Demystifying Gay Porn

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Raised Mennonite, Ray Dalton spent years in the catering and food industry before the 2008 financial crash pushed him toward an unlikely career change: entering gay porn at 40.

Ray joins Demystifying Gay Porn to talk about that transition, his years as an adult performer, sobriety, sex and aging, and his evolution from porn star to event organizer. He went on to create the drug-free, sex-positive Fornication parties, which eventually became the F Tour.

From Mennonite roots to the food industry, adult film, and building his own sex-positive events, Ray Dalton tells the story of a life defined by reinvention.

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In this episode of Demystifying Gay Porn, we take on three of the more challenging—and ultimately insightful—stories we’ve explored: filmmaker Christopher Rage, his notorious film My Masters, and the complicated life and legacy of Scott O’Hara.

Together, they offer three very different perspectives on gay adult film history, from Rage’s provocative approach to filmmaking and the extremes of My Masters, to O’Hara’s evolution from performer to writer, publisher, and outspoken observer of sexuality and gay culture.

These weren’t always easy subjects to unpack, but looking at them together reveals a fascinating side of the industry and the people who helped shape it.

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In this episode of Demystifying Gay Porn, we're taking a closer look at one of the most influential filmmakers in gay adult cinema, Jean-Daniel Cadinot, whose intimate, cinematic approach helped redefine French gay pornography. We also explore one of his most celebrated films, Harem: Sex Bazaar, examining why it remains one of the most discussed productions of the 1980s. Rounding out the episode is a profile of Rod Garetto, the charismatic Latin performer whose career connected many of the industry's most important studios and directors.

Whether you're interested in LGBTQ+ history, adult film history, or the evolution of gay cinema, this episode offers a deeper look at the people and films that helped shape the industry.

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David SF, also known as David Wichman is an award-winning author whose work is shaped by nearly two decades as a sex worker—bringing a rare, unfiltered perspective to conversations around desire, intimacy, and shame. His writing doesn’t sanitize the experience; rather it leans into it.

In his new book, The Four Rooms, David invites readers to explore sexual freedom and self-acceptance by confronting the parts of themselves they’ve been taught to hide.

I've been following David for years after working with him in 2018. When I saw he released this book and we would be at the same place, at the same time, I reached out to reconnect. In our interview, he speaks candidly about that journey—what he’s lived, what he’s learned, and what most people still aren’t willing to say out loud. Enjoy!

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Matt Sterling was one of the key figures behind the evolution of gay adult cinema in the 1970s and 1980s — even if his name isn’t widely known today.

In 1986, director John Travis released a gay adult film starring Jeff Stryker that would help change the landscape of gay adult entertainment.

That film was called Powertool.

Jeff Stryker became one of the most recognizable stars of gay adult cinema during the 1980s, helping  redefine masculinity, branding, and visibility during the VHS era.

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Before the OnlyFans, streaming and internet — the gay adult entertainment industry of the 1980's became a cultural force that changed gay history forever.

In this Season 5 prologue of DGP, we explore how VHS technology, the AIDS crisis, and a new generation of filmmakers and stars transformed gay adult cinema from underground entertainment into a powerful form of visibility, identity, and survival.

This is the first part of the story of the 1980s gay porn revolution — the people, the films, and the moment that reshaped the industry.

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In the 1970s, gay erotica was just coming in to its own and it was revolutionary. Bold, new ideas from filmmakers and underground studios transformed the landscape of sexuality, freedom, and representation. 

From the rise of artistic adult cinema to the creation of openly gay narratives, discover how these trailblazers helped shift culture, challenge censorship, and change the way the world saw love and identity.

*Video Podcast of this episode premieres on Thursday October 16th at 7:00pm on Youtube.

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The early days of making porn films were a grey zone which was very vast and unexplored. You could tell a story while making a hardcore film. In 1974 legendary filmmaker Toby Ross made his first film. Chances are… you’ve never heard of him. But he was filming gay stories when Hollywood didn’t even acknowledge we existed.

Ross was known for playful, sexy films—but there is one film in his collection that is something else entirely. Part art film, part psychodrama, part vintage porno. 

Big Bill Eld, was only in a handful of titles during the golden age of gay erotica but his unforgettable image and legacy has endured the test of time. 

On this episode we are going to celebrate the strange, bold, kinda beautiful world of Toby Ross, a prolific visual storyteller who was one of the first of his kind on the west coast making thought provoking and innovative gay porn films with full-on plots, characters, even comedy.

We will explore one of the most slept-on films in gay erotic film history Do Me Evil. This isn't your typical vintage gay adult film. It’s a fever dream, a noir, a psycho-sexual puzzle, and yes — it still has plenty of skin. 

And we are going to celebrate Bill Eld, a star whose career began as big as his well..and faded into obscurity just quick. 

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Arthur J Bressan Jr. was of the few iconic filmmakers in the history of gay erotic cinema that saw the importance of weaving and capturing  our history while at the same time making it okay to watch educational stuff with your porn. 

Arthur J. Bressan's gay erotic feature film, Passing Strangers, was a departure from the gay erotic film genre and is one of the first notable examples of his unique tendency to integrate erotic sequences into conventional queer narratives.

The  fresh-faced gay adult film star Johnny Dawes became an accidental porn star and managed to work for many of the biggest studios of the golden age.  

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Chuck Holmes was a gay adult film pioneer and gay rights activist who founded Falcon Studios in the early 1970s and reshaped the golden age of gay porn into the industry it is today. 

 Widely acknowledged as the best erotica gay video for all time, The Other Side of Aspen, Falcon’s 1978 hit became an instance classic, spawned several sequels and remains a best seller.

If there was ever a superstar that is well-known, much loved and remembered today from the golden gay of gay erotica…that superstar is Al Parker.  The epitome of the everyday man, who can fit in to any scenario, Al Parker became an instant eye-catching success after posing for the very magazine company that years earlier had begun his own sexual awakening. 

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