Porn biz puts on condom

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Rash of HIV cases causes panic

More than 15 years after it shocked America, the AIDS epidemic has finally panicked the heterosexual adult-film industry. As one porn vet noted, “Recess is over in the playpen of the damned.”

The multibillion-dollar industry is changing its business plan as a result of five porn stars testing HIV-positive since January. The HIV scare is making producers of straight porn do what many of their gay counterparts began years ago: making “condoms-only” sex videos, which will affect a business that saw roughly 7,000 titles released last year.

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“We are a condom-only company,” said Vivid Video president Steven Hirsch, referring to Vivid’s production policy that started in April. “All performers, all men, are wearing condoms. We are no longer going to allow the performer to make the decisions as to whether condoms are allowed or not used.”

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Hirsch said he and other pornmakers have economic concerns, but, “the distributors are fully supportive of our decision. Certainly you’re always concerned when you try something different, but at this point you’re talking about performers’ lives and we just won’t take that chance.”

Porn’s historically individualistic and libertarian streaks let performers decide for themselves about condoms, but this year’s HIV tests changed that. Veteran porn performer Nina Hartley (“Boogie Nights”) said there could be some adjustments needed by fans of heterosexual porn since “on the one hand this is fantasy; there’s no death or disease.”

Unofficially quarantined from sex on camera are one 15-year male porn vet and a quartet of porn starlets. None of the five performers could be reached for comment.

Dr. Steven York, a San Fernando Valley internist working with porn stars, said that performers routinely get a monthly testing. If a test comes back HIV-positive, a second viral load test is done. “That (second test) actually allows us to measure the amount of HIV in someone,” York said.

Since the porn industry is based on frequent and numerous sexual partnerings, the stars’ HIV status is alarming news to hundreds of others.

“Four out of five of these people have all been with each other” sexually on camera, said retired porn actress Sharon Mitchell, who has tracked testing for Adult Industry Medical (AIM), the Sherman Oaks-based health advocacy group for adult performers.

In June, trade magazine Adult Video News reported that an April industry meeting at Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City found major pornmakers including Vivid, Metro and VCA plus smaller black-porn house Video Team agreeing to produce all-condom videos. Hirsch confirmed this, saying, “We made the decision together.”

The trade is concerned that if they don’t police themselves, others will. While that’s a possibility, York who works with Adult Industry Medical, said he hasn’t seen “any signs” that state or federal inspectors from OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) may require condom-only video productions, partly because porn performers’ workplace status often is vaguely defined.

However, the “crisis has created progress and awareness,” said porn veteran William Margold of the industry group Free Speech Coalition. “People are now much more aware of the lethal, terminal quality of the business they’ve come into because now it’s threatening their life as well as their livelihood. Recess is over in the playpen of the damned.”

Adult Industry Medical regularly updates its list of condom-only or condom-optional companies and performers. However, York said while major porn producers generally are honoring the health group’s quarantine list, there is “absolutely nothing, no civil or legal obligation” to stop those listed from being hired.

“The only thing we can do is provide information,” York said. “We can let folks know who has tested positive, we can make a recommendation, but no one is required to follow it.”

Performers who worked with HIV-positive people must test HIV “not detected” before being removed from a temporary quarantine list.

While there are no official boycotts of the HIV-positive performers, Mitchell said that once one has definitevly tested HIV-positive twice, “you’re on permanent quarantine.”

“We know it’s high risk, we know there’s a lot of sex partners and some don’t use condoms,” Mitchell said. However, she noted that, for example, “Vivid girls” like porn star Janine remain HIV-negative. “All the Vivid girls come in and get tested and they’re very upbeat.”

Mitchell, York and Hartley told Daily Variety these HIV cases come as the industry now produces more anal sex and group sex titles.

Hartley said she performed sexually with the infected male star “many, many times.” Their last sex was more than a year ago and she has been testing HIV-negative since then. “All the anals I did with him were condom-only,” Hartley said. “Aren’t I happy now!”

This latest batch of HIV-positive cases follows porn-anal filmmaker John Stagliano and starlet Nena Cherry (no relation to R&B singer Nenah Cherry) testing HIV-positive last year — and work dried up for them after news of their status became known. Porn strongman John Holmes died of AIDS-related causes in 1988.

But the crisis is not enough to deter newcomers from signing on in the porn world. Joining the porn biz soon is a mainstream actress calling herself “Elizabeth X.” After two years of acting classes and no luck landing an agent or getting callbacks, she said she will possibly start shooting sex scenes soon. The 31-year-old said she will demand condoms — plus fees past porn’s usual $350-to-400-per-scene wages.

“I just won’t do it for less than a grand,” she said. “It’s just an avenue that’s open to me. I’m an actress. I really need money. There you have it.”

(David Finnigan is a reporter for Video Business magazine.)

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