After a series of incidents involving the common trend of “bare back” sex scenes that produced several cases of HIV infection among a handful of gay porn actors in Europe, the hot guy porn topic of the moment is whether or not actors should even have the option of performing scenes without the use of condoms. The issue raises several interesting human rights debates over whether a person has the right to take certain risks in a professional capacity that may lead to a life threatening situation. Certainly rock climbers, extreme skiers, BASE jumpers, and even police men are allowed to place themselves in danger’s path in the pursuit of their hobbies, professions, or responsibilities. It doesn’t seem that the legal system will have much to say about hot guy porn scenes being shot with the use of rubbers or not, at least in the places where most gay porn is produced.
So then, where does the responsibility lie in terms of protecting the performers that make hot guy porn possible in the first place? Are we content to just write off the incidents and unfortunate circumstances that these young boys will be forced to live with for the rest of their lives, just because they made a risky decision, often under the influence and need of a few bucks? Given the generally exploitative nature of the adult media business, it stands to reason that someone is going to have to stand up and make a case for the mandatory protection of gay boys who perform sex scenes, or we’ll have a serious industry problem on our hands.
I think the question comes down to whether it will be the consumer or industry groups who ultimately demand the clamp-down on the gay movie industry to mandate safe sex measures be implemented in any movie that expects to get consumer or industry endorsement. I doubt it will come from the consumer side, as the trend has been bolstered by the consumer demand for increasingly rawer content, which ultimately leads to raw sex. The industry, on the other hand, has already stepped up measures to condemn both the studios who allow un-safe sex in their scenes and the award show companies that reward these companies for their productions. Kudos to the industry, they seem to be looking out for their people.
