Larry Flynt Productions Targeted by AIDS Foundation

Where I work, I am required to build web pages that analyze cost and schedule data in order to help create accountability and structure in an industry that greatly needs it. I write code and pull data for the majority of my day…all while wearing disgustingly unfeminine steel-toed safety boots and safety glasses that fog up whenever the temperature in the room changes. I am nowhere near equipment that would take out one of my eyes (unless an overzealous co-worker accidentally threw a sharpened pencil my way) or anything heavy enough that would crush my feet (unless that same co-worker threw their computer monitor at me in a fit of frustration); however, because I am within a “reasonable” distance of people and machines that could go awry, I am required to wear this safety equipment or else the safety nazi of the office strolls by and says something snarky like “Wow…must have an extra pair of eyes at home that you DO care about…”
Some industries, like the one I work at, require an environment of safety. There are some industries, however, that do no. In fact, according to the AIDS Health Foundation, porn king Larry Flynt has harbored an unsafe environment because he does not require that the stars of his films utilize condoms during sex scenes putting these starts at major risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS.

Recently, the foundation sent 100 DVDs of porn films produced by Flynt’s company to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health office that illustrate its point. Of all the sex scenes shown in the 100 films, only one scene has one of the actors using a condom. In the complaint, the foundation states that the films “clearly demonstrate workplace activities highly likely to spread bloodborne pathogens in the workplace.” The foundation wants there to be a requirement that all stars in the films be ordered to use condoms in every sex scene. In response to the request, the president of Larry Flynt Productions, Michael Klein, states that the demand is not a reasonable one because viewers of porn do not like to watch the actors using condoms. He states, “We won’t budge when it comes to condomless productions. That’s what the consumer wants, and we deliver it.”

Currently, federal law requires that porn stars all be HIV tested one month before production of a film. Klein stated that all porn actors commit to this standard and that none of the actors have been HIV-positive. Members of AHF stated that they targeted Flynt because of his stature in the porn film industry. Statistics from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health show that porn actors are 10 times more likely to contract an STD than anybody else in the general public. Between 2003 and 2007, there were over 2,000 caes of Chlamydia and close to 1,000 cases of gonorrhea amongst porn actors. Since 2004, there have been approximately 25 cases of actors contracting HIV.