Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
A porn actor tested positive for HIV. The positive test was a complete disaster for adult film companies in the U.S. The HIV positive actor’s on-screen sex partners are being located and tested for HIV.
Condom Use Spotty in U.S. Porn Industry
Actors in the U.S. porn industry do not generally use condoms, and are exposed every working day to bodily fluids that can transmit STDs. The porn industry in the U.S. operates near San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, and brings in about $13 billion each year.
The positive HIV test came about during one of the industry’s monthly blood testing at the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation in Sherman Oaks. Because of privacy laws, the clinic is not able to release the gender of the HIV positive actor. The actor’s partners have been notified and are now undergoing testing for HIV.
Adult Film Studios Halt Productions After Porn Actor’s HIV Positive Test
As part of the safety precautions, the adult film industry will not film any person who is one or two generations removed from sexual contact with the actor who was HIV positive. The testing of all the exposed actors is expected to take up to two weeks. Both Vivid Entertainment Group and Wicked Pictures have shut down production while the facts of the case are being worked out. Also Hustler Video and Digital Playground have stopped production. Among other companies stopping are Jennaration X Studies, Girlfriends Films and Kick Ass Pictures.
With the disaster of the HIV positive test, the spotlight has been shown on the fact that many porn actors do not wear condoms or use other protective gear while filming. The law in California is that they are supposed to wear condoms, and they still don’t. Apparently STD infection is much higher among porn actors than the general population. There is pressure to not use protection, but really, these actors need to be safe while performing their jobs. Hopefully this most recent HIV positive test for a porn actor will lead to industry wide safety changes. Workers deserve to be safe while they work.
Re: Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
I'd really like to see some reliable statistics stating that porn actors have more diseases than the general population. They get tested monthly while they're working but many people in the general population have NEVER been tested so I have a hard time believing that's true.
It sounds like someone just wrote that with absolutely no information to back it up because duh, everybody knows people who fuck for money have diseases duh.
Nothing against the OP, but I'm more than a little tired of that attitude. The general population has been passing HIV (and every other STD) around for a long time for free.
Re: Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MarvelGirl
I'd really like to see some reliable statistics stating that porn actors have more diseases than the general population. They get tested monthly while they're working but many people in the general population have NEVER been tested so I have a hard time believing that's true.
It sounds like someone just wrote that with absolutely no information to back it up because duh, everybody knows people who fuck for money have diseases duh.
Nothing against the OP, but I'm more than a little tired of that attitude. The general population has been passing HIV (and every other STD) around for a long time for free.
Ha! I love this!
Ditto!
Re: Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
this "porn stars get tested once a month" thing...i can see how this could be true 20 years ago, but certainly, it is not an accurate statement in 2010.
and i am certain that many adult film workers would prefer to use condoms but know that films will not sell as well as "bareback" entertainment, so they engage in unprotected sex. i doubt the porn industry is not suffering the same more-for-less issues that the dancing industry is dealing with. the vast majority of us would give fully clothed airdances if we could make the same amount of money, just as i imagine many film actresses would prefer protected sex, if not only to cut down on clean-up time.
though this is getting off-topic, i imagine people in the porn industry use condoms with the same frequency as the general population. nevertheless, it's still a fucking shame that hiv-infection via consensual sex is still occurring in 2010.
Re: Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
Quote:
Originally Posted by
camille27
this "porn stars get tested once a month" thing...i can see how this could be true 20 years ago, but certainly, it is not an accurate statement in 2010.
If you are working for a studio that doesn't require testing, please quit immediately and share the name of the studio so that others are not exposed to the same risk.
I have always had to supply a current test but I don't work with "studios" that film in back alleys with "actors" that look more like junkie bums picked up off the street.
My statement certainly is accurate in 2010 if you're dealing with a legitimate company.
If you're not dealing with professionals, then what can you really expect? These actors are adults. They have the ability and right to ask their fellow actors to provide a current test. If they don't care enough about their own health to do so, then I have a hard time mustering up any sympathy for them.
On another note, this actor DID have a test which is why they were able to track down everyone he had sex with professionally to get them tested. It's a shame he was infected but the testing system was utilized and surely prevented others from being infected. Imagine if he hadn't been tested. He could have continued working for months or even years without knowing that he was spreading disease.
Re: Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
i think this is the problem. this back alley, amateur, make-money-quick shit is huge. i've worked with two dancers (both students at my alma mater at the time) who simply went to a porn "studio" one day, and left that day with $800. no testing required.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MarvelGirl
I have always had to supply a current test but I don't work with "studios" that film in back alleys with "actors" that look more like junkie bums picked up off the street.
.
Re: Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
There is a video on youtube where a known porn producer is admitting that pornstars aren't tested for EVERYTHING. They're tested for HIV, AIDS but a lot of these companies do NOT test for some STDs. ...and this is FACT. This is also ONE of the reasons why I will never do porn. Yes I said never.
Re: Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
Quote:
Originally Posted by
camille27
i think this is the problem. this back alley, amateur, make-money-quick shit is huge. i've worked with two dancers (both students at my alma mater at the time) who simply went to a porn "studio" one day, and left that day with $800. no testing required.
Yep this. I did an amateur video many years ago and was not tested. In fact he didn't require condoms though both me and the guy I was working with insisted on it.
Re: Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
I wonder if the actor with AIDS was another of these guys who also did gay porn. I know Peter North did, back in the day--though he has tried to deny it of course. An ex of mine tracked down a couple pictures of him getting it in the ass, as well as giving it, which was pretty funny to see after he denied it ever happened. He is probably relatively safe to work with now though, since doing gay porn would shoot down his image as a straight stud instantly. I can't stand watching his shit anyway.
Of course AIDS can also be transmitted via heterosexual activity, especially if there is anal penetration involved--but anal penetration is still by far the easiest way to get it. Butt-fucking as a means of transmission, and sharing needles especially, dwarf the statistics on transmission via vaginal sex. Oral sex between lesbians is a very, very tough way to catch AIDS! Like almost impossible; I doubt there has been a single case of it.
Still, I am glad the tough testing is the common practice with the bigger porn producers.
Re: Porn Actor HIV Positive Test - Lack of Condom Use Questioned
Among the several holes in this supposed protective strategy are :
- the assumption that the 'protected group' are truthful;
- actors going outside the 'protected group' (the protected groups being those who are tested initially and agree to use only safe sex or abstinence when not being working or with a tested regular partner);
- the concept of monthly testing protecting you (FALSE it only has limited effects in protecting others, not you, because of the delay between exposure and testing results);
- uncertainly in testing technique and/or faking test results;
- lapses in the protective agreement caused by the filming management taking chances because of convenience situations.
Because of these uncertainties only safe sex should be allowed, but the porn consumers, I'm sure, would not be satisfied.