pornochromatic

The L.A. Times published a story yesterday about the trouble the porn industry is in and how it’s affecting performers and business owners alike. It’s an interesting read, but to make a long story short, free content is killing porn. Business is down across the board and the irony is that the tube sites that are destroying the industry aren’t even making money.

Paying for content simply isn’t necessary anymore and most of us don’t really want to. Sure, MP3s are only a buck on iTunes or Amazon, but you really can’t beat free. And free content’s not going anywhere.

I do wonder about the accepted wisdom that people who want free porn go to tube sites and never pay for anything. I know the tube sites are popular and I know that the advertising on them is next to worthless, but I’m never one to take the Chicken Littles of the world without a small grain of salt. So tell me…

How often do you watch or download free porn?

• I never pay for porn
• Almost always
• More than half the time
• About half the time
• Occasionally
• Almost never
• I always pay for my porn

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Where do you get your free porn?

• Galleries on TGP sites (ex: thehun.com)
• Tube sites (ex: youporn.com
• File hosting sites (ex: rapidshare.com)
• Torrents (ex: thepiratebay.org)
• Friend's paysite password

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As many of you are likely already aware, a case of HIV was reported in an active performer in the adult industry. I’ve been following the news very closely but have waited until now to write about it so as not to make hasty proclamations before the real story is known.

Now that nearly a week has passed, I’m comfortable giving a rundown of what most likely happened and what I think about it. Today’s post will go over the sequence of events that have transpired over the last week. In a subsequent post, I’ll talk about why I think the way porn performers’ health is protected needs a well-thought-out overhaul.

What Happened

The news was first made public on an industry message board by actress/producer Nina Vain. Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM) was contacted by several people to confirm or deny the report of a positive HIV test and all were initially told that it was untrue (including Peter Romero, an early and vocal supporter of AIM). Only after the outcry reached a critical mass did AIM finally admit that it was true. In a statement, AIM founder and former performer Sharon Mitchell said that it was their policy not to make the news public because it was “not a major event.”

Almost immediately after AIM publicly confirmed the story, it was picked up by the LA Times. The newspaper contacted the LA Dept of Health and broke the news that 22 individuals have tested positive for HIV at AIM since 2004 – approximately 18 more than most people in the industry were aware of. This caused a firestorm of controversy in industry circles as well as the mainstream press.

If AIM is to be believed (and no factual evidence has contradicted their story so far), of that twenty-two,

• One is Patient Zero who tested positive on June 6th
• Four were straight performers who became infected in the outbreak in 2004
• One was a transsexual performer who tested positive in 2004
• Ten were male performers who have sex with other men (Gay talent is not tested because they are generally assumed to have the disease. This is why the gay industry uses condoms in 99% of their movies.)
• Six were people receiving their first AIM test so that they could enter the adult industry

AIM also asserts that it did not make any mistakes in giving MILF/Patient Zero her results. Their timeline is:

• April 19: Patient Zero receives her first HIV test at AIM. The test is negative.
• June 4: Patient Zero is tested at AIM again. No results are given on this date.
• June 5: Patient Zero performs in a boy/girl scene.
• June 6: AIM notifies Patient Zero that she has tested positive for HIV.

This means that Patient Zero had gone 36 days without a test and was allowed to work. The standard period between tests is 30 days. It’s alleged that the director who hired her despite knowing that her test was 36 days old was Tom Moore, aka Tranny Dundee. The identity of Patient Zero and the two males she has had sexual contact with since June 4 is still unknown and all are under voluntary sexual quarantine.

Patient Zero is said to have performed in three scenes between her first and second test and although it is technically possible that one of those performers either exposed her or was exposed by her to HIV, they are not being quarantined at this time.

At the present time, both critics and supporters of the industry are calling for change. Some in the form of different testing regimes, others supporting mandatory condom use. The public reaction from most performers and directors has been relatively muted, with most pointing out that there are risks inherent in the job that a condom requirement may only exacerbate.

Stay tuned for part two of this series on HIV in the industry and what changes I think need to be made for the protection of the performers and of the business overall.