Blog

Condoms in porn

Condoms in porn have been a hot topic of discussion ever since a good number of porn stars tested positive for HIV/AIDS. This forced filming and production by major companies to be put on hold as proper measures were put in place to ensure that the actors were safe. Among the measures that were being proposed is the use of condoms in every filming session. On one side, some actors feel like their well-being health wise is not taken seriously while production companies feel that the use of condoms will negatively impact their sales. It’s a catch 22 situation if you ask me because each party makes pretty valid points.

Is it true that men hate condoms?

Well, the prevailing wisdom is that men, including porn stars, hate the sight of a condom. While this notion is largely true, there is also a significant portion of the male porn watchers who either do hate the condoms as we would like to believe or simply do not care. Studies have shown that roughly 55% of porn viewers prefer to watch condom-less stuff. What about the other 45%? They either have no problem with condoms, prefer condoms, or don’t care at all. There is also a belief that watching condom-less porn may be a causative factor to risky sexual behavior and vice versa, but that’s a story for another day. Male porn watchers are not that extreme regarding their hate for condoms as many would like you to believe.

Inside california’s prop 60

Proposition 60 was California’s answer to the thorny issue of condoms in the porn industry. The proposal sought to force porn performers to wear condoms when filming. However, it required the people of California to go to the ballot and decide where this was a necessary measure. Ultimately, the love for condom-less porn triumphed over the fear of STIs and HIV/AIDS by 55% to 45%.  Actually, only four counties approved the measure which goes on to demonstrate just how unpopular it was.

Apart from requiring performers to wear condoms, Proposition 60 would also have made porn producers liable for any violation. It means that any state resident would have been in a position to file a lawsuit, something that the industry was not going to take too kindly. The production companies would also have been required to obtain state health licenses and to pay for vaccinations, testing and medical examinations related to sexually transmitted infections. Currently, actors have to pay for their own testing. Considering the billions of dollars in circulation in the industry, I feel that introducing such harsh measures was always going to be met with stiff resistance from the various players in the industry, particularly production companies. I’m actually not surprised that the measures never got to see the light of day.

Porn and condoms will never match

While the above measures by the state of California were not exactly in bad faith, I feel like it was directed to the wrong industry. While most people are opposed to the idea of safe sex in porn films, the porn industry is far from the hub of HIV/AIDS and STIs infections. The thing is, wearing a condom out of your own will is one thing, having the government impose that on you is another thing altogether. Perhaps most importantly, it cannot work. The regulations in the industry that require every performer to be tested for HIV/AIDS and STIs every two weeks is already sufficient.

Attempting to force people to wear condoms is just another way of breeding resistance which can eventually lead a pretty safe industry into the underground world where there will be no regulations. Eventually, this will cause more harm than good where companies will not be obligated to honor protocols put in place to ensure the safety of porn actors. It is also worth noting that while the United States has one of the largest porn industries in the world, production companies can as well shift their operations in other countries if they feel oppressed by certain laws and that will not curb the spread of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS is not and has never been, a crisis in the porn industry. Over 200,000 residents of California live with the HIV/AIDS virus, and I am yet to establish how that can be traced back to the porn industry.

Condoms are hardly the solution

The idea of porn stars contracting HIV while on set is not very appealing. However, who says condoms are the solution? You see, porn is not your everyday lovemaking session with a casual chic out there that lasts 20 minutes. Pornstars may be required to stay erect for over 45 minutes. Condoms can break, they can come off, and they can become dry if the shoot is long. Will the filming continue as the actor changes the condom? Has anyone paused to consider the fact that porn sex is sometimes (well, most of the times) a rough, almost violent affair and a condom may not be best suited? Those are some of the questions that require answering before anyone can come up with laws requiring all porn stars to wear condoms all the time.

Conclusion

Well, I guess now you can agree with me that people do not entirely hate condoms in porn, but given a choice, they will always prefer condom-less porn. That includes yours truly. It’s wilder and captures the imagination of many. Condoms make sex a bit more controlled which we all agree is totally beside the point. Who are we kidding anyway? Everyone likes the prospect of some raw, unprotected sex whichever way you look at it.Safe sex should be left in the confines of our bedrooms. ThePornDude is definitely an advocate of raw, unprotected sex in porn as long as the measures to test actors are upheld.

You Might Also Like