There is so much discrimination against the LGBT Community. It must stop NOW. But until we stop it amongst ourselves, how can we expect others to stop as well? Thank you, Michael, for once again bringing this kind of bigotry to our attention. You are truly one of my heroes.

Dear Michael:

I whole-heartedly agree with you! First of all, I have been a customer of yours for quite some time now, and of ALL the adult video companies, I find Lucas Entertainment to be of the highest quality and I consider you to be a great voice for the gay community.

In the current political climate that this nation now finds itself in, the last thing that there needs to be is discrimination in our own community. This Michael Tracy person should be ashamed of himself, and I would suspect he is a Republican or a "closet" Republican. Or, maybe he is just jealous of our success!

Please keep the faith, and I shall continue to support Lucas Entertainment, and it's PROFESSIONAL employees through my future purchases.

Sincerely,

Floyd Watson

FIRE THE BITCH!!!!!!!!!

I think it is unfortunate that people look upon ones business as a disgrace over another. It just goes to show you just how shallow people are in classifing themselves by methods of levels to associate importance over another person. If you are a millionaire you are more importance than a hard working middle class person? The same can be stated about this. What one needs to acknowledge is that a man is a man. There is no one man better than another and there is no job more important that the other. That is what makes us who we are. We are as individuals our own unique people. No one man is the same as another, therefore there should not be any judgements over a person, his business, his sex, his sexual preference, or color of skin. I commend you Michael Lucas on your on going commitment to stay above all of this ecspecially in the gay community. It is rather unfortunate that people can be so petty. Do know this however, you are making a change in the gay community. You have made an impact on me, and I am very appreciative of your on going efforts. Together in numbers our voice can be heard.

PS. If you need a camera person, let me know, lol, I maybe of service. All my best!

Dear Friend Michael,

I am with you on this. Out Professionals has never been a very organized group to be part of. I have had many issues with them in the past. We as a comminity should embrace each other, not cause conflict and headache. I am sure there are hundreds (If not thousands) of gay men in the NY Metro area who would love to work with Michael Lucas and Lucas Entertainment. Now, its beyond my understanding why would a gay out organization not want to keep us together and help those in need of employment. I will always support Lucas Entertainment and the efforts of Michael Lucas. By the way when are you coming by for a visit? We here at Gotham miss you. If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know.

Sincerely,

Claudio Pinto

Dear Michael,i'm with you. Recieve all my support. and in my opinion Mr. Tracy is making a terrible mistake with you and against the civil rights of the LGBT comunity, and he has to reconsider his ridiculous position and that inappropiate desition about your add, that is giving job opportunities to decent people.I'm sure as Mr. Watson said he is jealous about your successs.
Sicerely.
Roberto Perdomo.
Miami. fl.

To Michael--
I ENTIRELY agree with you on this matter. Lucas Entertainment is the epitome of "Professional". It does not matter what your "product" is, professional refers to the way in which you conduct yourself and your company and I can find no fault with LE. Your company provides a product like any other company here in America, or the world for that matter. The type of product is legal and therefore inconsequential in the big picture.
For a gay company to discriminate against a gay adult film company is ludicrous. Our entire focus as gay men has been historically based in sex and that happens to be what Lucas Entertainment happens to provide, and in an extremely classy way, I might add. Without the "porn" industry, I doubt there would be many "gay" businesses left for someone like 'OUT Professionals' to provide professionals for.
Moreover, for a gay company to discriminate against another gay company is repugnant to me. We are supposedly united under the rainbow flag to fight against oppression, when in truth, we are apparently oppressing and discriminating against ech other when we claim the same thing as so horrible from "the outside". Unbelievable.

Dear Michael,

This is just ridiculous!

Mr. Tracy should revisit the definition of community if that is his position.

See, a community isn't just composed of the people who have your personal stamp of approval.

A community is comprised of a number of elements including those which may deemed unwholesome, unwanted or unacceptable by some.

The fact that a number of people may object does not remove these elements from the fabric of said community.

Despite what some may think about you and your work, Michael, it is my strong belief that you are without a doubt an important and valuable member if the gay community at large--specifically that of New York City--and to deny you access to community resources is odious and unacceptable.

This must change or Mr. Tracy should be removed from his ill-gotten position immediately.

With Regards,

F. Daniel Kent
A&E Editor
Out & About Newspaper

Michael

Post a web address so we can send our comments and complaints to Out Professionals (like we all did a few years ago with the Fire Island Pines association).

Michael - Glad to see that you take on the stupidity and sickness of anti-sexualism. I don't know Tracy's background - but one thing is evident - he is nowhere near as bright as the literally hundreds of professional men I've shot over the years. I'd be willing to bet that I have more men with doctorates and professional accomplishments far exceeding anything Tracy can claim in my books, site and films and they are not mired in the sexual shame that Tracy evidences with his policy.

It's time for us to grow up and celebrate the beauty and divinity of our erotic energy. If we don't - we wind up doing stupid things like Tracy - or that Senator who couldn't keep his feet in his toilet stall. Sex phobias generate dumb behaviors. Tom Bianchi (Juris Doctorate for anyone who wonders if I have claim to professional credentials.)

Dearest Michael,

Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. As small an incident as this may appear to be, it seems to me to be clearly a case of self-loathing among the not-so-rich-and-semi-famous.

Just take a look at OP's big event, the yearly Fire Island Share-a-thon. You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people of color in attendance. Where's the Cherry Grove Share-a-thon with all those Latina lesbians? Nowhere to be found.

I have attended some of OP's meetings, found the group to be stuffy and clique-y and really only went when there was an interesting speaker. I guess subconsciously I felt like I didn't fit in -- short, Greek kid that I am -- even though I have a good job at a television station, do plenty of volunteer work (hence my title) and have given back to the community for many years.

The Michael Tracys of the world are tryng to "fit in." So, of course, anything they he can do to make himself feel superior over someone/something else will take precedence over doing the right thing.

I will e-mail OP with my thoughts. And please let Ann Northrop and Andy Humm know about this.

Thanks for your continued good work - and the videos ain't bad, either!

xoxox

Stella D'oro, the Queen of Vaccine
Fighting for an HIV Vaccine
(and, full disclosure, cast member of many a Cruising for Sex video years ago -- NOT as Stella!)

There is nothing unprofessional about the adult film business. Marriott Hotel chain, owned by Mormons, increases it profits for shareholders enormously by pay for view in their gurest rooms. It is a billion dollar industry with stock traded on the New York Stock exchange. For a prudish, gay man, owner of an employment service, to dictate that it is not a serious business is ludicrous.
To be a cameraman or technical sound man, takes professional training, and many graduated from film schools. They should be afforded the same employment search opportunities and any other professional.

I find this attitude, unfortunately, endemic in the gay community and have experienced it myself many, many times, with queer organizations that wanted to censor me as a writer or pigeon-hole me as a writer of "erotica" or "pornography" or simply queer books that cannot be taken seriously—the number of experiences would shock you. The saddest thing though about OP's president's attitude is that it's simpy stupid and unthinking. Would OP refuse to run an ad from Liberation Publications, the parent company of The Advocate, Out, and Alyson Books, because they publish several big, very profitable, slick gay skin mags—like Advocate Men and Freshmen? I remember, not that many years ago, when EVERYTHING involved with our community was considered by huge numbers of people as obscene: just that. Nothing else. There is a big, corporatized turn to right-wing Victorianism and repression and it's in the lgbt community too. It's sad that Michael Tracy's now representing a group like OP, because OP's meant a lot to a lot of people—maybe it's just time to replace him, and his kind of thinking.

Michael,what a sad state of affairs,when members of the gay community turn on a well respected memberof our community.internal homophobia is the worst kind.however he paints this decision,it is descrimination of the worst kind. who his he to decide what constitutes "professional business".your company manufactors a high quality product,which in turn employs hundreds,if not thousands of people.you have given time and substantial amounts of money to benefit our community.SHAME-SHAMe-SHAME

Michael,
Welcome to the club. I resigned from the Board of Out Professionals due to an untenable relationship with Mike Tracy. I suspect this 'policy' was a decision of Michael's, not the OP Board's, but this type of knee-jerk management is not unusual.
For the record, as a former member of the Board, I consider this an asinine action and it should be immediately rescinded by them and a formal apology made to your company.

Maury Schott

Everyone wants someone to put down.

It does seem particularly ridiculous to have such a view about honest business.

I suppose it's another of those terribly almost masculinist (I don't think there's an opposite to feminist... strange) ideas that the adult entertainment industry, and the idea of being free and happy within one's sexuality, is somehow shameful and expoitative and that anyone who is in a position of respect in the gay community as you are is wrong.

Or possibly a bigoted "I can tell you what to do because I run this site, you're wrong and I'm right" sort of schoolyard scuffles. I'd bet highly that you are far better known than he and he's just throwing his toys out of the pram.

It's not gay-against-gay discrimination. It's an employment website discriminating against porn-related enterprises. I think "Out Professionals" has the right to do this.

I suspect their logic is that they want to be seen as serious and mainstream, and that ads from a porn producer would be contrary to the image they're trying to create.

I can't say that I really blame them for that. It doesn't matter whether the owners of "Out Professionals" have look at porn. They're making a business decision.

Now, if you can show that "Out Professionals" refuses ads from gay porn producers while knowingly accepting ads from straight porn producers, then you'd have a case for gay-against-gay discrimination. But you've presented no such evidence.

p.s.: I have no connection with anyone involved in the dispute. I'm posting this comment because someone linked to it from Datalounge, a gay social site, and I happened to see it there.

Michael,

I have admired you, your company's work & your contributions to the community for years. I hope you rise above the person running this organization and continue to speak for our community. I am purposely not using his name or the org's name - additional publicity is not necessary. Please let Richard know that his efforts at the Center are appreciated. Thank you Michael & Richard!

I wanted to point out that based on his comment above, there's a possibility that Charles Wilson is a stupid asshole.

His criteria for determining whether this is gay-against-gay discrimination rests on whether OP is taking ads from straight porn producers.

Let's review, for the stupid asshole's benefit. Is Michelle Tracy gay? Yes. Is Michael Lucas gay? Yes.

Has Michelle discriminated against Michael? Yes.

What part of that does the stupid asshole Charles Wilson not understand?

The question, furthermore, is not whether OP has the right to restrict material on its site. The question is, rather, whether the gay community as a whole is going to buy into the prudish, hypocritical morality of bourgeois society. Out Professionals take employment ads from financial companies that invest in countries, such as Dubai, where gay people get whipped for having sex with each other, as per Sharia law. Yet it doesn't take help wanted ads from a gay entertainment company that enhances gay people's lives when gay people choose to have them enhanced in this particular way. What is wrong with this picture? Can the stupid asshole Charles Wilson tell us why investing in Dubai is "mainstream and serious" and why that is desirable?

Which should the gay community encourage more? Investments in anti-gay Dubai, or professional employment opportunities with Lucas Entertainment?

Just as OP has the right to restrict material on its site, the rest of us have the right to speak up when its restrictions seem backwards, prudish, and based on a Puritanical morality that gives to sexual repression more dignity, respect and energy than it gives to the worldwide struggle for human rights.

Charles Wilson should take his "serious and mainstream" blah blah blah, and his hypocrisy and deplorable grammar "It doesn't matter whether the owners of "Out Professionals" have look at porn" and maybe go for a GED.

What is this bullshit obsession with the "mainstream," anyway? Is this the same "mainstream" that broadcasts Bush's Iraq war propaganda all over the place? Is it the mainstream that sees a racist remark by the officer arresting Senator Craig but says virtually nothing about it? ("This is the kind of thing we expect from the guy out of the hood.")

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much, all of you, for all your support on this.

I would really appreciate it if you would send your thoughts to the following email addresses to voice your opinions:

richard@gaycenter.org
info@outprofessionals.org

XXX,
Michael Lucas

Scott Rose, I made a narrow point, which is that the Out Professionals enterprise didn't discriminate against Michael Lucas because he's gay. It discriminated against him because he's a porn producer. Therefore, it's not "gay-on-gay discrimination." It's discrimination of a different sort.

As for whether or not the discrimination is prudish, hypocritical, and bourgeois, and whether gay people should "buy into" it or not, I can recognize an argument for OP's stance being too timid. In fact, if I set the policy I'm not sure I'd be so timid. (More about that below.) All I'm saying is that it's not "gay-on-gay discrimination."

A few other things:

1. My "despicable grammar." Actually, it's my despicable copy editing. I neglected to put an -ed ending on a word. O! The horror! Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. This time I ran it through a spell check before posting. I hope nothing got through.

2. I don't question your or Michael Lucas's right to complain about OP's policy. What I am saying, though, is that the policy deserves the correct label.

3. I despise George W. Bush, his policies, his lies, and his war, every bit as much as you do. But those things aren't at issue here. What's at issue is what Out Professionals is doing, and what that organization's logic might be.

4. I don't have anything against porn or prostitution, but I also don't think that those enterprises have an inherent right to advertise anywhere they want to. Michael Lucas has the right to do what he does, and so does Out Professionals. even though I don't blame the organization for its discrimination against Lucas, if I ran it I'd probably be inclined to accept the ad for the professionals described in Lucas's complaint. Of course, the next thing we'd hear is a demand that ads for on-screen talent be accepted. For Out Professionals, I suspect it's a question of where to draw the line. I can understand why it did what it did in excluding Lucas.

I sent my voice of disapproval via e-mail to info@outprofessionals.org

I received a response, possibly from Michael Tracy and yet unsigned.

Whoever was too cowardly to sign that communication claimed that the Out Professionals policy is in place so people can view their job announcements from corporate offices, where corporate firewalls "prevent access to sites promoting adult entertainment."

I don't buy that argument. First off, corporate bosses do not want their corporate employees using corporate computers and corporate time to look for jobs in different businesses, whether those jobs are in banks or in Lucas Entertainment. That argument is bogus. Also, while corporate firewalls might be able to distinguish between pornographic sites and non-pornographic sites, they definitely can not detect if an Out Professionals job listing that puts an e-mail response address and does not link to any other site is advertising for an accountant or whatever in an adult entertainment concern or in a bank.

The OP response to me also said that Michael was given the options of joining OP, and of approaching the OP board to find a compromise. Investigation of this question reveals that Michael had somebody in his corporate offices join OP, and that doing so did no good. If the President of the OP board was not able to tell Michael over the phone what arrangements could be made to effect a "compromise," who would be able to do that?

I also had pointed out that OP places help-wanted ads from companies with investments in countries under Sharia law that persecute gay people. I asked OP to acknowledge the validity of my point, involving moral hypocrisy, of not accepting ads from adult entertainment companies that do no harm to gay people, while accepting ads from companies that support the wanton murders of gay people in other countries.

I was told by Out Professionals that "we do not see any validity" in that point.

Guess that lets everybody know where Out Professionals stands, morally.

this is certainly discrimination and i hope that something can be doen about it. you are right to bring it to attention of a wider audience. there can be nothing worse than relentless moralizing it is at its worst when someone claims to be fair and then uses it as a cover to practice discrimination. Surely there are enough hurdles in the entertainment industry that seem to block entertainers from moving from adult work to mainstream (real sex to fake sex scenes), without a job agency deciding to discriminate aswell. you are very admirable to combine work with a blog like this, well done.

Mr. Lucas-

HE MUST BE STOPPED AT ALL COST................!

If you let this go unchecked it continues and continues......Who the HELL does he think he is?

Mr. Lucas-

HE MUST BE STOPPED AT ALL COST................!

If you let this go unchecked it continues and continues......Who the HELL does he think he is?

There would be more truth in advertising if Out Professionals changed its name to Semi-Closted Professionals.

Then too; Scott Rose originally said there was a "possibility" that Charles Wilson is a stupid asshole.

I feel sooooooooooo embarrassed for Charles! He himself keeps coming back here and proving that he is, in fact, a stupid asshole.

"Out professionals" need to review their policy; because their present one is not acceptable.
Michael and many of his colleagues have produced work of the highest professional standard; and provided a service to meet a growing demand from an appreciative and responsible adult audience. The year is 2007 and not 1907: and a certain person who is responsible for this discriminatory decision against the adult film industry needs to move with the times or else go into retirement.

Furthermore those who work in the adult film industry pay their taxes the same as any other person does: they are therefore entitled to equality and respect.