In an open letter to porn megasite SeanCody.com, fan and Queerty member Jon Patton said he was deeply troubled by the companies decision to start filming and featuring models engaging in codomless intercourse. He has a point: Over the past decade or so, mainstream same-sex porn has gone from adhering to a strict condom code to marketing bareback sex for profit. Even the most popular websites seem to be catering to consumer interest in unprotected sex.
Some argue that watching bareback sex on film encourages people to bareback in their own lives. Others, however, argue that condom-free pornography is simply fulfilling a fantasy and that consumers know the difference.
Queerty readers: Is it the responsibility of porn studios to promote safe sex messages?
Justin
“Is it the responsibility of porn studios to promote safe sex messages?”
Actually they do. Usually before every video begins there is a disclaimer. On their websites there are disclaimers. The key is promoting personal responsibility.
Porn Nazis helped to create the BB niche. Now its taboo. Bravo fools.
I personally believe that it is not their responsibility to promote safe sex. It is the individual that is responsible. I did not see a disclaimers before Hannibal that told me that eating people is bad. Does that mean I am going get my munch on?
Give me a break.
Take personal responsibility, understand the risks of with/without, and make an educated decision.
Taliaferro
Ultimately, we are all responsible for safe sex activity. Some decide to engage in risky behavior. That is true in the porn industry and in real life. Porn actors should insist on using condoms. When they don’t they endanger their partners and so on. Why some are so resistant to using condoms, I cannot say. In the days when syphilis was incurable, people knew it was transmitted sexually yet engaged in sexual behavior. The sex drive is a powerful thing and can warp one’s judgement. Studios should enforce condom wearing, but some choose not to and some actors perform bareback. As long as these two factors exist, HIV will spread. Only YOU can prevent the spread of HIV!
DCFarmboi
It is their responsibility not to promote unsafe sex, so yes, those who promote BB sex are evil and have no legitimate place in the LBGT community
Fitz
Yes, and it’s the responsibility of McDonalds to tell you to exercise.
Kamuriie
Do action movies promote safe behavior? HELL NO. It is not the responsibility of entertainment to promote “safety.” Because virtually NO ONE WOULD CONSUME IT.
The resurgence of bareback studios has occurred because of consumer demand, and increased availability of accurate, quick turn-around STD testing.
Why do people prefer bareback porn? Because it’s more authentic–porn often features models that aren’t that into each other, or who are straight in real life, and the decreased sensation from condoms leads to them obviously not enjoying what they’re doing (even reluctantly), and you can TELL.
Condom-using studios constantly cut to the cum shot because their models obviously can’t climax from penetrating with a condom on. It’s absurd, breaks the suspension of disbelief, and is a lot less enjoyable.
The demonization of bareback sex makes no sense–guess what? Virtually EVERY HUMAN BEING ON THIS PLANET is the result of BAREBACK SEX. It is possible to do it responsibly, JUST LIKE YOUR PARENTS DID.
Alan down in Florida
@Kamuriie: “porn often features models that aren’t that into each other, or who are straight in real life, and the decreased sensation from condoms leads to them obviously not enjoying what they’re doing (even reluctantly), and you can TELL.”
I don’t think that having to wear a condom is why they are not enjoying what they are doing. For the truly gay for pay (meaning not the actual bisexuals and the narcissists who will f**k the nearest hole) they are not enjoying it because IT IS NOT ENJOYABLE FOR THEM which makes it not enjoyable for the viewer.
Perhaps if the erections weren’t chemically induced or there was some kind of chemistry between real gay performers it would be different.
As for the question of the day the sad answer is that it is not the porn company’s job to avoid the promotion of unsafe sex. The sadder answer is that there are many men who get off on the danger of it.
frenchjr25
They absolutely have a moral obligation to promote safe sex. Too many people have died because of AIDS. And too many people have STDs. Young people tend to learn about sex from porn. If porn stars don’t practice safe sex then the young people wont’ practice safe sex.
This is where I think there absolutely needs to be a national law requiring all porn to use condoms and other safe sex methods.
Pistolo
Sean Cody is a company that facilitates really hot strangers having sex on camera time and time again, they should wear condoms no matter what they’re promoting! These models are their contract employees who are leaving themselves in a very vulnerable position by signing up for this job, they should take better care of them.
Also, when a dick is up the ass what goddamn difference does it make? You still know it’s a dick in an ass. It’s still really happening…I totally don’t get the novelty of barebacking.
sjmatt
We seem to be a society where we always have to find someone else to blame for our actions. Maybe it’s time for us to grow up take responsibility for ourselves.
Is BB porn better to watch than safe sex porn? Yes, but it’s just a movie, not reality. If you don’t know any better, you shouldn’t be having sex in the first place.
Bfrenz
I’d say, its everyone’s responsibility.
Joetx
Yes. People are stupid. If they see people having sex bareback, they’ll think it’s fine & w/o dangers.
I don’t see how people (porn stars) exposing themselves to the high possibility of a lifelong disease can be titillating.
Kamuriie
@frenchjr25: Dumb. Know what happens then?
All porn is made overseas, or goes underground. A law like that would immediately face an injunction, and never be upheld by courts as constitutional.
Sex education is, and should be, taught by schools/parents–not by porno companies.
@Pistolo:
Maybe you shouldn’t be assuming that the models who sign up are ignorant of the risks? They sign contracts, and get tested for a reason. Dumb.
YOU HAVE THE MORAL OBLIGATION TO PROTECT *YOURSELF*. It’s not some random porn company’s job to educate you, just like it isn’t the Cheesecake Factory’s job to educate you about healthy eating habits.
EvonCook
@Kamuriie: Wow, That is bizarre and irrational reasoning. Maybe you should either rethink your position or make a more convincing argument.
Greg Garavani
I personally don’t think it’s a studios complete responsibility, however individuals who believe bareback sex with seine they meet on Grindr is safe, well then they’re fucking stupid. It’s one thing to bareback with your boyfriend who you’ve been dating and are both clean, but I do believe it’s unsafe for porn performers since there’s no telling who else they’ve fucked. There’s a lot of ignorance behind the issue and that continues to take a toll on all our communities. Like Fitz said, is it up to McDonalds to remind people to exercise?
EvonCook
@frenchjr25: It is so stupid and self defeating to take absolute laws when common sense and education is what is needed. The same stupidity closed the saunas and g\baths in some cities and simply drove the sexual activity underground, instead of recognizing the opportunity for the perfect place to test and educate! Please keep the government out of my bedroom and out of my porn!
Greg Garavani
Someone** sausage fingers, ugh.
Kamuriie
@EvonCook: I like how you make a statement with absolutely no reasoning behind it.
Guess what? Our media–portrays countless dangerous situations, for our entertainment. Be it swordfighting, secret agents, renegade justice, you have it. Porn is no exception.
Do you see cop shows highlighting gun safety, with hearing protection equipment whenever they fire guns? No, because it doesn’t make for exciting television. The same is true of porn.
It’s fantasy–an escape from mundane reality.
Expecting our youth to be educated by PORN COMPANIES–in the business of selling you FANTASY–is the BIZZARE AND IRRATIONAL argument. It’s *mind-bogglingly* stupid, in fact.
EvonCook
I think in a perfect world I would prefer to see porn companies make a point of using and promoting condoms, and I would like to think most people used them because even that randy boy friend, long time married partner or whatever can turn positive in the blink of an eye! But this is not a perfect world, and we should intelligently distinguish between the fantasy that porn is selling and the common sense safety that is sadly necessary in this day and age for random and general sexual activity. I love a nice c**k and don’t mind if it has a coat on if it saves lives, stops disease and gives peace of mind.
Daniel-Reader
There should be a disclosure law requiring adult entertainment companies to disclose whether any employees have investments in drug companies that produce HIV meds.
Pistolo
@Kamuriie: I’m saying that the models shouldn’t have to take those risks, regardless of how intelligent they are. The company that employs them should recognize that the niche market of bareback isn’t worth appealing to if could potentially endanger a person in a very serious way.
stanhope
@Fitz: Well put….forgive the pun.
stanhope
@Fitz: @Fitz: Well put….forgive the pun.
stanhope
This is true.
QJ201
Once a “straight” guy gets HIV from a BB gay porn and goes public…all hell will break loose.
BUT even porn filmed with condoms these days features the top shooting his cum on the bottoms asshole…which negates the purpose of using condoms in the first place.
QJ201
@DCFarmboi: Well Treasure Island Media is absolutely evil. They don’t test actors and don’t care, in fact treat getting HIV like a reward.
Dxley
No, it is not.
These studios are in business and they’re not going to mother all these horny teenage boys to keep their pants up. These models get tested regularly and they’re okay with it and I’m sure they’re using protection in their lives. Get the hell over it, no one forces you to watch it. Rather leave it to us–we love it!!!
Again, NO! It is not their responsibility!!!!
GayTampaCowboy
I’m always amazed when this topic comes up (pun intended) at the number of gay men who sound JUST like the bigots and haters who say stupid things like “all pedophiles are gay.”
If you don’t like watching bareback porn, simple, don’t watch it. Lord knows there’s billions of hours of non-bb porn to choose from, so really, get off your high horse!
Ponder these concepts: Personal choice. Personal responsibility. Informed consent. Contracted performances!
Oh, and all you have to do is google “gay actor performance contract” and you can see hundreds of search results showing the actual core language of what a performer is agreeing to before going on camera. EVERY performer, gay, str8 or bi, is required to provide an updated hiv/std test and according to the porn industry website, AFVAA, all member companies test their performers (whether bb or safe) ON SET before performing.
Now, we all know that you can get infected last night and it probably won’t show up the next day on an HIV test, but, the industry has processes in place to help ensure the health of their actors.
Oh, and let’s just ask this question, WHO among us, wants to have MORALITY POLICE?
Porn is a business. Consumers like to watch bb porn (be it gay, bi, or str8), so the production companies make it.
Also, consider this: If you work in construction, the contractors have very clear rules about their workers wearing the proper protective equipment. Hard hats, steel-toed boots, safety goggles, etc. They also have zero-tolerance rules for workers who come to work drunk or on drugs – they get fired! That said, can accidents happen? Should we stop buying homes where a worker was hurt or killed while the house was being built? Of course not!
Again, you don’t like watching bb porn. Don’t watch it. You think guys who do bb porn are idiots and have self-destructive personalities – don’t date them!
Other than that – STFU!
jwrappaport
I don’t really buy the consumer-protection argument. It rests on an assumption that just isn’t plausible to me, that is, porn companies that feature bareback scenes significantly influence their viewers to do the same. It’s pretty commonsensical that bareback sex feels better for just about everyone. I’ll be honest: I much prefer watching those scenes simply because they feel more real and, well, hot. I don’t watch porn for sex tips or anything other than to get off, and I’m fairly certain I’m not in the minority there.
Education and rational decision-making can change the state of play, but I just don’t see how requiring condoms in porn will. There is another, much more persuasive argument for the condom requirement on the ground that it protects the actors, whose participation is frequently coerced or subject to serious economic duress.
DCFarmboi
“If you don’t like watching bareback porn, simple, don’t watch it”
I never said I disliked watching. I dislike the spread of AIDS. If this is just the same as eating a Big Mac, then let’s abandon all of the charities and gay health groups pushing safe activities. I mean, if it is just a personal choice, why this Herculean efforts of our AIDS organizations and all of their fundraising. Some people like Big Macs, some people like AIDS. It’s a personal choice, leave them alone.
jwtraveler
It’s THEIR responsibility NOT to encourage their employees to contract fatal diseases so they can make a profit. It’s OUR responsibility not to abdicate our responsibility to promote the health and safety of all gay men; that means it’s our responsibility NOT to pay for products that promote the transmission of AIDS. It’s OUR responsibility to question why we are sexually aroused by watching other men infect each other with AIDS and to question why we find it acceptable for death-wish porn producers to profit from the deaths of gay men. It’s OUR responsibility to stop the hypocrisy of supporting AIDS charities and demanding help from the government to fight AIDS while encouraging practices that spread AIDS. It’s OUR responsibility to stop hiding behind the fictional excuse of “free choice” to duck the obligation to be responsible citizens and protectors of the lives of all gay men, including porn stars.
krystalkleer
@Fitz: HA 100% on the mark!
http://getoffmydress.blogspot.com/2013/11/whats-up-doc.html
jwtraveler
@Kamuriie: I don’t like movie and TV violence, but the OBVIOUS difference between that and porn is that the violence in entertainment is NOT REAL and nobody actually gets hurt or killed. The sex in porn IS real sex, and people do get hurt and die from having loads of semen pumped into them. This should be obvious to all of you idiots who claim that porn is fantasy and not real sex. Furthermore, the use of condoms does not in anyway prevent the production of porn; it only prevents the transmission of disease. And enjoyable as porn may be, it is not a necessity of life. When weighing the added enjoyment of watching sex without a condom against the prevention of deadly disease, it should be a no-brainer, except for those with no brains.
Dxley
You’re really a farm boy, aren’t you?
“Some people like AIDS”?! The fuck?!!! Now I’m convinced that you’re fucking insane. Why do you want so bad for everyone to agree with you? Build a bridge and get the hell over it–bareback is much more preferred–just stating facts.
Some of us, unlike you, are in monogamous relationships and we’re both negative so why the fuck should we use condoms? I’m not doing that!! So in other words you’re trying to say that gay men shouldn’t go bareback but straight couples should? You sure can’t cure stupidity and self-hate. Inferiority complex, much? Stay away from it. No one can force you.
Another one just said that people who encouraged bareback had no place in the gay community. Are you out of your mind? No, you don’t have one. Just because you’re positive and can no longer do it doesn’t mean we should stop – fuck no!!!
I’m monogamous and test twice yearly. Let me enjoy my bb porn. Speaking of which – let me just watch some Sean Cody videos 🙂
jwtraveler
@krystalkleer: No, it’s not the responsibility of McDonald’s to tell you to exercise, but it’s the responsibility of McDonald’s NOT to use a preparation process that endangers the lives of its employees and the health of its customers just to improve the taste of a Big Mac slightly, and then justify it by saying that the employees can choose to work elsewhere and the customers don’t have to eat it. Decent people and companies act responsibly because it’s the right thing to do. Social parasites pursue their own profit and benefit without regard to the consequences for others and then blame those they hurt for their own suffering by claiming that it was their choice.
sportyguy1983
It is the responsibility of porn studios to promote safe sax as much as it is for fast food restaurants to tell you eat healthy and exercise, for alcohol companies to tell you to drink responsibly, for car manufacturers to drive safely, etc… IT is called personal responsibility. I don’t know why people don’t get this concept and believe we need to have a nanny and be treated like children.
hyhybt
The article asks the wrong question. It’s not a matter of promoting safe sex, but of safety in the workplace. And there’s a good reason laws and regulations *require* certain equipment and practices in every other line of business. If it’s optional, somebody won’t do it, which gives a reason for others to stop in order to remain competitive. And you can always find employees willing to take the risk (usually with an “it won’t happen to me” attitude) in order to get or keep the job.
Porn is no different.
Cam
I think the obvious question is…. Why does porn exist?
Is it in existence as an educational tool? No
Does it exist for propaganda purposes? No
It exists because people watch it to get off and it makes money. They will put out what sells.
If they are following the guidelines protecting their workers then I don’t think that many stones can be thrown at them, except for the fact that they most likely don’t provide the same residuals that every other entertainment outlet does for their actors.
Charlie in Charge
It is the responsibility of all of us to promote safe sex. That does not mean “to the exclusion of ever having unprotected sex” but we benefit from everyone making informed choices.
Having actors use condoms in porn sends the message that sex with casual partners should probably be safe sex. This is a message we all benefit from.
Polaro
The question and arguments are framed incorrectly. The BB porn studios are engaging in what I consider to be relatively safe sex. They test the performers thoroughly first, resulting in safe sex between two people who will not infect one another. They are as safe or safer than two untested people using a condom. They are acting out a nice fantasy…and they need to be clear about that.
OK. That said. They are selling a product that, if not understood, could result in their consumers from misunderstanding their risks. BB sex without testing and condoms is proven to be a high risk act that can and has resulted in premature death. Legally, if I were them, I would make a bigger deal about the testing and make the intro to every movie the discussion of their test results…as an idea. Something more than the brief written disclaimer at the start.
Morally, they most assuredly need to make sure their approach to testing as their form of safe sex is clear.
viveutvivas
No.
David
There are two basic issues here:
First the performers.
It’s absolutely the studios’ responsibility to provide a safe workspace and to not require or financially compensate or even to ALLOW their employees to engage in dangerous activities. Period.
In any other workplace in America, this is a requirement. The employees cannot choose to ignore safety guidelines. The customers can’t tell or ask the employers to ignore workplace safety guidelines because they prefer it. And employers certainly cannot make unsafe practices a condition of employment, or financially compensate for it. All other businesses in America face these requirements. Imagine if some construction company said “We’d get more jobs if the neighbors got to see hot guys, so we’re requiring our workers not to wear hard hats. They don’t even like them anyways.” Would this be allowed? Of course not. The fact that some of you want to jerk off to it doesn’t change that. IN addition, in all other workplaces in America, employers are required to pay for injuries to their employees. Yet, if someone contracts HIV on the porno set, they won’t be covered because the performers have specific clauses in their contracts protecting the studios from having to pay for infections that occur on the set. They continually claim that they are taking all these precautions and that it’s safe for their performers, yet they refuse all responsibility for allowing someone to contract a serious illness they’ll have for the rest of their lives.
As to the question asked in the article about the responsibility of the studios, that’s a larger and more complicated question. There’s no question that most gay men get most of their early gay sex education from porn. It sets the standards of what is considered normal in gay sex. They have now created a situation where gay kids now consider bareback sex to be what gay men do. And sex with condoms is what “dirty” or older people do. In fact, just asking to use a condom now means that you’re like infected to most younger people. Is porn alone responsible for this? No, but they’re a primary contributor to a culture of unsafe sex in the gay community.
At current infection rates, over one half of gay men will end up with HIV. ONE HALF. We’ve got an entire generation that will live most of their lives dependent on extremely costly, toxic drugs. If enforcing workplace safety guidelines for porn studios helps staunch some of those infections, then more the better.
Polaro
@David: Well said. And HIV is still no picnic. The drug side effects can really degrade the quality of life. Not to mention their cost.
viveutvivas
@David, it is true that most younger people (say, under 35) don’t feel they need to practice safe sex any more. At least in my experience (purely based on my hookups in the real world), this is something that has changed dramatically over the past 5 years or so.
But I don’t think porn is to blame, because there are still more (and better) studios who show porn with condoms (e.g. Falcon, men at Play, etc.). No, I think there is something else going on. Even a lot of guys in their late 30s or 40s, a demographic who used to use condoms automatically, have in large numbers abandoned them. Perhaps partially to blame for this is the fact that prevention outreach used to be a function of the gay community, yet there is little sense of community among gay men any more, which is perhaps related to the disintegration of the gay ghettos and the death of traditional meeting places such as bars and clubs. With the advent of hookup apps, gay life has moved underground again, with most young and even older gay men having little contact with other gay men besides via Grindr.
viveutvivas
I also think blaming the contribution of studios is rather naive when overwhelming numbers of gay men, especially young and therefore not rich gay men, are getting their porn for free from xt*be.
viveutvivas
…and I think before blaming studios we should blame the large gay organizations who have largely abandoned health issues of young gay men and instead poured all their resources into (for young gay men) niche issues such as gay marriage that appeal to the richer and older gay bourgeois part of the community who are large donors, as well as assimilationist issues like DADT that they think will make gay people popular with straights (look how masculine and patriotic we are). Both these issues are light years removed from the immediate life or death needs of the majority of young gay men.
DonW
@viveutvivas: Prominent porn companies like Sean Cody have a cultural power beyond their own customer base, and help set aesthetic standards. Even if you don’t pay for access, there’s enough free teaser material on their site that you can bet those horny, broke kids are looking.
I’ve met many young gay men for whom porn is their only source of sexual information. They’re sure as hell not getting it in schools or from squeamish parents. Sure, they are personally responsible for their own health — but there’s also such a thing as civic responsibility.
Why can’t gay-owned businesses like Sean Cody give a crap about our young brothers, HALF of whom are going to get a life-long disease at current rates? Maybe the studios only play a small role in driving this disturbing trend. But is the destruction of health of even a few young men worth the extra profit?
DonW
@viveutvivas: Very good point about the decline of gay gathering places except for anonymous online hookups. At least when you had to go out to a bar to hook up you couldn’t avoid seeing safe-sex information and condoms.
crazycorgi
It is not porn studios’ responsibility to promote safe sex behavior. It is the responsibility of parents and educators to teach safe sex behavior at an early age and continue this dialogue with children as they grow. Unfortunately, in this country this does not happen because of our culture’s puritanical views on sex, which is the exact reason why this disease has proliferated. Stating that teens or young adults watching bareback porn promotes said behavior is exactly like stating anyone playing Grand Theft Auto will go out and beat prostitutes and steal cars. The problem with our country is that we always want to place the responsibility of sex education on the shoulders of someone else because parents do not want to have this talk with their children because they would rather bury their heads in the sand and pretend that their children will never have sex. They do not want the schools to teach it because they object to it and argue that talking about sex will only make their children want to have it. We have placed ourselves in this “catch 22” situation. It is obvious that by not educating your children about sex, by pretending that it does not exist, does not keep your children from having sex. Teens still get pregnant, they still get HIV, and STD’s are still being spread.
No, it is not the responsibility of porn studios to educate people about safe sex, however it seems that NO ONE else is doing it, so perhaps as a public service they should, so at least the information is out there.
dougmc92
If they want a place in the gay community and our money- then THEY DO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY to us! I’m 21, I’ve heard a lot of guys my age saying bareback sex is OK, HIV is no big deal, the porn companies do it….Every month or so, so porn star gets infected, and god knows how many stupid kids!
hyhybt
@viveutvivas: Equality in the eyes of the law is not a niche issue, however little interest you may have in any particular fragment of it.
viveutvivas
@hyhybt, please read again what I actually said.
KDub
We’re all responsible for ourselves, but all the promotion of BB porn in the gay community is definitely helping to make an already bad situation much worse. The gay community is truly its own worst enemy at times.
hyhybt
@viveutvivas: I did read what you said. If you’re going to pretend my response wasn’t addressing what you said, at least have the decency to say why.
seaguy
What happened to personal responsibility? Porn is produced as a fantasy product not as an educational tool! I am sick of people like this guy trying to change to make porn into something it is not and should not be and that is where people should go to get sex education.
They must want our country to become some sort of nanny state where people never have to take responsibility for thier own actions. You become HIV + from being a promiscuous whore that was Always taking loads in the darkroom at some bathhouse? IT’s not your fault though it is the porn studios fault for making bareback porn! That is the direction we are headed if we start down that road, and then what will be next banning bareback porn? Michael Weinstein would love that but that money hungry old queen is not in charge and this is not North Korea so he needs to stop his wasteful campaign and start spending the money on education, outreach and etc about HIV and AIDS that would save more lives than banning bareback porn ever would, and it will just move underground. Look at the failed war on drugs as an example.