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Pornstars Don’t Need Condoms

Pornstars Don’t Need Condoms

There are a lot of positions one can take when it comes to porn. Pun intended. While there are a lot of ways to climax, one of them shouldn’t be while wearing a condom. Before you moan in displeasure, let me give you the facts.

First, it’s exceptionally risky to cut scenes with a condom. In fact, wearing condoms to film scenes is incredibly painful. They cause abrasions and fine lacerations in sensitive areas which increase the risk of, and exposure to, STDs on and off set.

In general, a porn set is one of the least likely places to contract an STD.

Unfortunately, like plane crashes, when porn stars get infections that don’t go away (like HIV), it becomes a media firestorm. The last time a pornstar contracted HIV on a California porn set was 12 years ago. While a recent case of HIV may be related to a Nevada porn-set, it’s worth noting that studios in Nevada face far less scrutiny than those in California — a state which developed extensive testing requirements.

Actors test as often as every two weeks, depending on the frequency of their scenes. Actors who test for STDs can’t work until they’re cleared. Period. Which means they lose money, the studios lose money, everyone loses money. It’s enough incentive for actors and studios to “keep it clean,” as it were. Most importantly, unlike your most recent Tinder match, these stars come with papers.

Performers are empowered to ask for the testing results of their co-stars and also usually choose whether they prefer protected or bareback scenes. They are also informed about the risks beforehand. Some studios may even require performers to countersign each other’s paperwork before getting busy.

The real rub about mandating performers to perform with condoms is the condescending nature of the regulation. Enter the noble legislators who have been charged with saving these (consenting adult) performers from themselves: “Porn performers are damaged people; they can’t possibly know what’s best for their sexual health.”

But what about the viewers? Surely wearing condoms in scenes sets a good example for the viewers, right? Well, no. Viewers almost always choose bareback porn when given a choice. Even if porn were so virtuous, it alone could not reverse the decade-long decline in condom usage — a decline amongst gay men of almost 15% since 2005 (according to the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Survey).

Between you and me, condoms are so tired and universally hated, and science is so rapidly advancing, that they will be truly antiquarian in just a decade or two. Until then, let’s trust the professionals to make the choices that are best for them. Kick back. Relax. Enjoy the fruit of their labor.

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