The latest shake up in the p### industry with several pornstars contracting HIV is forcing the industry to take a closer look at how its STD screenings are handled. Draft regulations are being considered by the state of California that would mandate condom use on shoots, and that is understandable. However, Salon reports that another extension of the draft also prohibits e########## onto the genitals, mouth or eyes, and instructs employers to provide performers with protective eyewear to avoid ocular contact with semen.
Via Salon:
Here’s the thing, though: Condoms, and other barrier methods, are technically already required in p###, both during penetrative and oral sex, according to Deborah Gold, Cal/OSHA’s deputy chief for health. So too is eye protection from semen and other bodily fluids. If you’ve ever watched a p### you probably have a sense of just how relatively rarely these requirements are enforced. If instituted, these draft guidelines would actually offer a trial period in which an exception is made for the barrier method requirement during oral sex. (As of 2018, the exemption would be reconsidered and could either end or be extended.)
Regardless, some p### insiders are unhappy with the draft rules, which were initially leaked on an industry blog that is vocally supportive of a condom mandate. Peter Acworth, CEO of the fetish site Kink.com, tells me that the draft regulations “basically criminalize the production of p###” in California. In fact, because of these draft guidelines and AB640, he’s considering selling the Armory, Kink’s infamous San Francisco p### palace. If these Cal/OSHA guidelines are instituted, he says Kink will “have to invest in a warehouse in Nevada or Europe” for production. If that happens, the Armory will likely have to go — and, he says, so will adult productions in California.
In response, Gold said, “The fact is there is a rule right now that they’re supposed to be complying with.” She added that these draft guidelines are an attempt to tailor existing workplace-safety rules relating to blood-borne pathogens specifically to the adult industry.
The draft guidelines do not require the regular STD testing currently instituted by the industry. It does, however, call for employers to provide hepatitis B, hepatitis A and human papillomavirus vaccines to performers. It additionally requires that, in cases of potential STI exposure, p### studios “provide for post-exposure prophylaxis … when medically indicated,” as well as counseling. The 21-page document suggests several other regulatory changes, including cleanup requirements, like providing “plastic coverings or other disposable materials to facilitate cleaning of the work area.”
Can you imagine p### with goggles on? Would you still watch or would the industry tank?