Source: Adult Industry News
By: Rich Moreland
It’s Just Work, by Rich Moreland. “Here’s the dirty little secret about porn production in California: It’s just work,” says Assemblyman Isadore Hall, whose efforts to require condoms in adult film throughout the state has expired in a Senate committee.
The Honorable Mr. Hall confirms what everyone connected with the adult industry has known all along. Porn people are entertainers who pick up a paycheck and that fact is hardly “A dirty little secret.”
What is missing from his sardonic comment is the Assemblyman’s acknowledgment that an effective industry-wide testing protocol is already in place, and has been for years, to take care of what Ab 1576 purports to address: worker safety. Adult entertainment can take care of its own better than any government “nanny state” and do so without burdening the taxpayers.
Considering that fact, why would the California State Legislature want to drive a multi-billion dollar industry underground or into the friendlier neighborhoods of Nevada, Florida, and New Hampshire… And spend a lot of money doing it?
Having said that, only the naive are persuaded that the protective barrier fight is over. Michael Weinstein of the AIDS Health Foundation (AHF) will carry on his private war with the Industry, and why not? It is a moral imperative for him just as it may be for Isadore Hall. But for now, the issue is tabled and it’s time to assess the benefits from an Industry standpoint. Here’s a quick review.
A degree of political unity is emerging. In the condom debate, the Free Speech Coalition is the point man and for this initial round, others have joined the vanguard. According to an AVN article dated August 14, the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, the Transgender Law Center, the Los Angeles LGBT Law Center, Project Inform of San Francisco, and the AIDS Project Los Angeles, are among this group. And, don’t forget the valuable support of the business oriented Valley Industry & Commerce Association. It has a stake in keeping porn dollars in the LA economy.
And, there is more.
The latex controversy has revealed that performers, always known for their renegade attitudes, can organize to express their opinions. The earliest, most primitive rumblings occurred in raucous protests before Measure B became law in LA County an election cycle ago. At the time, it was too little, too late and haphazard, at best. But as reality settled in and the battle moved statewide to Sacramento, performer interest intensified. Stars like Chanel Preston, James Deen, Casey Calvert, Lorelei Lee, Jiz Lee, Nina Hartley, Annika Albright, Alex Chance, and others lobbied legislators.
A performer organization, the nascent APAC (Adult Performer Advocacy Committee), is emerging. Among APAC’s successes is Porn 101, a video educating talent about STDs. Porn people are sex workers foremost, just as Isadore Hall suggests, and where better to help than with health issues. As APAC grows, the political entanglement over condoms will add to its importance.
To confront the powers that be requires a gutsy attitude. Clearly, two industry executives are creating their own political dust ups with AHF. First, Vivid’s Steven Hirsch has filed an appeal in the 9th U. S. Circuit Court involving the enforcement of Measure B. Second, Peter Acworth of Kink.com is taking on Michael Weinstein in a direct confrontation. In Acworth’s view, the company was unfairly fined over $78,000 for OSHA “violations” in San Francisco. When he moved some production to Las Vegas, AHF tailed him into town and initiated legal complaints over unprotected oral sex. “Baseless” is Acworth’s word for their accusation (this has gotten personal, you see) and Nevada is stepping around AHF for the moment.
At present, Acworth is ahead in his fight; Hirsch’s efforts remain undecided.
So, where are we now? The condom push fell victim to state funding, the oft-cited reason for failures to increase government involvement in the daily living of ordinary Americans. But, in this case, the aftermath is spreading a wide tent to accommodate an industry willing to wrestle for its life. The message is awareness coupled with united action, ingredients for an effective voice in every political scrum.
Simply put, the porn world is not what it used to be. The people who are committed to adult entertainment understand that porn is a career and are better educated and more professional than ever before, even though it remains what it has always been, “just work.”
