LOS ANGELES — Adult stars James Deen and Nina Hartley are two of the voices featured in Jezebel.com’s story on Measure B, the Los Angeles County initiative on the Nov. 6 ballot that would mandate condom usage in adult films.
The porn-positive post, written by Jezebel columnist Hugo Schwyzer, touches on performer testing, the industry's health record and the difference between what makes for safe sex at home and on a porn set.
"Condom burn is a real issue. The friction from the latex, even with lubrication, is painful and breaches the integrity of my mucosal membranes, putting me at greater risk for disease transmission," Hartley told the site.
"Half an hour of hard thrusting by a well-endowed young man. It's hard enough to deal with without condoms. Add latex to the mix and I'm down to being able to work with a man once a week at best, to say nothing of the damage it would do to my private life and intimacy with my husband."
Deen, as he has in previous interviews and public appearances, supports the use of condoms for the sake of public safety, but agrees with Hartley's sentiments on the matter.
"There ought to be condom ads on every porn site," he said. "Condoms are a great idea. They just aren't the best way to keep performers safe on camera."
Deen also tells Jezebel that he thinks he knows why people may want to vote in favor of making condoms mandatory in adult films.
He explained, "I think people feel guilty about watching porn. They want to clear their conscience about it by trying to make us safer. But that's more about their shame than it is about our health."
Vivid Entertainment CEO Steven Hirsch tells the site that despite there having been "more than 300,000" hardcore sex scenes shot in the last eight years, only two cases of HIV infection have occurred, both contracted from untested civilian partners. He also notes that if Measure B passes, it will mean "a likely end to the industry's assiduous reliance on testing."
