In the state of California, there’s a ballot initiative slated for the general election in November called Proposition 60. The most salient feature of Prop 60 appears to be a new and more enforceable mandate that would require adult film performers in California to use condoms, which sounds pretty innocuous to outsiders. But as a cursory glance at almost any pornographer or porn performer’s social media, a glance at any major newspaper in the state of California, or a rundown of prominent sex-positive and progressive media outlets recent headlines will show, Prop 60 is a lot more sinister than its glossy “pro-safer-sex” veneer might lead you to believe.
To be perfectly honest, I’ve held myself back from writing about this because I’m in the process of writing a book about the things I’ve learned from the porn industry, and I didn’t want to dilute the waters of the chapter dedicated to the long-fought war between the adult film industry and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation whose founder, Michael Weinstein, wrote Prop 60.
When I finally got my draft finished, I started pitching articles to lots of websites I write for. I wanted to tell the world why Michael Weinstein’s bizarre obsession with forcing condoms onto porn performers is so dangerous and why those condoms won’t do nearly as much good as people seem to think they will. But, I’m extremely happy to report that, when I started pitching my article ideas about a month ago, I was met with a chorus of nos. Not because people weren’t interested, but because all of the publications I approached had either already written about why Prop 60 is a bad idea, why Wienstein is not to be trusted, and why pornographers are justifiably outraged and scared of Prop 60. Basically, the world already knows. And that, I think, is wonderful!
So here is a round-up of some articles and videos and bits of info that I’m so happy are out there. I’ll chime in to say that if you live in California, please vote no on Prop 60 in November. Don’t fall for the “Protect Porn Stars” logic that’s being spouted by Weinstein’s multimillion-dollar ad campaign. Porn stars are doing just fine at protecting themselves, as one of the most rigorously STI-tested populations on the planet, and if you try to force them to make decisions for their bodies that they disagree with, you’ll be sad to see pornography fleeing California for less-friendly environs, the quality of much porn declining, and the tax revenue form a multi-billion-dollar industry siphoned off to Vegas.
But don’t take my word for it:
- FSC Director Eric Paul Leue in The Advocate: Suing Porn Stars Will Not Lead to Less HIV
- Adult performer Casey Calvert in the Huffington Post: The Only Worker Prop 60 Helps Is Michael Weinstein
- The San Francisco Chronicle (featuring the lovely Isabel Dresler and Jiz Lee): Proposition 60 Would Require Condoms in Porn
- Refinery 29: Why These Major Porn Sites are Blocking Users in California
- MEL Magazine: Nobody Loves Condoms More than This Guy
- MEL Magazine: The Porn Industry Strikes Back
- Jezebel: Hundreds Protest Proposed California Law Mandating the Use of Condoms in Porn
- Mercury News: Vote No on Condom Measure Prop 60
- The San Diego Union-Tribune: Don’t Overregulate Adult-Film Industry
- KALW (transcript and audio): Backers of California’s “Condoms in Porn” Prop 60 Say It’s about Worker Safety. Workers Disagree.
- The Sacramento Bee: How Hardcore Do We Want to Get in Policing Porn?
- The L.A. Times: Heavy-Handed Proposition 60 Would Deputize Every Californian as a Condom Cop
- The Orange County Register: No on Proposition 60
- Daily Kos: Why I Strongly Oppose Prop 60 in California
- East Bay Times Editorial: Vote No on Condom Measure Prop 60
- The L.A. Times Capitol Journal: Proposition 60 Wants to Make Us All Condom Cops for Porn Performers
You can join the fight by:
- Liking “Stop Prop 60” on Facebook
- Like “Prop 60 Is Ridiculous” on Facebook
- Get educated and donate some dollars to DontHarassCA.com
- Sign the Performer Petition against Prop 60
- Change your profile picture to a “No on Prop 60” avatar
- VOTE NO ON PROP 60
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