Gay porn is coded with the coolness of youthful contrarianism. On the Russian social network VK, which operates like a a Tumblr–Facebook hybrid, the blog No Hope Kids pastiches signifiers of hip (dip–dyed hair and vague rejections of capitalism) with pictures of lip–locked men who have what Anastasia refers to as a ' post-Soviet look.' The blog is careful to display an '18+' disclaimer. Thanks to the 2013 Russian law forbidding 'propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors,' anyone accused of even creating ' an interest in nontraditional sexual relations' could have to pay a fine.
'Trendy Russian girls aren't really interested in straight men,' Anastasia says, noting Russia's dominant cult of masculinity.
