In the UK last month, concerns about the the safety of the bareback porn industry were raised when four out of eight men who participated in a week-long bareback shoot subsequently contracted HIV. Adding to the distress of the men, the production company released the footage of the incidents in which they became infected, and it was only after a BBC investigation into the unsafe practices in the industry that the DVDs were withdrawn from sale.
With a new generation of young gay men having no first hand experience or memory of the devastation caused by HIV/AIDS amongst MSM prior to the availability of anti-retrovirals, and others experiencing what has been dubbed ‘condom fatigue,’ it appears there is a growing complacency about the risks of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. This complacency has been demonstrated by the demand for porn featuring barebacking.
However, in the wake of the BBC investigation, one of the largest porn companies in the UK, Icreme, has pledged to stop filming bareback scenes and porn directors are following suit in calling for the porn industry to promote safer sex in their productions.
The investigation has also emboldened former performers who contracted HIV during their work to speak out. The picture they paint is disturbing – barebacking and other unsafe sex practices were coupled with widespread laxity in the system of checking the HIV status of performers.
‘I presented a certificate about half the time,’ one former HIV+ porn actor reported on Pink News.co.uk, ‘they would normally just take your word for it.’
Leading gay porn director Chi Chi Larue, long an outspoken critic of bareback movies, asked in the BBC’s report, ‘After all the gay community has been through why are we putting people at risk for porn?’
It appears that with the increase in HIV infections amongst performers in Britain, Mr Larue is not a lone voice of dissent. British porn director Steven Brewer is now spearheading a campaign against barebacking, inviting both producers and performers to sign up to a new code of practice designed to minimise risk. It remains to be seen whether other porn companies will take up the call and turn their backs on barebacking.
