Racialicious Crush Of The Week: Keni Styles

By On March 2, 2012 · 34 Comments

Racializens, you know we love some serious, head-sharpening news and analysis around here. But, shit, sometimes we gotta cavort and kick up our heels (to bite a phrase from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Avery Brooks). And Friday is that day!

Sometimes it involves some interior-design loveliness (blame/credit that on me because I’m sometimes found daydreaming about what a brick-and-mortar Racialicious office would look like), some booty-shaking (that’s Arturo’s department, being a DJ and all), or some sort of smoove mischief (all Latoya, ’cause she rolls like that).

Somewhere in all of this, we’ll shoutout folks we wanna love up–heretofore to be known as The Racialicious Crush Of The Week.

Our first Crush is none other than porn star (and Tumblrer–so NSFW) Keni Styles.

Courtesy: http://vousetnulautrex.tumblr.com/post/10432750303

::slow clap::

When I told him about our plan to love him up on this blog via Twitter, he responded:

Besides his rocking The Fahn like it was custom-made for him (his tats alone, y’all!!!), we love Styles because he’s helping change some conversations around Asian male stereotypes, namely being sexually undesireable because US (white and male) society gender-polices Asian and Asian American men as “less masculine,” be that read as “nerdy”, less “endowed” than other men, and/or some orientalist-based foolishness. (This tends to be more “and” than “or.”)

Oh…and Styles has been doing this through the medium of mainstream US hetero porn, as racist as it is. Since 2006.

This is what Hyphen Magazine says about our Crush last year:

There are very few Asian American men starring on mainstream TV and movies, but in straight porn, they were totally missing in action until Styles came along.

A few other Asian American men have made some inroads (Asian men are common in gay porn, more fodder for stereotyping), but Styles is the first to make it big, so to speak, in straight porn.

Jezebel’s Dodai Stewart waxes orgasmic about him:

Unlike female porn stars — Jenna Jameson, Sasha Grey, Traci Lords — it seems like male porn stars seldom become household names, or even find any recognition or fame outside of porn. But recently, poking around on our sister site Fleshbot one night, I discovered a British/Thai porn actor named Keni Styles. I checked out a few photos. Then I watched a video. And then a short film. Then I checked out his blog and started following him on Twitter. It goes without saying that I liked what I saw. Fantasy fuck, without a doubt. And now that a few months have passed, I can admit it: I have a crush on Keni Styles.

Welcome to the club, sis!

For more on why we dig at the R crush on Keni–including his own views about interracial hetero porn in the US–check out this interview excerpt at the R Tumblr.

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  • Anonymous

    Oh Kenny, let me serenade you. 
    We will meet. Our eyes will lock. The intensity of our gaze will inflame, incinerate and envelope the reality around us.
    We will marry shortly in an unexpectedly lavish wedding ceremony. A previously unknown rich uncle heard of our coming nuptials and decided to smile benevolently upon the whole affair.
    We will have children. Twin girls. They will be good at capoeira  and hate beets and turkey sandwiches.
    Our families will merge to become great dynasties. 
    We will die of broken hearts within a week of each other due to old age and an extremely rewarding life engaged in philanthropy, traveling and skeeball. 
    Happiness will be ours.
    Oh, Kenny!

  • Anonymous

    You had me at “good at capoeira and hates beets and turkey sandwiches”…then you ::DEAD:: me at skeeball.

    Happy R Funday, SugeAveryLemonade!

  • Grace

    *fans self* Phew!!

  • Anonymous

    Ummm that is one beautiful, so-sexy-I-could-cry man. Kenny: would you consider posing for the covers of erotic novels featuring beautiful WOC having sexy adventures with any variation of characters, all of whom resenmble you? :D

  • anonymous

    that’s for brightening up my day! I’m now on TeamKeniStyles!

  • Anonymous

    Couldn’t get through the article because I was too busy staring at that fine specimen of a man!

  • kim

    I LOVE HIM. He’s so hot.

    Racialicious, I love you too.

  • kim

    I LOLed at the line.

  • MedusaComplex

    *Drool* *Wiping chin*

  • miga

    http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/36f1pi/   
    Dear Racialicious, 

    I…er…found this around the interwebs.

  • Anonymous

    I.
    Am.
    DUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!

  • Anonymous

    If you think the picture in this post is stopping, the animated gif on the Tumblr page…

    …just saying.;-)

  • miga

    Why did you unleash that gif upon the world?!?!  Now all I can respond with is this:

      Huminahuminahuminahumina.

  • Anonymous

    ::bats eyes innocently::

    In my defense, I simply reposted it from Mr. Styles’ Tumblr page. 

  • Anonymous

    …and we love you back, kim! ::blows kisses::

  • hongkwisuk

    i’ve been waiting all weekend for someone else to express dismay but i guess i have to be the sour puss (sic). THIS MAKES ME EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE. as an apia woman i am used to me and my sisters being hypersexualized but the brothers were somewhat protected, at the cost of being stereotyped as hypo sexual. does brown on brown make “crush of the week” different? is it supposed to feel empowering and affirming? cause i don’t. i feel as exploited and oppressed as ever.

  • Anonymous

    Is that so?  

    Our crush of the week series is a different spin on a long held tradition here at the R to give shout outs and shine to folks that we love.  Keanu Reeves is still quoted in the sidebar (with a strike out) because he was Carmen’s object of affection; we decided on John Cho as a group, until we realized he intentionally keeps a low profile.

    We went to a rotating crush of the week, to spread the love around a bit, and to start highlighting more people that should be known.  We chose the word crush because it is generally not applied in a sexual way – we have braincrushes, geekcrushes and the like all the time.  And when we come across a particularly talented up and comer, be they comic book artist, intellectual, or musician, we will give them the same short profile (as we did), put them in Racialicious context (which we did) and allow our readership to discover them (as they are).

    If you are concerned about the sexual nature of the photo…Keni is a porn star.  That’s his chosen profession and that’s what most of his photos look like.  Junot Diaz or Melissa Harris Perry (who are also on the crush list) would not appear in the same way because their worlds are very different.  We led with Keni, but he’s not the only crush we are going to have.

  • Anonymous

    The link at the R Tumblr is linked to a full interview with Styles, in which he tells of how he got into the industry. 

  • Anonymous

    ::passes towel::

  • Anonymous

    ::blows kisses:: You’re quite welcome!

  • Alex

     Sex is about trust. And I personally find hands to be very sexy. The feel and taste of someone’s hand on my mouth is pleasant for me. Trusting someone and wanting someone to do that for you during sex is fun. The photo reflects that for me. Keni has sexy hands, so I appreciate the photo.

  • Anonymous

     He IS lovely. Damn, I’m on Team Keni too!

  • Anonymous

    I easily see both sides of this.

    I triggered at first, Lisa, when I saw the photo. But then, I’ve also had experiences like what Alex describes, where I happily consented to having a lover’s hand on my mouth because we were trying to be discreet and ::ahem:: I’m a bit loud while sexing. My ex-lover putting his hand on my mouth added to the frisson and, ultimately, the orgasm. 

    That photo is such a fine line for me…

  • Anonymous

    I easily see both sides of this.

    I triggered at first, Lisa, when I saw the photo. But then, I’ve also had experiences like what Alex describes, where I happily consented to having a lover’s hand on my mouth because we were trying to be discreet and ::ahem:: I’m a bit loud while sexing. My ex-lover putting his hand on my mouth added to the frisson and, ultimately, the orgasm. 

    That photo is such a fine line for me…

  • Anonymous

    I easily see both sides of this.

    I triggered at first, Lisa, when I saw the photo. But then, I’ve also had experiences like what Alex describes, where I happily consented to having a lover’s hand on my mouth because we were trying to be discreet and ::ahem:: I’m a bit loud while sexing. My ex-lover putting his hand on my mouth added to the frisson and, ultimately, the orgasm. 

    That photo is such a fine line for me…

  • kim

    Really
    I’m Asian. Does my Asian on Asian crush of Keni “make you extremely uncomfortable”?

  • Anonymous

    Not really. There are lots of different conversations about choice and sex work, but in this case, Keni has explained that is was a very conscious choice he made:

    http://originalspin.posterous.com/coming-soon-to-this-spacethe-full-transcript

    Your questions make me think you are starting to project at bit – you can speak to Keni, just like we did. He’s here:

    https://twitter.com/#!/kenistyles

  • http://twitter.com/skyemetafrog Skye Blue

    What a great way to kick off your Crush of the Week series! I looooove me so Keni Styles. And now I love Racialicious too ;)

  • Digital Coyote

    First that one feminist site, now the R.  *wistful sigh*  The longer this is up, the less work I get done in favor of  creating various M.A.S.H. game accessories designed to make us both ridiculous happy in any number of hypothetical outcomes (which could totally include Shack if he’s there).

  • teenab

    He looks so good I’ll put him on a plate and sop him up with a biscuit. Period. I’m obsessed. 

  • Anonymous

    “we love Styles because he’s helping change some conversations around
    Asian male stereotypes, namely being sexually undesireable because US
    (white and male) society gender-polices Asian and Asian American men as
    “less masculine,” be that read as “nerdy”, less “endowed” than other men, and/or some orientalist-based foolishness.”

    I see what you mean, but I’d like to see the conversation change even more to challenge stereotypes of male sexual attractiveness as a whole . To me the real question is, why can’t a “less masculine” man (of any race) be sexually desirable?

    No offence to Keni, btw!

  • Aan B

    I’ve heard of crushes but wow!

  • Aan B

    I’ve heard of crushes but wow!

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    [...] I came across Keni Styles via one of my favorite blogs, Racialicious, where they had named him their crush of the week.  Keni Styles is an intelligent, politically aware, porn star.  The writer at Racialicious loved [...]