What are your thoughts on the condom issues in porn?

Porn is about fantasies, which is good. What's not so good is that many people think of porn as instructional, or somehow realistic. Even when we know that what's happening in the video isn't what really happens in life, it's sometimes hard to remember when we're watching people doing it. So, even though porn isn't made for educational purposes, if viewers think of it that way, then it would be wonderful if pornographers and porn stars took that very, very seriously.

I think that performers should always use condoms. No responsible person risks spreading STIs of any kind, period. They should also use them because condom use should be normative. It should be something that absolutely everyone does, absolutely every time that they're with someone unless they're in 100% committed relationships. In porn, I think they should err on the side of "too safe" rather than "not safe at all."

There are ways to make condom use sexy and we should see a *lot* of that in porn. Then it would be easier for many people to find ways to use condoms in sexy, erotic and safe ways in real life.

I agree in principle, although in practice this will likely lead to performers who are willing to work without them being more sought after. This happens a lot with dangerous acts such as large insertions, ass to mouth, ass to pussy, etc. The more risk they take, the more money they make.

I think the likelihood is slim as who governs such things and how it's enforced is unclear. The industry would have to agree to self-police, since you can shoot anywhere and I image those against it would simply move their shoot location to someplace that doesn't require condom use.

I used to be on the side of mandatory condom use in porn, it seemed pretty obvious to me, but after reading some of the comments from industry folks (some of the same comments quoted in Roland's column, I don't think it's as cut and dried and given the environment and far-longer than average exposure during shoots—I'm not convinced mandatory condoms would make you safer.

Testing more often than every 30 days seems like a much better way to manage the risk. Belladonna's policy of testing 3 days before the shoot has kept her STI free for 5 years in an industry where STI's apparently come with your morning coffee.

It's a tough call, with less of a clear answer than I would have thought. Quite honestly, I am glad it's not a decision I have to make to earn a living.