Photo Exhibit Explores Lives of Gay Porn Performers in Nigeria

In Nigeria, a country where the average income is approximately $120 per month, a gay porn performer can make up to about $550—which sounds like a rather respectable living. But in that country, performing in the mostly homemade gay porn videos that generate wide audiences online carries a significant risk: up to 14 years in prison. In 2014, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a new law that went by the name, Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill. But the law did much more than prohibit same-sex marriage in the West African nation of about 190 million people. Not only does the law prohibit sexual contact between members of the same gender, or cohabitation between sexual partners of the same sex, it outlaws even the “public show of same sex amorous relationship,” according to Human Rights Watch.  Criminal penalties range from between 10 and 14 years behind bars—or worse in some of the country’s northern states, which have adopted their own versions of Islamic Sharia law. In those areas, same-sex activity is punishable with death by stoning. Not surprisingly then, a new photo collection by Chuchu Ojekwe that was published Thursday online by Dazed and Confused magazine features some of Nigeria’s top gay porn stars, with their faces creatively covered by cloth hoods and sheets. The online photo exhibit can be viewed directly at this link. “Acting in gay porn is hard for queer guys in Nigeria because it is not legalized,” one performer, identified only as “Chrissy,” told the magazine. Though most Nigerian gay porn videos are shot by the performers themselves using cell phones, they must be filmed at neutral locations. Shooting at home is simply too risky, because the performer’s scene partner could easily turn informant, handing the address over to the police. But hotel rooms are also dangerous. In 2017 alone, 57 men were arrested in a single Nigerian hotel for taking part in homosexual conduct. Of those 57, according to Dazed and Confused, 47 are now on trial. But according to at least one Nigerian performer who spoke to the magazine, appearing in gay porn videos is no more scary for him than everyday life. “Am I scared? That’s a funny question because I’m terrified,” a performer identified as “Justin” told the magazine. “But I am always terrified. I’m gay and I live in Lagos of all places. When I go on a first date, I am scared because I don’t know if the person is going to turn out to be a policeman and arrest me.” Despite the risks involved, however, “the Nigerian queer porn scene is growing,” the magazine reports. One performer profiled by Dazed and Confused, “Shaun,” claims online followers numbering in the “tens of thousands” and says he earns as much from porn as from his day job—and now he plans a move to break into the international gay porn industry abroad. Photo by Godspeed ezenwa / Wikimedia Commons