The Adult Entertainment Industry
Porn Stars Decry Mandatory Condom Use in Porn Valley
By Alex Henderson
RealmNoir, January 24, 2012
On January 17, the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance mandating that condoms be used in all adult films shot within the city limits—and considering that L.A. (especially the San Fernando Valley) is still the adult film capital of the world, this is a major development. It is also a development that many people who work in the adult entertainment industry are not happy about.
Members of the L.A. City Council who voted in favor of the ordinance (a 9-1 majority) have argued that they are looking out for the health of adult performers, but opponents of the ordinance (including Councilman Mitchell Englander, who represents the San Fernando Valley and is the only Council member who voted against it) see it as an example of government interfering where it doesn’t belong. Diane C. Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition (an L.A.-based trade organization for the adult industry) has denounced the decision as “yet another example of government overreach and intrusion.” Porn star Lorelei Lee has said that while she is opting to appear in condom-only films these days, she believes that porn companies and porn stars themselves—not the government—should decide whether or not condoms will be used in their productions. Steven Hirsch, co-founder of porn giant Vivid Entertainment, has also been highly critical of the ordinance.
Condom use has been a topic of discussion in the adult entertainment industry for a long time. Condoms are the norm in American gay adult films, and in Brazil (which is the top porn producer in Latin America), voluntary condom use is the norm in both gay and straight porn films. In the U.S., however, most heterosexual porn films are condomless. Wicked Pictures, one of the San Fernando Valley’s top porn companies, only shoots condom productions, but most of the straight porn companies in Southern California have favored condomless productions and have relied on STD testing for their performers. Opponents of mandatory condom use in adult films have often argued that most porn fans prefer condomless productions because porn is all about fantasy and seeing condoms in adult films spoils the fantasy for them.
A long list of well-known porn companies will be affected by the new ordinance. Vivid Entertainment, Red Light District, Evil Angel Video, Digital Playground, Anabolic Video, Smash Pictures and DVSX are among the numerous porn companies that have San Fernando Valley addresses; Larry Flynt’s Hustler/LFP empire isn’t based in the San Fernando Valley, but it is based in the Los Angeles area (their corporate headquarters are in Beverly Hills). The San Fernando Valley has so many porn companies that people in the adult industry affectionately call it “Porn Valley” or the “Porn Fernando Valley.”
Lee has asserted that some L.A.-based porn companies are likely to leave the city and relocate to other places where porn is being made, such as Las Vegas, Miami or San Francisco. And given how badly Vegas’ economy has been struggling in the global economic crisis of 2008-2012, some locals would no doubt welcome an influx of porn companies and porn stars. Another possible option might be remaining in Southern California but moving outside of the L.A. city limits; however, most of the San Fernando Valley (including porn hotbeds like Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Northridge and Tarzana) is part of the City of Los Angeles, and if an abundance of porn companies leave the Valley, it will mean the breakup of the world’s largest adult entertainment community. Ron Jeremy, one of the most famous porn stars of all time, has asserted that by passing this ordinance, the L.A. City Council showed that it wants the adult industry to leave the city.
It remains to be seen how the heterosexual porn companies that have been shooting condomless films in Los Angeles will respond to the new condoms-only ordinance, but one thing is for certain: there are a lot of angry porn companies in Porn Valley this month.
Alex Henderson is a veteran journalist whose work has appeared in The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, Billboard, Spin, XBIZ, Creem, The Pasadena Weekly and a long list of other well-known publications. He can be followed on Twitter @alexvhenderson.
