@jilted

Depends on how you define the industry…nationwide, including toys, straight/gay & camming, sales and affiliate income that is being attributed to other industry segments…if you use the standards applied to other industries 5 is low end and 13 isn’t out of line.

Porn accounts for 30% of daily internet search traffic..how much is that affiliate or click through revenue?
Web hosting, site service?
Merchant services?
How many lawyers, plastic surgeons and laboratories are kept afloat serving the industry?
Manufacturing…Toys and hard goods, lighting, cameras, devices?
Real estate, hotel and other temporary real estate used as studios?
Start adding up what really goes in and out of the industry and then you have the numbers that are assigned to other industries.

Does the Financial Times still say that porn is a 13billion dollar industry, a myth that was debunked by Forbes over ten years ago. Yes, there is some good money involved here, but no where near the amounts the industry claims.

Can anyone provide on single shred of evidence that the porn industy is worth even 5billion dollars,,just one shred?

When the even the Financial Times reports on the condom LA issue then you know there are big bucks involved. I wonder if actresses were actually consulted on this. The opinion of the people whose rights are supposedly being upheld often gets neglected in these things.

@mikestabile

Condom-neutrality based on personal preferences at kink isn’t the issue with AB1576 or OSHA…it’s the industry as a whole.

Blaming personal lives when incidents invite scrutiny is futile when there is no way to distinguish personal behaviors from the business whose idea of condom-neutrality is..sure..we got a whole box over there, take it with you on the way out the door.

For what it’s worth, if EITHER performer wants a condom on a Kink set, one gets used. A request for a condom trumps opposition. So any woman who wants a condom used gets it. It’s not just something we say, either. Some of Kink’s biggest performers always use condoms, others never do, others do it on a case by case basis. That’s what condom-neutrality means.

@mharris

As impassioned as this argument is..here’s how a legislator is going to hear it…women vs men choice is out the window with gender equality. Now for breakage issues, what is the breakage rate & foreign body rate on MSM sets and how does this compare to rate of infection incidents? Not just HIV, all infection incidents.

Choice and preference sound good but are not sound arguments. Chaffing, abrasion and more…miners stood up for the industry and told how the weight of carrying additional safety equipment could further compromise their breathing with the weight burden, that the bulk of equipment would preclude some of the crevice work (confined space) they have to perform.

Based on what I have seen in too many industries to count the only sound argument is risk assessment (testing) and commensurate risk prevention/reduction with a responsive action action.

Six months ago I was personally freaked that HIV could or would be allowed on a film set. After all the research what I found is that even with varied plasma to sperm and vaginal fluids the risk of transmission with undetectable levels is minimal with adherence to ART. Prep is another factor that reduces risk, but is not a viable option for the workplace despite the advantages the industry will gain from those who choose PReP as a personal choice, just like folks who pursue advanced education and bring that knowledge to work.

Once I got over my HIV hysteria other factors quickly emerged. Look at the qualifications for study inclusion….the most compliant. Studies that want data on 2000 start with 2500 participants because even with compliance to protocol other factors will affect ongoing participation. Applying studies of the most compliant to those most resistant to compliance raises a few flags.

Even assuming compliance by those with HIV we now have HIV hysteria and gender disparity in the industry. MSM it’s okay but if a woman is diagnosed she is now Typhoid Mary and her career is over, should it be? If she takes her meds and tests demonstrate minimal risk should she be excluded or outed? What about meningitis related to STI?

Some performers may actually feel more comfortable with known HIV reduced to undetectable over the unknown & higher risk of ACUTE HIV in the window period and testing frequency.

Performer choice isn’t the issue, it’s INFORMED choice that’s the issue.

As to political labels…in or out of office folks in every party are guilty of placing rhetoric over objectivity. Rhetorical tag is a fun game but it sucks when it takes precedence over the actual issue.

@mikestabile

Ty for impression…more likely than not those making the sausage would feel like a fish out of water on a set even if they appreciate the editing that creates a final product.

How a bill fits with all the other ingredients usually takes precedent over the hopes,fears or predictions of either side.

Mike, even those of us such as yourself and Peter Acworth that do not support mandatory condoms and dental dams are concerned for the safety of performers. In my case it was a tough decision I had to make as to what side I would be on. What tipped it for me is the many performers explaining what an issue condom use is in porn with the breakage of condoms up to 30% of the time due to the heavy duty sex, the severe irritation condoms cause (being foreign matter, after all) even with lube and the difficulty of removing a broken condom from deep back into a pussy is what made me think that required condoms in porn is not a good idea. However (as Peter does), I support condom choice where (especially) the female performer would choose whether she wants to use a condom in a scene (I support a male performer choice as well but if there is a difference of opinion I would have to personally back the female as she is the one who gets the irritation and has to go to the ER if a condom breaks and gets stuck in the back of her pussy). Of course if I were working at Kink or Intersec I would follow whatever guidance the company head put out (at Kink my understanding is that if one person chooses to use condoms the scene becomes a condom scene which is much easier for me to support than a no condom allowed rule) but above is my personal opinion.

As for politics, yes it is a weird animal — with liberals and conservatives fighting every step of the way. Go to DC and watch a House or Senate debate sometime (there is a gallery for this purpose) or watch on C-SPAN, it makes me think our Congressmen are mostly immature brats at times.

Yeah, I do work with Kink, as well as a number of orgs (profit and non) that deal with adult film and sex work. I know a lot of us have differing opinions, and anyone I work with will tell you I’m not uncritical, and push for meaningful change. At the same time, I’m pretty dogged about not confusing science with politics.

As for the hearing, I’m not sure if it came across through the audio, but the committee was cordial, and acted with both respect for and skepticism of both sides. Not to say that they aren’t concerned with the safety of performers, but I think that they also understand that this is, at least partly, a moral crusade that’s going to push even more production into Nevada. I will tell you that it’s funny to see how the sausage gets made.

Thanks Lurking. Mike Stabile, please tell Peter and the directors to keep up the good work with Kink’s sites. They are the best in the BDSM end of the biz. If my rigging skills were better I would apply to Kink to direct a site for Peter myself. I think directing a BDSM site would be a fun and enjoyable job and good directors are likely hard to find. I think I would enjoy coming up with ideas and bringing them to fruition.