You might have heard about the law that was passed in L.A. last winter that requires adult film actors to wear condoms on all sets that hold city permits. The law caused quite a stir, with many in the industry threatening to relocate their business to another state without such a law. Many have lauded the measure as a victory for public health in general, while others argue that it’s unnecessary and that such a law violates the adult film industry’s right to free speech. People within the industry have also said that condoms should not be featured because they’re a “turnoff” for viewers of the films.
Let me tell you why that pisses me off.
I don’t need to go into all the ways that pornography influences what our culture thinks is sexy. What we see in porn has a massive impact on what we believe sex should look like. There are positive and negative aspects to this. But the bottom line is that much of what we believe to be erotic is socially constructed. As a sex-positive person, I have nothing against the porn industry as a whole, and am certainly aware of how it can be a force for good in the world. And it seems to me that in this case, adult filmmakers and stars could have a major impact on the rates of unwanted pregnancy and STI infection by including condom use in their films.
Think about it – if condoms were routinely used in pornography, they would become more routinely used in sex in general, and less grudgingly so. Condoms have a stigma attached to them, one that’s largely unfounded and actually incredibly dangerous. Being told that condoms are uncomfortable, difficult to use, or a turn-off will reduce their rates of use and increase the likelihood of being used carelessly or incorrectly. The more we see condoms being used in ways that are erotic and fun, the more we believe that condoms are erotic and fun in and of themselves. Porn has the power to promote condom use, and even fetishize it. Porn can convince the multitudes of what is and isn’t sexy, and imagine how significant it would be if they convinced everyone that condoms were sexy. Cheeky Trojan ads are fun, but not entirely believable, in the same way that tampon ads aren’t believable – no one thinks of tampons as a cute bathroom accessory.
Pornography has the power to make condom use the norm. Maybe if there were condoms in every adult film you watched, you would cease to believe that condoms were anything other than a normal part of sex – which is what they should be.
I agree with most of the article, specially about the part were porn could help change the stigma surrounding condoms. However I disagree with how this was handled, I don’t think banning and imposing anything are good ways to solve a problem. Incentives for companies that use condoms in their videos is a better way to go.
Also, men in gay porn use condoms most of the time for anal and it isn’t such a big deal. Sometimes they put on and take them so quickly you don’t even notice, and there are ones that are very thin and see-through.
[...] hear a fellow Red Hotter’s opinion on the matter, check out this blog post from last summer. Posted In: Mission, [...]