Ahhh, porn. We all watch it, we all love it, and we sometimes even make mainstream stars out of the actors.
However, the companies that produce some our favorite content have come under a great deal of scrutiny lately.
Condomless porn is more prevalent than ever, and even porn impresario Michael Lucas has reversed course on his previously strict anti-barebacking policy.
At the same time, there have been a few instances of HIV-related shutdowns in the straight porn industry as well as former gay performers coming forward to paint a picture that is much darker than the hot sex and party photos that we’re used to seeing.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
That said, we ask you, Queerty readers: Do Porn Studios Have A Responsibility To Promote Safe Sex?
Charlie in Charge
Going to take it a step further: all people have a responsibility to promote safer sex.
“Promote” does not mean “mandate” or “control other people’s personal choices.” Just “promote, educate, discuss.”
uruz422
Nope. Porn is meant to be for fantasy. As long as they’re being safe, that’s their business.
Also every adult has to make his/her/their own decisions. If you choose to not use condoms and your sexual partner consents then you two will have to live with the consequences. That’s a choice for you both to make. Porn shouldn’t effect that one way or another.
pierrot
No they don’t. I can’t believe we have sunk to this level of idiocy, but some people need to be taught that porn is NOT reality and NOT a source for any kind of education so please do not take any learnings from watching it.
In porn, groping your pizza delivery guy leads to a hot raunchy sex and extra topping on your pizza
In reality, groping your pizza delivery guy leads to a harassment lawsuit
In porn, masturbating in the locker room while watching the hot football players leads to an orgy
In reality, masturbating in the locker room leads to your removal from the premise
In porn, bareback sex seems like harmless good fun
In reality, bareback sex is dangerous
COME ON PEOPLE, use your heads!
hotboyvb81
I’ve met guys who’ve said, ‘If the porn stars can do it without condoms- why can’t I? They have sex with a dizen or more guys each month and I’ve only been with a dozen guys period. I should be safe.’ Let’s face it- a lot of young gay guys are idiots and don’t know what happened to our community.
hotboyvb81
further- they DO have a responsibilty to their performers. Guillible, hard up kids out to make a buck getting lured into unsafe practices is horrible!
Cy
Porn companies have a responsibility to provide sex flicks within the terms of law where they are produced. They are not mandated to provide safe sex flicks only, nor should they be. “The government has no business in the bedroom of the nation.” A quote of Pierre Trudeau, former Canadian Prime Minister, and author of the Canadian Bill of Rights and Freedoms. Keep your mandates out of our personal lives, and certainly out of our fantasies.
seaguy
If by promotion you mean not filming sex where condoms are not used, then no. They are not in the business of providing sexual education or promotion. They are in the business of providing a visual fantasy for their customers to use as they wish.
sportyguy1983
Qno
Caine
No.
HadrianM
I have been involved in this industry for 15 years. I have been in a couple of dozen films, worked for Corbin Fisher behind the scenes among a dozen other roles with various studios. I’ve had this conversation hundreds of times. The answer is Yes.
The most common bullshit answer I hear is, “This is Fantasy.” To which I say, horror movies are fantasy. The blood is red dye and corn syrup. The guts are rubber and latex bits molded together. There is no real person being slaughtered on the screen. That’s fantasy.
Porn is real. Real human beings exchanging real body fluids. Real risk is involved. You are not displaying a fantasy – no matter what loose story you think you are weaving into a fantasy. No one is buying this for the bullshit story – they buy it for the the very real sex.
People do what they see and learn. Not the implied “this is on TV, you shouldn’t do this” between the lines crap. If it is not on screen, it didn’t happen. If safety is not promoted – even in BB porn – then there isn’t anything to tell young-dumb-cum-filled youth that their load should go in a condom not a body.
I am not saying bareback is evil and has no place. I am saying that studios have a duty to acknowledge the risk their models are taking to their audience loudly and proudly. CF used to do tons of testing on their models, so that when BB happened it was with informed consent. Some studios just make you sign a waver saying “you are an adult making your own decision”. But you don’t see them talking about it in their films beyond a brief stupid PSA flash in the title or credits. Of course Chi Chi has her damn “WRAP IT UP” PSA – but its rather preachy and easy to ignore for its outlandishness. If you want to beat off to that porn after seeing her scream at you, you are a better man than I.
I’ve been saying for years – why not have the models say to the 4th wall before the scene “Hi, I’m John and this is Doe and we are going to have sex. We know our status and have discussed our risk and we are making an informed decision to have unsafe sex. We are professionals and we do not recommend taking risks we do. Be safe and make informed decisions for yourself.” Sweet and simple.
Polaro
Safe sex education is extremely important. The real question is why are our schools and public health organizations failing at getting the safe sex message out there? It is their job, not porno film companies.
Porn companies supposedly film safe sex. Testing in addition to PReP can make condom-less sex safe. Knowledge is the key. Information at their sites would be helpful.
Pistolo
Who would it be harming if all tops wore condoms? Is there nothing else titillating about two guys screwing eachother? Barebacking is the be-all, end-all to everyone’s orgasm?
Side note: Jarek looks amazing there, he was made to screw. Perfect body and crazy passion.
Billy Budd
I think that in an ideal world, both straight and gay porn industries should be FORCED by regulations to use condoms in every sex scene they make. It is a fantasy, but it is better when it is a safe fantasy.
Mezaien
NO!! they only supposed to get me horny.
Godabed
To anyone saying that porn is a fantasy, I would suggest you come out of yours. Aspects of porn are fantasy, like for instance the two people seemingly lusting after each other actually are. The part where it’s not is when they’re actually have sexual intercourse or ejaculation from various stimulus, you know penetration from various angles, that’s real.
What would qualify this as completely fantasy?? hmm… ah! That is what we call “ACTING”. Simulated sex is in a ton of movies, it promotes healthy sexual adult activity without actual penetration, that’s fantasy, it’s not real.
Now that that’s clarified, Should porn promote condoms, I think they should. The fact that a study showed that 94% of gay men are willing to go bareback if they find the person attractive is telling. Seriously look at these bareback pornstars they are jacked, I don’t doubt a lot of them are on steroids among other things, but the side you see of these people is one dimensional. You don’t see the doctors visits, the amount of drugs they have to counteract HIV (and a great deal of them are hiv positive and proud of it), the side effects of those drugs… which if anyone has done the research although better than the drugs in the 80’s is not something you would want to live with for the rest of your life. Not to mention gential warts, and herpes, Hepatitis… yes oh some glamorous… Yeah all you see is the part in front of the camera (the lighting, makeup, oily muscles, the Fantasy that this person is a healthy member of the community. Porn doesn’t show you the drug culture at all, the prostitution side although this site highlighted it like Huffpost the “Escort Ball” since when do we endorse and celebrate prostitution???
But the problem is even deeper than this, it’s systematic, like young Noel (sean cody model and several other model that have been convicted of very serious crimes including murder), you have a lot of people get into to porn young in dire straits, put in situations where they need to do it for money, same with straight men in the porn industry. There are well noted psychological problems with these men as well as monetary.
There needs to be a new approach to porn altogether, the old arguments for not wearing condoms don’t make sense. Fantasy… right.
CJones01
There were two articles on Queerty a few months ago: 1 reporting that consumers of bareback porn are more likely to engage in that behavior and another stating that younger men are more likely to engage in barebacking (possible link with recent bareback porn upswing?).
There does seem to be a connection.
Another point to ponder: the audience does not see what goes on behind the scenes. We also are treated to various scenarios of promiscuous behavior (cruising, hooking up, random orgies). If there is a connection between bareback porn and mimicking that behavior. Why do we glorify risky behavior?
Yes it is entertainment, and yes we SHOULD know better. Most of us do.
Another recent study about masturbatory habits had to be abandoned because there are NO young men whom don’t consume porn. More so, young men DO mimic porn and more and more often adopt that behavior.
I think the porn industry does have a responsibility to, if not require condoms in shoots, make large, frequent donations to sex ed and sexual health organizations to promote safe sex. Safe sex videos, safe sex floats in parades, safe sex literature…. If they are right now, they are very quiet about it. They need to be loud about it.
Billy Budd
It should be regulated and enforced. Both for straight sex AND gay sex. I vote for a condom-filled world.
sonofabee
“We all watch it, we all love it…”
Speak for yourself, Queerty. Maybe “we” means your staff, but if you’re trying to suggest that it means everyone in general, that’s simply not true. Sure, I’ve watched porn in the past, but I don’t anymore, and even when I did watch it I didn’t “love it.” It was stimulating (for lack of a better word), but eventually it just got boring and borderline depressing. I haven’t watched porn in years and I don’t miss it at all. Not trying to sound self-righteous; just stating a fact. I’m sure I’m not the only man who feels “meh” about porn.
chillbrutha82
It is not the job of a cashier at McDonald’s to monitor the blood sugar of someone who has diabetes. Likewise, it is not the job of the porn industry to either promote or not promote safe sex. Porn is meant to provide sexual ENTERTAINMENT nothing more. If I see Marc Dylan jacking off in a public restroom, and I do the same thing and get arrested, my arrested is my own fault not Marc’s. If I see Remy Mars do a barebacking scene, then I go out and have unprotected sex and catch an STD, I have no one to blame but myself.
Charlie in Charge
@HadrianM: Great answer.
SeanBear
OK I voiced my opinion on the situation with Noel and SeanCody. I feel strongly that specific guidelines should be in place for any actor under the age of 21. Many people responded that we over regulate persons under the age of 21. We limit the drinking age, age to smoke and other risky behaviors. The argument several put forth was that 18 year olds can join the army, get married and vote. I responded that those activities have favorable risk benefits. Also the age of consent for sex is 16. That is consensual sex with no question of manipulation. The risks of barebacking have definitely decreased. Truvada taken regularly helps, but it is expensive and can be have side effects. Testing is better but there is a window of time which can lead to a false negative. My response from SeanCody was the exact same response I read on here related to Noel. Part of the robo-message was that they promote the safest TESTING standards in the business. Testing is great but without education it is not Promoting Safe sex. I feel that initial education should be provided about the realities of all sexually transmitted diseases because many of them are posing a great risk for severe long term effects. Hey I am a nurse and I have to have all sorts of training around personal safety. The studios can afford the education.
jonjct
no
misterhollywood
Honestly – no. If they want to do a PSA before the video that is fine but I do not think they should be required to promote anything. Just my thoughts though
Billy Budd
@chillbrutha82: AIDS is much more lethal and life threatening than eating macdonalds occasionally.
samwise343
If you get a DUI, you don’t point the finger at the brewery.
enfilmigult
They do. It’s too important. Fact is that they [i]do[/i] have an influence on the way people have sex, and therefore on HIV infection rates, no matter how much they don’t want it to be true or don’t care that it is.
But I don’t think much progress on that is going to happen anytime soon, especially not in the wake of everyone seeming to give up at once because they don’t want to lose out on the extra cash. I don’t think we’re going to get people willing to take on that kind of responsibility until we stop stigmatizing porn and making it the industry you get into when you don’t care about yourself.
enfilmigult
@enfilmigult: Crap, forgot it was real HTML that works here.
Fang
I will admit this is a copout response, but I don’t know if they do. Bareback should exist. People are entitled to their fantasies and bareback porn is between two consenting adults who understand the risks, so the level or risk is appropriate. But also, if bareback was for some reason outlawed, an illicit and dangerous niche would immediately become the most popular porn.
Anyway, I don’t mind the idea of porn companies putting up a safe sex advertisement or notice of how the company ensures the models’ safety before bareback videos. Kind of like the warnings on cigarettes. That may serve as a reminder for those engaging in those behaviors.
Fang
Bareback porn* should exist
SteveDenver
@samwise343: Actually, in some situations you are wrong: if someone drinks in a bar and then gets a DUI, is injured or killed, or causes harm to others, the bar can be held liable and has often been found culpable.
samwise343
@SteveDenver: I didn’t say anything about a bar. I wrote B-R-E-W-E-R-Y.
samwise343
@Billy Budd: I’m glad that certain porn studios will ignore you.
sonofabee
“People are entitled to their fantasies…”
Of course they are. But fantasies exist in the imagination. I can sit here and fantasize about bareback sex all I want. I don’t need to purchase a product in order to fantasize about that, or about anything else.
If it’s gotten to the point that people are unable to fantasize about something unless they watch a commercially-produced image on a screen, that’s pretty frightening and a sad commentary on where we’re going as a human race.
sonofabee
With all the money these studios make, and with all the technology that’s available now, why can’t they just get rid of the condom during the post-production/editing phase, using whatever digital magic the non-porn studios use?
chaddyboy6
No. It is fantasy. Not an educational tool.
Fang
@sonofabee: I don’t think it’s sad or a reflection of where we are going as a human race. It just means that technology has brought us closer to our fantasies and that watching porn while masturbating is somehow more pleasurable than masturbating without it. There isn’t anything inherently better or worse about watching porn while masturbating, rather there is something more reinforcing.
I’m wondering if there are any studies on whether porn affects sexual behavior. I think we can only continue the conversation if we have solid evidence that it does. Anyone know any sources?
sonofabee
@Fang: This is purely anecdotal, but I’ve met several guys online over the years who’ve told me that they can’t masturbate without porn. Not just that it’s less enjoyable without porn, but that they’re actually unable to get off from masturbation unless it’s accompanied by porn. Am I wrong to find that a bit disturbing? It sounds an awful lot like a form of addiction.
gandalf2721
this is interesting. more recent data from the Netherlands suggests the same. I don’t personally think we need a survey to KNOW that it has influence. HADRIANM has the best advice I have read. A simple solution for everyone:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-sunny-side-of-smut/
sympanyc
As many here have commented, porn is sexual fantasy, but the act of producing it is reality. Getting tested regularly means every 3 months. However, using PEP (after a one-time risk of infection) to prevent HIV only works if taken at most 72 hours after infection. Otherwise, you have to use PrEP, which is taken daily for months or years to keep HIV from making copies of itself and spreading infection. PrEP medication must be taken daily as prescribed or the risks of infection increase. This is the price to pay for getting paid more to bareback on film, and potentially stay healthy.
Beyond that, porn movies also influence people to practice what excites them sexually. They see bareback sex and think they can do it. And, as stated above, they can do it with less risk if they use PrEP. However, many men – especially young men – know little about sexual wellness. They have not received sex education, or have little interest in it because of the stigma attached to HIV. PEP and PrEP require regular testing to be effective. Many young gay men do not bother ever getting tested. Studies have shown that there has been a 20% increase of men participating in bareback sex since 2005. Is it their responsibility to know the facts and act accordingly? Absolutely! Should they become infected because they are unaware of prevention? No.
If, by their own admission, Michael Lucas and company say porn is sexual fantasy, then I think they have a responsibility in their bareback sex movies to clearly define that it’s risky behavior, and help educate their viewers of ways to prevent HIV infection – starting with testing. Perhaps they do this, I don’t know. Maybe someone can chime in on this point. These producers keep taking about their actors (and there are many producers who don’t even care about their actors), but I think an even bigger issue is addressing men who view this content, and decide that’s what they need to get off, without any care to risk prevention (i.e. getting tested and then counseling on prevention and/or living with HIV). Where is that discourse?
Fang
@sonofabee: What you describe does sound like some form addiction, and could be some sort of addiction by definition, but I think the implications are different from what we typically consider an “addiction” and a bad habit. If men can’t masturbate without porn, there is (arguably and not definitively) no significant decrease in quality of life, their personal relationships are unlikely to be greatly affected, and you made no mention of whether or not their sex lives suffered adverse consequences. Let’s assume they haven’t. Everything has continued as before, the only difference is that they enjoy masturbation more.
Let’s contrast this with smoking, drinking, drugs, gambling, stealing, etc. The consequences of these behaviors are much more insidious and harmful than needing porn to masturbate.
Porn in this instance sounds more like a crutch than addiction. Maybe even a bad habit. But not really an addiction. What really is the difference between a bad habit that you can’t/don’t want to shake and and an addiction? I think it’s in the consequences and in the implications. The line may be fine and porn CAN be an addiction. But, in general, I don’t think it is even if you use it every time you masturbate.
…like me. 😉
vive
Is commercial porn even relevant anymore? I thought everyone just watched x-t-u-b-e anyway nowadays, which is way hotter anyway. Who wants to pay to watched the kind of fakey acted sex made by the porn companies anymore anyway?
sympanyc
@vive: Tube sites have grown like weed, and have eroded the adult industry’s profits. These tube sites don’t just publish amateur movies, but also rip segments of copyrighted porn movies. Declining profits is an argument Michael Lucas uses to justify his entry into bareback but, honestly, there are many tube sites that specialize in just bareback, so I don’t get that argument. Adult entertainers used to be at the forefront of innovation. They used the Internet to proliferate and, now, they can’t seem to be able to change the very business model (exorbitant recurring monthly subscriptions) that is causing their slow death.
pierrot
Once again guys, porn is not meant to be educational. To educate youngsters on the safety of sex is the job of parents and sexual educators in schools – NOT the porn studios.
Some porn features simulated rape scenes – do we need to tell kids now before the clip “kids, this is not real rape so don’t rape people”?
Some porn involves having sex in public – do we need to tell kids now before the clip “kids, having sex in public will lead to your arrest so don’t do it”?
Some porn has bareback sex – do we need to tell kids now before the clip “kids bareback sex is dangerous so don’t do it”?
RIDICULOUS. Once again, it is the responsibility of parents and sexual educators to inform kids on the safety of sex. NOT the job of porn studios.
By the way, having a PSA announcement at the beginning of every clip won’t help because we all skip to the good parts anyway. NOBODY is listening to those disclaimers. So once again, it is not the responsibility of porn studios but parents and sexual educators to teach kids on the safety of sex.
Sheesh…
sympanyc
@pierrot: BUT sex educators have to compete with what people watch… porn. There is no contest. Rape porn tends to be fetish porn, and there are arguments about their impact that I won’t get into.
However, I like to watch porn like the next guy. I am informed. Many are not. If porn producers want to have an impact on the community that pays this bills, maybe they should start thinking about what that impact is…
Jer
@uruz422: +1
londonlad10
These arguments over whether bareback porn encourages people to take risks in real life always end up being massively reductive. It’s easy to argue that seeing something in a movie doesn’t make you copy it in real life – like watching Spiderman jump off a building. But that’s a huge oversimplification of the part bareback porn plays in our community. Of course it’s not just a case of ‘monkey see, monkey do’. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have an influence.
More and more people are ditching condoms in real life. It’s something many of us have observed out there in the gay community over the past 10 or 15 years – in clubs, bath houses, hook-up sites and among our own friends. People bareback because other people are barebacking. The biggest influence on people’s behavior is other people’s behavior – and the more people do it, the more it become normalized.
Porn is part of that – it reflects the surge in barebacking but it also contributes to the perception that everybody’s doing it. It’s part of the peer pressure.
Fang
@vive: I agree! I never watch commercial porn. Amateur porn is where it’s at.
Franco C.
Of course they do, to argue the opposite is delusional.
Bobby Christina Crawford
@chillbrutha82: What about a cashier at McDonald’s jacking off on Michael Lucas……………oh so hawt!!!!
GayTampaCowboy
I swear to god that the Queerty staff likes to post articles with this subject to drive site interaction – because every article about barebacking in porn has 10 times more comments than articles on gay marriage rights, gay equality, etc.
That said, i have a few questions for the “Anti-bareback” posters:
1) Where do we draw the line on promotion of “safer” sex practices? The same case for condoms on anal sex can be made for oral sex and rimming. I mean, if porn ACTORS (note, they ARE ACTORS) should be made by the porn companies to wear condoms during anal sex, then, common sense would indicate that they should wear then when performing oral sex and anallingus scenes. RIGHT? If not, where do you draw the line?
2) EVERY SINGLE PORN (bare and covered) has a “Safer sex” disclosure before the video starts. Do you want to make the text stay longer on the screen? Do you want to show images of folks dying from HEP C, AIDS, Syphillis, etc?
Look, consuming PORN is not like consuming cigarettes or alcohol. LIke it or not, porn, IS protected free speech under the United States Constitution. You might not like it, but it IS and as such, porn companies are no different than any of the big movie production companies like NEW LINE, PARAMOUNT, etc. The Motion Picture Association of America has a movie rating system (that porn movies comply with) and there are legal filings that porn companies comply with (note the compliance disclosure on EVERY PORN MOVIE).
Those who think it’s the responsibility of porn companies to go beyond the compliance are responding SOELY on emotion and incorrect assumptions (ie: that guys consuming bareback porn WILL engage in bareback porn as a DIRECT IMPACT of the porn they consume).
That’s right folks, a survey is NOT a juried medical survey that’s peer reviewed and printed in a medical journal. Actually, if you look back in history, you can remember when Tipper Gore tried to convince American that there was a DIRECT CONNECTION between playing violent video games or listening to violent music was causing “our children” to be more violent. Not ONLY didn’t the facts bare out her position, in fact, it showed NO correlation to what kinds of media a person consumes and their likelyhood of being violent.
Thus, all the “bar-fly” statements about “my friends said he does bareback because he saw it on a video” is just that…BAR TALK. It’s NOT a fact. Far be it from me to have to use FACTS to justify the argument that:
– Porn is protected under the 1st amendment
– ALL porn has to be in compliance with all state and federal regulations regarding age of performers, and now in many states, that they are tested for HIV/STDs prior to performing.
– All porn has “safer sex” disclosures at the beginning of every video/movie (gay, str8, bare and condom)
– Viewing of porn is a VOLUNTARY act
– The CHOICE Of porn (soft-core, hardcore, condom, bareback) is a PERSONAL CHOICE
– All performers are ADULTS and contracted for their services. They MUST sign a release with all terms and conditions printed in black and white – including their HIV/STD test requirements.
Actually, given all the focus on gay rights, marriage rights, gay discrimination prevention, i’m very surprised that so many gay male posters here are painting so many of their brothers as “mindless sex addicts who, after watching a bareback porno, will be forever pre-disposed to engage in unprotected sex and spread infectious diseases without pause.
REALLY?
sympanyc
@GayTampaCowboy:
1) Indeed, many other STDs can be caught sexually. Ironically, PEP and PrEP can now somewhat prevent HIV infection. The same could not be said of Hep C, for example;
2) Actually, not all films have that disclosure. Depends on the state in which they operate. However, my point, which I know porn companies will not do for fear of losing a buck, would actually be more about showing the importance of testing — without which PREP or PrEP are ineffective and HIV will spread in bareback sex. I’m not even saying they should tell folks to not bareback. But they are in the best position to inform folks on testing if they do practice bareback sex. They can also help prevent other STDs as per point #1;
Your point about correlation between bareback porn and bareback practice (you stopped numbering here): The correlation may be incorrect. Then again it may be correct. You stating that the correlation is incorrect is not supported by any research that I am aware of. However, we do know that bareback sex practice has increased 20% since 2005, and that HIV infection has risen among gay youth. Maybe it’s the sperm fairy…
bigrawtop
No. Stop being so preachy on barebacking.