HIV And Pornography

An actor has tested positive for HIV:

An adult film performer tested positive for HIV on Saturday, causing several pornography companies to suspend production.

A health clinic based in Sherman Oaks, California, reported the positive test result.

I guess now the task is to find out if this actor has infected anyone else.

Some activists argue that the industry which rarely allows condoms to be used is at fault:

Darren James, the adult film actor at the center of the 2004 HIV scare criticized the industry for again failing to protect actors from being infected.

James tested negative days before being filmed. Later, a test came back positive, and James learned that he spread HIV to three actresses who he worked with.

"I knew it was going to happen," James told the Los Angeles Times. "And how many years has it been? Again. They went right back to the same habits."

And why is the industry so reluctant to have condoms used? Hmmm.

I also wonder how much anal sex increases the risk of infection. It's known to be more dangerous than vaginal sex:

Anal sex means sexual activity involving the bottom – in particular, the type of intercourse in which the penis goes into the anus. It is often referred to as ‘rectal sex'. Anal sex does carry some health risks, so please read our advice carefully.

Our impression is that anal sex has become rather more common in heterosexual couples, partly because they have watched ‘blue movies’ in which this activity so often occurs.

One small study carried out in 2009 suggested that 30 per cent of pornographic DVDs which are on sale in the UK feature rectal intercourse. Often, it is presented as something that is both routine and painless for women. In real life, this is not the case.

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What about infection? Most sexual activities carry a risk of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) from gonorrhoea and herpes to hepatitis B and HIV. There is evidence that anal intercourse carries a higher transmission risk than almost any other sexual activity. Information about these risks is given below.