"The Adult Film Industry: Time to Regulate?"
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 10:20 PM

Yesterday Vice Squad linked to an article with the title of this post; the article appeared in PLoS Medicine in June 2007, and was written by Corita R. Grudzen and Peter R. Kerndt. The article has lots of interesting tidbits about the porn industry, so I thought I would list just a few of them today:

(1) Here's the opening paragraph, sans endnotes: "The United States adult film industry produces 4,000–11,000 films and earns an estimated $9–$13 billion in gross revenues annually. An estimated 200 production companies employ 1,200–1,500 performers. Performers typically earn $400–$1,000 per shoot and are not compensated based on distribution or sales." It kept me reading.

(2) Production of gay sex films is much more likely to involve condom usage than is production of heterosexual films. The authors argue that depictions of unsafe sex in movies could alter norms in society more generally, and make unprotected sex more common outside the industry. Brazil's adult industry is second in size to that of the US, but the majority of Brazilian films involve condom use. There are various filmic techniques that minimize the perceived presence of condoms.

(3) "Among 825 performers screened in 2000–2001, 7.7% of females and 5.5% of males had chlamydia, and 2% overall had gonorrhea [endnote omitted]."

(4) Among the potential policy changes that the authors list are mandatory condom use and a rating system that reflects the safety of the filming.

Labels: California, pornography