Fri 1 Feb 2008 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Recent reports from New York of a sharp increase in HIV infection in men under 30 - and an increase in condomless ('bareback') porn, have led gay porn leading light Chi Chi LaRue to speak out about the importance of setting an example in the adult film industry by promoting condom use. Ch Chi LaRue "When I first started seeing barebacking titles appear, of course I was disappointed and very outspoken," explains LaRue. "The fact is that it was pretty obvious to most that the models 'appeared' to be HIV+ and were having unsafe sex with what 'appeared' to be other HIV+ models. Again not something I have ever heard was recommended, but in any case, it is something that does seem to be more readily practiced in the gay community. "What we are seeing now is drastically different. We are seeing movies with 18-year-old twinks being gang-banged without condoms. We are seeing 20 year olds in the UK who have reportedly become HIV+ after making their first porn." LaRue says she has always promoted on her porn sets the same thing that she feels every gay man should practice in his personal life. "Assume everyone you are having sex with is HIV+. Some companies say that they test their models, which just gives a false sense of security. There is no way to 100% protect the health of models by testing only. "What if the test was taken a day before the persons HIV became detectable? What if the model caught HIV a day after he was tested? Unfortunately, this way of thinking is why I had to quit working in the straight industry. I walked away from a lucrative contract with Vivid Video when they decided to go 'condom optional' so don't ever say I don't put my money where my mouth is." LaRue says her fear is if we are silent and choose to ignore issues as serious as this, then perhaps barebacking in porn will just keep increasing like HIV infection rates. "Then more and more models will be sucked into putting their health at risk to make porn." For more information, see Chi Chi LaRue's 'Safe Sex is Hot Sex' website linked below.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 1st February 2008 - 12:01pm