# Mandatory condom use on all porn films: not just a good idea, it's the law! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 13, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411 "2013-07-13T18:04:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/21 "2013-07-13T20:35:53Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Are there any other cases where it is illegal to depict doing something on film that is legal to do in real life? Killing somebody in self-defense? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/22 "2013-07-13T20:41:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Are there any other cases where it is illegal to depict doing something on film that is legal to do in real life? The distinction isn’t that they’re performing on film. The distinction is they’re working. So the question should be are there any other cases where it is illegal to do something at work that is legal to do at home? And as Bricker points out, the answer is yes. There are numerous other safety laws that apply to people doing their job that don’t apply to amateurs doing the same thing at home. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/23 "2013-07-13T20:45:23Z")
I should also point out that the motivation for this law started within the porn business. A group of porn performers have been trying to get this law enacted for years. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/24 "2013-07-13T20:51:07Z")
So no more money shot, then? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/25 "2013-07-13T20:54:03Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > So no more money shot, then? 😉 They’d just take the condom off for that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/26 "2013-07-13T20:57:03Z")
Wait a minute-- This law applies to all anal and vaginal penetration scenes? That’s the criterion? Because not all anal or vaginal penetrations are penile. What if it’s a solo woman using a dildo, does the dildo have to have a condom stretched over it? OK, putting a condom on a dildo doesn’t make much difference, but what if, say, it’s a fisting scene? Does a glove count in that case? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/27 "2013-07-13T20:58:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The distinction isn’t that they’re performing on film. The distinction is they’re working. So the question should be are there any other cases where it is illegal to do something at work that is legal to do at home? And as Bricker points out, the answer is yes. There are numerous other safety laws that apply to people doing their job that don’t apply to amateurs doing the same thing at home. And to the both of you I say, point taken. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/28 "2013-07-13T21:01:36Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I wonder how they’re going to enforce it. I see a possibility for a new job category at Cal OSHA 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/29 "2013-07-13T21:15:19Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Move the studios down or up the 101 to Orange or Ventura counties. That may be the idea. This seems to me to be a zoning ordinance. Wikipedia has an article on Aids in the porn industry: [Sexually transmitted infections in the pornography industry - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_in_the_pornographic_film_industry) If I understand it correctly, it is standard industry practice for erotic actors to be tested every 30 days. Is this sufficient? Should the law be tightened? I don’t know: I oppose this measure because I don’t think OSHA type requirements should be settled by ballot initiatives. At any rate wiki says that no adult film industry actor has caught HIV in the past 8 years. Still, I don’t have a problem with this regulation in theory: I do think it should go through the ordinary rule-making process. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/30 "2013-07-13T21:16:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The distinction isn’t that they’re performing on film. The distinction is they’re working. So the question should be are there any other cases where it is illegal to do something at work that is legal to do at home? And as Bricker points out, the answer is yes. There are numerous other safety laws that apply to people doing their job that don’t apply to amateurs doing the same thing at home. That ain’t working! ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/31 "2013-07-13T21:22:07Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > So no more money shot, then? 😉 That depends on whether the penalty is a fine or jail time. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/32 "2013-07-13T21:28:44Z")
This is a dumb law. As I’m sure has been pointed out, what’s the difference between doing a porno without a condom and simply doing an amateur video without a condom? Is the latter legal? If so, then this law is nonsensical. ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/33 "2013-07-13T21:56:00Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > That may be the idea. This seems to me to be a zoning ordinance. > > Wikipedia has an article on Aids in the porn industry: [Sexually transmitted infections in the pornography industry - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_in_the_pornographic_film_industry) If I understand it correctly, it is standard industry practice for erotic actors to be tested every 30 days. Is this sufficient? Should the law be tightened? I don’t know: I oppose this measure because I don’t think OSHA type requirements should be settled by ballot initiatives. At any rate wiki says that no adult film industry actor has caught HIV in the past 8 years. Still, I don’t have a problem with this regulation in theory: I do think it should go through the ordinary rule-making process. The self-monitoring program is a joke run by a former porn actress who was granted a PhD in “sexology” by an unaccredited school and then began putting herself forth as a “doctor.” Porn is like wrestling–there is no such thing as “out of character.” Nothing you hear from people in the industry can be trusted. It’s inevitable that many of the porn performers who simply disappear from the video racks after a few years contracted an STD; and I can name several performers in gay porn who are quite honest about it, but they are just waved off as not counting when giving numbers like this. I don’t think the condom law is enforceable or a great idea necessarily, but it’s pretty clear that the porn industry brought this on itself with its fake HIV testing and fake HIV statistics. Not to mention the myriad non-HIV infections out there. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/34 "2013-07-13T21:58:23Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > If you film porn in Los Angeles County, [the law now requires performers to wear condoms for all vaginal and anal scenes.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measure_B) > > Many porn stars have spoken out against the measure, saying that they should decide for themselves what risk to accept. Former porn actress and current born-again Christian/anti-porn activist Shelley Lubben joins several health organizations in speaking in favor of the measure. > > Those against the measure have said, in effect, “Get your laws off my body.” > > The law makes sense to me. Similar to motorcycle and bicycle helmet laws. The public has an interest in that if medical expenses are incurred by risky behavior the costs are most often borne by the public. Years ago my FIL was in a rehab hospital after suffering a stroke. I once visited him in the cafeteria and noted that there were about a dozen young men. I asked why they were there and found they were all(!!) motorcycle riders, most who had been riding without helmets. An emergency room physician friend of mine says he calls helmetless motorcycle riders, “Organ Donors”. Perhaps a compromise law could be enacted. Condomless sex workers agree to become “human lab rats” for experimental drugs. Some of them, unknowingly, will be “controls”. I wonder if that would scare any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/35 "2013-07-13T22:20:39Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Isn’t this something that should be handled by OSHA? Yes ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/36 "2013-07-13T22:39:59Z")
> [@Condescending\_Robot](#): > > The self-monitoring program is a joke run by a former porn actress who was granted a PhD in “sexology” by an unaccredited school and then began putting herself forth as a “doctor.” Porn is like wrestling–there is no such thing as “out of character.” Nothing you hear from people in the industry can be trusted. It’s inevitable that many of the porn performers who simply disappear from the video racks after a few years contracted an STD; and I can name several performers in gay porn who are quite honest about it, but they are just waved off as not counting when giving numbers like this. > > I don’t think the condom law is enforceable or a great idea necessarily, but it’s pretty clear that the porn industry brought this on itself with its fake HIV testing and fake HIV statistics. Not to mention the myriad non-HIV infections out there. I’ll grant you that Sharon Mitchell’s academic credentials were shaky. The “school” that gave her a degree is unaccredited. But while she’s probably not qualified to do medical research, I haven’t heard anything to suggest she couldn’t run a blood testing facility. AIM (the Adult Industry Medical Associates) seemed to take its job seriously and professionally. It conducted regular tests and kept good records. And on two occasions it announced it had found an infection problem in the porn business and shut down all production while the problem was addressed so it doesn’t appear it was just a front operation to give the studios cover. I think it’s unfortunate AIM was targeted with hacker attacks and lawsuits and had to shut down in 2011. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/37 "2013-07-13T22:50:56Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Are there any other cases where it is illegal to depict doing something on film that is legal to do in real life? Can’t smoke on television, that’s sort of similar. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/38 "2013-07-13T22:52:04Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Can’t smoke on television, that’s sort of similar. Since when? ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/39 "2013-07-13T22:52:15Z")
Are porn actors covered by workers compensation? Insurance companies probably do more to enforce and reward workplace safety measures than the government. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411/40 "2013-07-13T22:53:06Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > Are porn actors covered by workers compensation? Insurance companies probably do more to enforce and reward workplace safety measures than the government. “You can’t work because you sprained _what_?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-condom-use-on-all-porn-films-not-just-a-good-idea-its-the-law/663411.md?page=3)