is a business and wants to produce what will sell. Straight men are the primary consumers of porn, so it makes sense that it caters to them. But that consumer standard is changing.

For sexual minorities, porn is sometimes an art and means of expression, and companies are starting to realize there is a demand for this sort of porn. Companies producing porn for queers and by queers are starting to crop up in the market.

This workshop did not discuss transgender people in porn.