Condom use in Porn Films
There’s no better way to unwind than taking off your pants and turning on your laptop and finding a free porn tube. The hot, toned and tanned girls smiling like an actor in a mouthwash commercial as they engage in demeaning sexual acts are everywhere. Sound hot? I bet it does. Until you realize that the amazing woman in front of you could be ridden with disease.
I’ve never said that porn is degrading to women, but refusing to watch it because a woman is having sex with a man with a condom on is. The producers of top-grossing adult films are terrified that the sight of a condom will reduce the audience significantly. Is it true? The mecca of all work-for-jerk production studios is a little place fondly referred to as “the valley” in Los Angeles. Though LA has endless health issues to address with its populace, the welfare of pornstars remains a priority. Their popularity undoubtedly makes an impression of the audience’s sex lives at large
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Jonathan Fielding, health officer for Los Angeles County, says the county receives reports of 60 to 80 new cases of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea per month among adult performers. “There were 2,013 documented cases of Chlamydia among L.A. porn performers between 2003 and 2007. In the same period, 965 cases of Gonorrhea were documented. Many performers suffer multiple infections. In the period from April 2004 to March 2008, 2,847 STD infections were diagnosed among 1,884 performers in the industry in Los Angeles County.”
These performers don’t have the luxury of taking a sick leave either. Like us, they report to work despite ailments. Only they aren’t sniffling at their desk with hot tea. They are doing things none of us would dream of while sick. The combination of pain and no recovery period for their infection to wane makes these porn stars practically walking diseases.
DPH attributes the epidemic of STDs in the porn industry to a lack of protective equipment for partners, including condoms.
Protocol calls for performers to get tested for HIV every 30 days. Fielding, however, said this is inadequate since it takes nine to 11 days after exposure for the virus to be indicated by test results.
The moral of the story is watch your rubbers. The more audiences support condom-clad porn stars, the safer the industry will be.
