California safety board says no to mandatory condoms in porn

California officials in charge of workplace safety has voted down a proposal that would have put condoms on all male porn actors, heeding the call of scores of industry officials who said doing so would force them to make films nobody would watch.

The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s Standards Board voted the measure down when only three members supported it, Cal/Osha spokeswoman Julia Bernstein said. Four yes votes from the seven-member board were required for passage. The vote was 3-2 in favour, with one member absent and one board position currently open.

The board will now begin considering a new work-safety measure for the porn industry, Bernstein said.

Board members appeared influenced by the dozens of porn industry representatives who filed to the dais during a public hearing in Oakland, California, to argue forcefully but politely that adopting the condom measure would either destroy their multibillion-industry or force it underground. Doing the latter, they said, could make it more dangerous to performers by eliminating safeguards such as the industry’s requirement that actors be tested every 14 days for sexually transmitted diseases.

“I know you guys work really hard and have our best interests at stake, but we need you to work with us to find a solution,” said porn actress SiouxsieQ, who also reports on the industry for various publications. “When you criminalise sex work in any way, you make it more dangerous.”

Mike Stabile, a spokesman for the industry trade group the Free Speech Coalition, said after the vote that pornographers hope they can work closely in the future in crafting safety requirements that the industry can accept. He didn’t say what those might be.

The Aids Healthcare Foundation has lobbied Cal/Osha for years to adopt workplace safety standards specifically for the porn industry that are similar to what it has for other businesses.

Although disappointed by Thursday’s vote, foundation spokesman Ged Kenslea said his organisation was impressed that porn representatives said they recognise a need for some sort of regulation. He added his group would be interested in working with them to achieve that goal.

Under the 21-page proposal Cal/Osha rejected, so-called engineering controls “such as condoms” would have been required of actors engaging in sex to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV and other diseases. Movie producers would also have been required to pay for medical visits, treatments and other health-care costs for their performers.

The problem, several speakers said, is that a large segment of their audience loses interest in a film when they see actors with condoms.

Others said that if the rules were put into effect, Cal/Osha inspectors could also eventually begin ordering actors to use safety goggles and dental dams, adding no one would want to see a film with that equipment.

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