In an article discussing the recent outbreak of HIV in the North American porn industry, TheStar.com - `Do it, or we'll find another girl who will', an actress who did on-film scenes of unprotected anal sex states, 'Someone did something wrong or I wouldn't have HIV' and appears to be considering a suit.
Let me just state for the record than no one 'deserves' to get HIV, that I'm not virulently against porn (as long as it involves consenting adults), and that I'm rather impressed by how quickly this outbreak was caught within the porn industry. I also took stupid chances when I was young and naïve in terms of use of protection and choice of partners, and I'm thankful I made it through that stupidity without lasting consequence, either in terms of pregnancy or disease.
But.
Someone did do something wrong. At least three people in that scene had unprotected anal sex, knowing that there could indeed be consequences. The producers weren't twisting arms or holding guns to their heads...they were dangling money, money that anyone could have walked away from. Not wanting to let a producer or agent down is no excuse. In the end, the only person she let down was herself, because her hopes and dreams are in a shambles as a result of an irrevocable decision.
I'm sure there is shared culpability that might be addressed, since an environment was created and in a cut-throat business there is substantial pressure placed upon struggling actors. But I don't understand the denial of self-responsibility. I mean, I'm fat, and yes, I have some medical issues that contribute to that, but I have also eaten like a pig in the past and not exercised enough, and I live with the consequences. McDonald's didn't make me fat. Peer pressure didn't make me fat. Family interaction didn't make me fat. There were a whole lot of variables that went into the mix--and my behaviour is a very real part of it.
They say gluttony is a deadly sin. So is avarice, and in this case it really seems to be what is at the core of this outbreak--avarice in the industry, avarice in the producers, avarice in the performers. They may be very nice people with very real expenses and the same sorts of pressures to make a living that everyone else does...but there are lots of ways to make money that don't put your life on the line. A soldier or a police officer can't sue because they were put in a position where they might be shot at; it's understood that it's a hazard of the job. How can you sue over a recognised hazard of your chosen field? In what reality have people convinced themselves that HIV isn't a hazard of having unprotected sex? Sure, it may be a more 'chronic' condition than it once was, but that's totally dependent on a very complex drug cocktail that could go down the tubes once the virus develops resistance to the drugs. Having a light blow out right over you during a scene causing injury is an unusual, albeit possible, hazard that would be considered unlikely. If someone hooked up the wiring wrong, causing injury through neglect, that's something you could sue over. If an actor knew he was HIV+ and did not disclose his status, that would be grounds for a suit, and possibly criminal prosecution, depending on the jurisdiction. But the whole point of a porn film is to show sex...not simulated sex, but the real thing. It's something you go to work expecting to do. Ideally, you negotiate a salary--and what is expected for that salary--ahead of time. I could see it easily becoming an 'on the spot decision' to up the ante. But it's still a conscious choice.
If I had contracted HIV when I was being young and stupid--and even worse, in terrible denial--I probably wouldn't have wanted to take responsibility for my own actions, either, mainly because of the denial. People can convince themselves of totally irrational things. They'll tell themselves, 'it's just this once' or 'they have meds for that now'. They'll ignore the fact that the person who may be tonight's snuggle-bunny--or even the 'love of your life'--may have slept with someone else despite disavowals or assumptions otherwise.
When I first started having sex--in 1986--we didn't really know about or understand HIV. The worse thing that could happen to you, we thought, was an unwanted pregnancy or getting something and having to take antibiotics. But it was still stupid to go unprotected. Unfortunately, when you're a 'good girl' who's not really supposed to be having sex, you tend to do just that. But we learned quickly that wasn't the case. Testing was slow to develop but condoms were something even our grandparents had access to.
I haven't done the sustained dating thing in a good long while, but I cannot imagine just sleeping with someone without protection until I'd been in a relationship for at least six months and was absolutely sure that it had been monogamous--and we'd gone through the ritual of being tested. I know my status, and I'd love to believe someone about theirs, but the fact of the matter is that trust takes awhile to grow, too. I'd love to believe in a world of perfect love and perfect trust--but it only exists in delusion.
I can't imagine wanting to go into a profession where I would be regularly expected to have sex, but even more so, I can't imagine going in with the idea that I could have unprotected sex and get away with it. That's like playing Russian roulette, and no amount of money is really worth that. I understand there may be a demand for it, and that it may pay more, but it's a personal decision, and one that shouldn't be made lightly. Even if a person didn't care about her own health, there is the very real consequence that an HIV+ status is going to essentially end that potentially lucrative career, unless there's some specific niche for porn where all the performers are HIV+. That deflates the whole idea of taking the risk for money.
I am sorry to see this happen, and I'm glad that it was caught so early, before more performers were infected. It will also make it easier to treat the performers who were so that they may not go into full AIDS, for example (although it's not just going to go away, and maybe there needs to be better education of the nature of the disease if anyone thinks that's possible). But we live in a society where it seems personal responsibility has gone down the drain but litigation has gone through the roof, and this seems to be an example of it.
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