Devon Hunter

Dear @SpencerReedXXX,

Before we go any further I want you to know that I am writing this with a very calm and measured tone. Please consider reading “Misogyny as the language of homophobia.” I am taking control of this (which I know is something difficult for you to accept), because the messaging here is mine, not yours. Take a deep breath, pause before you continue, and hear my words as I am telling you they are spoken.

Yesterday you sent out a general attack against your female fans, calling them all over-sensitive cunts, even though there are perhaps only a few very specific individuals toward whom you meant to air your griefs. One of these specific individuals is my friend, @JPBarnaby, and you singled her out for particular abuse. You did this, because she has dared to defy your plan to blacklist and ruin someone. You consciously chose to attack her in a way that is obvious in its intent to cause emotional harm: You said she was a pathetic person and an unskilled writer. You are not the person to make either of these judgments, since you have never met JP and you write at the level of a poorly educated 8th grader. I stand behind the comment I made that, “I have read four of JP’s books, and she knows more about gay love than you ever will.”

There are many “Ladies of Gay Porn” (#LOGP), and they are a diverse bunch. @JPBarnaby and her writer friends thrive on fantasy, and they value the creative and emotive parts of sexuality whose nuances are utterly lost on you; @ErynnVaehne says her “body is made of water and gay porn,” and she works in the M4M industry by specific choice; @MamaTStar and women like her are loyal and protective friends to men who might not otherwise have affirmation from anyone else; and @PornBiatch enthusiastically comments on the state of gay videos, making many astute observations that the industry should heed. And none of these women are cunts. Not. A. Single. One. These women are not fag hags, nor are they fruit flies: They are honey bees. Can I get a witness? (*insert praise and speaking in tongues)

You strike me (excuse the pun) as a bullying thug who operates at a very base level driven to extremes by steroid abuse, and your neanderthal methods are not only manipulative but transparent. Your grossly dismissive attitude toward women is not only mean spirited, it is also financially unsound. Women make up a significant portion of your audience, though most of them are silent and are reluctant to be known (probably because of situations like the one you created yesterday). Personally, I believe that people should avoid paying for their own oppression, and I am again voicing my opinion that people of color should avoid racist videos, gay men should avoid homophobic videos, and women should avoid supporting people like you.

A few random, unrelated facts before closing: Assault is illegal. So is filing false charges. While we’re at it, lying to police is generally ill-advised, given that it’s possibly a form of obstruction of justice. Falsifying injuries in order to commit slander or libel is unwise, and perjury (unless you’re a member of Congress) will not generally be tolerated by most judges. Also, before you presume to start bullying me for defending my friends and ideals, call the people at Sean Cody and Queerclick and ask them how well that tactic works against me. I’m not afraid of them, and I’m not afraid of you.

Sincerely,

Devon Hunter

From time to time I encounter or learn about behavior that is so disappointing that it becomes necessary to address it as a point for Career Advice. I think it is time to bring special attention to the three most important guiding principles of Escorting as a modality of Adult Entertainment. There is (or at least there ought to be) a minimum expectation of decorum in any career, and when that lowest measure of professionalism is not only violated but on some level celebrated, a negative stereotype about Adult Entertainers is strengthened, and then it is time for me to refer back to the Mission of this blog, so that poor examples do not become the only examples.

I invite you to consider the information and videos in this story on “The Sword” before continuing, in order to understand the context of what I am going to discuss, and why I feel it is important to do so. Although each person is responsible for his/her own actions and the opportunities or consequences they create, I would like to use this space to remind both potential escorts and the reading/viewing/hiring public that negative stereotypes, although based to some extent on anecdotal situations, do NOT apply to all people within a community or industry. Here are what I consider to be the three guiding principles of Escorting:

1. Discretion – for a client’s privacy. Even if, for whatever inexplicable reason, a client were to request, permit, insist, or encourage you to publicly divulge his/her identity, you should never do so. Regardless of how well the client may think s/he has considered the consequences to him/herself, s/he probably has not considered how this will affect YOU. Being connected in any way to revealing the identity of a client will automatically make you suspect to almost all other clients who might otherwise consider hiring your time. Your judgment, sense, and discernment will be justifiably called into question. Do not bring unnecessary attention to your clients!
2. Discretion – for your behavior. You are in charge of creating your own reality, so you should consider carefully what you do publicly, especially if you are a person of renown. Clients often do a considerable amount of research before hiring a particular escort, and imitating Paris Hilton is not generally considered to be endearing. You attract that which you generate: If you generate trouble/drama/chaos, you will attract people who will create more for you. Again, I tell you to consider carefully your image and brand, so that you can attract the clients you want and enjoy a career that is rewarding to you. If you do something foolish, illegal, cruel, or controversial DO NOT BRAG ABOUT IT ON THE INTERNET (unless generating that particular hype and image helps you maintain the brand that attracts the type of clients you want). As “The Sword” illustrates, there are plenty of people who are willing to bring attention to you when you make mistakes, so you don’t need to do anything to help them. Do not bring unnecessary attention to yourself!
3. Discretion – for your opinions. Although it is true that you should be honest with others and yourself, you should also consider how diplomacy factors into what you say. Expressing shock online that a client is “hot” does not merely bring attention to one particular client’s attractiveness. It also, by default of your shock, betrays your true feelings about all your other clients, and is probably a bitter pill for them to swallow when they learn of it. This comment on the “The Sword” needs to be addressed: “Later, after he was given the ‘OK’ by the client, [the escort] tweeted a photo of them together. I concur with [the escort] that [the client] is kind of fucking sexy, for someone who hires escorts. Holy shit.” Let me say this right now: ALL TYPES OF MEN HIRE ESCORTS. I have many attractive clients, some of whom are more attractive than myself. To presume that only one particular type of man hires is to ignore the fact that any number of men will hire for any number of reasons. If you wonder what kind of man hires escorts, go to your local gourmet grocery store at 6 o’clock when everyone has left work, and take a look around at all the people there. These are the men who hire escorts. Do not bring unnecessary attention to people’s vulnerabilities!

At the end of June, 2010 I gave a substantial interview to Jayson for his podcast. He interviews a variety of people, and I just happen to be one of the porn models he has interviewed. Jayson has a wide variety of conversations with many interesting people, and I would definitely encourage you to visit his site and peruse the archived conversations. I particularly enjoy the way Jayson injects witty, gay humor into EVERYTHING. He really is wonderful to talk to.

If you have 30 minutes (and the requisite interest in anything I would blab about), I suggest you listen to our conversation. We discussed so many different topics (in no particular order): Stripping, male and female poles, and the economy; DC FUK!T and safe sex; sexual objectification vs. dehumanization; spirituality and guilt; desperation; dating; pricing yourself as an escort; instinct vs. advice; and the list goes on and on. (Which reminds me: One of the very first blog entries I ever wrote came up in this conversation: Your Dollar is Worth About 88 Cents to Me)

I was speaking without a microphone close to my mouth, so I apologize if there are a few moments when Skype had trouble picking up my voice. Other than that, however, I feel that Jayson did a great job of asking a variety of pertinent questions. I welcome any responses here, and I’m sure Jayson wouldn’t mind if you stalked him.

Click here: Cock-2-Go Interview with Devon Hunter

As many of you will remember, I’m the former Sean Cody model whose legal name was revealed in retaliation for speaking about their process for making videos, and I want to add my voice to this discussion about Mason Wyler’s HIV-status being leaked. No matter how Mason’s status became known, it wasn’t by his own choosing, and that should not be tolerated AT ALL. His medical information is private, and the status of that information is protected by law for many reasons (including the issues of stigma and discrimination mentioned on the discussion board at The Sword already).

As for legal names and other forms of private information that we models have to share for employment and tax purposes, I want to reiterate that I am absolutely ashamed of the people at Sean Cody for going out of their way to prove that they are everything I wrote about them. I hope Mason will be okay, and I hope some guarantee for privacy will begin to be worked into standard contracts, so that lapses such as those at Cody Media (and possibly Next Door Media?) can be countered with harsh legal penalties.

I wish I knew of a way to insist upon it, so that other models wouldn’t be under this threat.

I have been asked repeatedly how I decided to use the name Devon Hunter, and in the aftermath of the Sean Cody discussion I should finally tell this story. You see, someone has decided (in a fit of revenge) to release my legal name to the public. I have been waiting for someone to finally expose my personal business to the world, without consideration for my safety (and all because I have dared to describe the ways in which gay-for-pay pornography is destructive to gay men). Shame on you, sir. Shame on you. You are my gay brother, but I am ashamed of you.

Fine.

My name is (edited). My entire family knows about my career, as do almost all of my friends. I chose the name Devon, because I knew a man by that name who was beautiful but humble; I chose Hunter, because I knew one who was not particularly handsome, but confident nonetheless; and I thought putting them together in one person would be the ideal for which I would strive. So, now if you want to waste your time looking all my private information up, you can knowing that internalized homophobia has put me at the center of the target, but that I’m still here and I won’t stop blogging about my experiences in the adult entertainment industry.

I do not back down from intimidation.

I don’t have anything to hide. Shame on you, sir. Shame on you. I hope this decision you have made will further illustrate why models should NOT work for your homophobic company.

Click here to see how Sean Cody may try to hurt you if you speak about their homophobic practices.