Barebacking: Wave of the Future?

This past October Treasure Island Media - the leading adult male barebacking studio - won the Best American Studio citation at the David Awards, the European porn awards in their second year. What made this so significant is they won over Titan, Channel 1 and Hot House - studios that have firm policies against barebacking. Controversy ensued, when Channel 1 and Titan condemned Treasure Island's winning of the award, and both Channel 1's Chi Chi LaRue and Titan's Bruce Cam refused the awards they were given. LaRue had planned on using his acceptance speech to denounce barebacking, but said the event organizers didn't allow him to.

Barebacking is the elephant in the room within the adult gay male industry - everyone sees it there, but doesn't know what to do about it. Most apparent are the dangers of filming unsafe sex. Recently a British magazine reported that three male actors working on a barebacking video were infected by a fourth, who did not know he was HIV+ at the time of the shooting. According to a report in Boyz Magazine, the actor had tested negative during testing prior to shooting, but it turned out to be a 'false negative.' (In Europe mandatory testing of models is required.) This turn of events will not influence the release of the DVD, which means that audiences can witness an HIV-transmission in real time, but will likely never know since the DVD's title and the actors involved will not be released due to confidentiality agreements.

Nonetheless when an American porn company that specializes in portraying sexual behavior that's been taboo for two decades wins an industry award, has barebacking been given a new respectability? And has barebacking finally crossed the line and become part of mainstream adult gay male films? "Indeed, the horse is out of the barn," reported JC Adams on his website Gay Porn Times. "Just recently, Kristen Bjorn's Sarava Productions released a director's cut version of EL RANCHO that contained a condomless duo scene between real-life boyfriends Pedro Andreas and Daniel Marvin. BelAmiOnline.com offers condomless sex scenes to their members that features many of their big stars." It has also been reported that Raging Stallion is digitally removing condoms from sex scenes.

But with barebacking becoming more respectable, what effect do these DVDs have on the sexual behavior of those who watch them? Have gay men transitioned from watching barebacking on a HDTV to doing it in real life? It's an undeniable fact that raw sex feels great. It's natural and totally hot; and, well, wrong on many levels. But even if we could all agree that it's inadvisable behavior, what's the harm in having a look? Edge spoke to both sides of the fence - only to find that bareback porn's champions and critics each have a righteous axe to grind, a legitimate point to make, and not much respect for the middle ground.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Are those who consume bareback porn likely to have bareback sex? Would I (or YOU) ever in the hazy, horny early morning hours choose to have unprotected sex just because we invited the notion into our bedroom via the DVD player?

Like all of the murky questions raised by bareback porn, the short answer is yes; and, no. Adult entertainment news & gossip columnist, porn blogger and radio host Jason Sechrest (JasonCurious.com): "I know a lot of people who watch bareback porn because they know it is unsafe to do in their personal lives. It's an outlet for a fantasy for them ... I don't know that you can pinpoint or generalize that people get off on bareback porn or bareback sex for that matter because it is dangerous or risky. It just feels better and looks better. Period. There's no denying that. Though someone may prefer to be safe, no one prefers sex with a condom."

Porn impresario Michael Lucas, who along with Chi Chi LaRue has been a high-profile advocate of safe sex in film as well as everyday life, says: "The majority prefer to watch movies without condoms because it is more natural. When people watch porn, it's about imagination; and condoms are distracting the imagination."

Dr. Perry N. Halkitis, Professor of Applied Psychology & Public Health, NYU, doesn't necessarily think that watching bareback videos leads to barebacking. "It is likely that some may choose to act upon what they see, but certainly it is not the video which in and of itself is the direct cause of their unsafe sex ... the problem is that the videos may normalize and legitimize it ... For some, it is their only sexual outlet ... if men choose to act out their barebacking fantasies by watching porn instead of their sexual transactions with others, then this is a safer approach for their own heath and that of their community. Thus, the porn might act in a protective manner as well ... There is no simple linear route to explain why gay men continue to engage in unsafe sex practices. However, it is more likely that it will 'give permission' to men to bareback. This problem parallels similar discussions about cigarette smoking by characters in major motion pictures."

Raging Stallion's Chris Ward put it even more bluntly: "I am often told the argument that barebacking is all about fantasy - just like Hollywood," he told the Gay Porn Times. "But in Hollywood, they do not use real bullets to make war movies. They don't kill real people when making horror movies."

There ought to be a Law?

As Cyndi Lauper eloquently put it in She Bop, "There ain't no law against it yet." But should there be? Done habitually, barebacking is just as sure of a health risk as cigarettes, alcohol, and overeating - which, combined, make the human/financial/social cost of AIDS pale in comparison; but unlike these other self-inflicted, self-indulgent maladies, barebacking can deliver its fatal flaw in one single event. There's no denying that unprotected sex is a (bad?) habit that many will continue to indulge in; so maybe we need laws and regulations that parallel the federal oversights imposed on smokers and drinkers. I for one would love to see unedited C-Span coverage of the Senate hearings on regulating the porn industry ("The Chair will now hear from our esteemed representative from the great state of Pennsylvania, who will walk us through a screening of Dawson's Twenty Load Weekend.").

Although we're still a few more Bush family administrations away from the policing of our bedrooms, it has been suggested that requiring the porn industry to test for STDs and HIV is not an entirely unreasonable idea. That way, the actors would be safe and viewers could pat themselves on the back while watching-and still have one hand free. It's also been suggested (now, by me) that bareback videos should be exclusively populated by POZ and/or monogamous couples. But really, would that seriously impact the talent pool? Perhaps Big Brother is the way to go. Lucas: "I would be for regulating the porn industry. It would be nice if the government would step in and request all models to use protection. We will all be in the same situation." But this is still (for now) the land of the free; and there's an equally valid argument that consenting adults can, and should, be able to fuck raw with impunity-knowing, accepting, and even inviting risk.

Paul Morris, of Treasure Island Media, is an unapologetic advocate of barebacking. He talks about the scorn his studio has faced for its honest and frank portrayal of male sexuality: "My work is about one thing, really. It's about the exhilarating and transcendent wonder that is men having creative, consensual and mature sex with other men ... And the dynamite I use is the extraordinary and vertiginous sex that I celebrate, a sex that's powerful and beautiful beyond logic ... this, not the fact that there are no condoms, is what critics find most disturbing and frightening. The men in my work are absolutely euphoric, out of control with lust and a passion for sexual communion. Neither they - nor I - will lie about who we are, nor will we be ashamed of what we do."

Having been called everything from a frank and brave sexual outlaw to a manufacturer of snuff films, Morris is, in the eye of the beholder, either an admirable or demonic mix of Libertarianism, hedonism and nihilism.

Morris: "There's often a more or less disingenuous effort to focus criticism of porn like mine in terms of the safety of the models. Enormous generalizations are made about how I work, how I treat the models and what I represent in my movies. They are, for the most part, wrongheaded and simplistic. The angry critiques from other studios seem to be actually based in an odd rage centering around the fact that the men in my movies are engaged in sex with a commitment and passion that can only poorly be represented by the mainstream and money-driven productions ... The vast majority of the men in my movies approach me, eager to take part in sex that is actually about them, that honestly and explicitly celebrates what they've chosen to do with themselves. One of the principle jobs of my men who are in 'casting' is to keep the files of the legions of men who volunteer in good order. A good number of these men either refuse to accept payment from me for their work or they actually offer to pay me."

Weighing Profit and Risk

While it seems Morris would be living his life as is even in the absence of the profit motive, "mainstream" gay porn has recently embraced bareback porn for reasons other than the pleasure imperative. Why? Former porn performer and current online thinker Jonathan Blue (whose testimony here was taken from a listserve), says: "The reason bareback porn is so lucrative (beyond the fact that it's usually done in the amateur vein and is extremely cheap to produce when compared to that highly stylized Falcon stuff with high paid models, expensive sets and 15 camera angle productions) is the base fact that people are turned on by it."

Sechrest talks about the increasing sales of bareback videos and the industry's increasing willingness to disavow its previous reluctance to delve into the pool: "As long as bareback movies are taking away condom-mandating companies' money, they will always find a reason to criticize ... You know, that's the way this business is ... This is porn. It's all about money. If bareback companies were making less money than condom companies, the argument wouldn't be nearly loud enough to have reached you ... Everyone has a line they've drawn and they keep moving it. You know, Chi Chi once said she'd never hire a boy who performed bareback on camera. But again, it boils down to money. Brent Everett sells more movies than nearly any other hardcore performer in gay porn at the moment. So you bet your ass she hired him."

Model Safety?

Whether or not watching bareback porn poses a crossover danger to its viewers, one thing is for sure: models have been, and will be put at risk (there are documented cases of actors testing positive after filming their scenes, such as the recent events in England attest).

Lucas sees the danger coming from " ... from Eastern Europe where they use very young models in their early twenties who usually are straight and don't know anything about aids or HIV and for money will do anything. And they are good looking." Even so, Lucas does not require his models to disclose their status-trusting instead on that thin layer of latex that is an absolute requirement in all of his films. "I inspect models but do not request any testing. We e-mail them regulations and one part is they have to inspect themselves. If there is any sore or cut in the genital area, we will send them home ... We all know how HIV can be transmitted, but what I don't believe in asking or testing models because I believe it's a very private issue. I never ask people in my private life. I do the same thing I always do; I use a condom and that is it. I find the question tacky and pointless ... I don't believe in asking anyone for their status. That doesn't' matter for me for me, what matters in my private life and my set is sex is gong to be with condoms ... Instead of asking pointless questions, just use a condom; that comes from a man who is 36 and negative."

Does Morris ask? If so, he isn't telling: "I deal with each man with whom I deal individually and with greater depth and specificity than any other adult company. But I never publicly discuss anything that I do with regard to the models."

Without that disclosure, it's impossible for viewers to know if they're on shaky moral ground by watching men who might be at risk (or even watching a scene that pinpoints the moment a guy becomes HIV positive). Blue: "I happen to know guys who have done work for a notorious bareback gay porn company - I've seen the scene - it's hot, BUT what most people do NOT know is that these guys are partners - haven't had sex with anyone but each other for almost 8 years now (well, I think a few threeways have snack into that relationship but they only do the bareback sex with each other) ... Granted there ARE psychologically 'damaged' people working in the field - people who seem to have no regard for their health or safety, who are self-destructive in their real lives as much as they appear to be in their porn lives. But they represent just a small portion of all; and if you really wanted to get technical, the mere fact that anyone would want to be filmed having sex professionally for money in ANY way is somewhat of a psychological deviation from what could be considered 'normal.' ... I don't think anyone thinks that they're invulnerable - that's psychotic. I DO think that some of them feel less important. Some feel that they deserve it, some even have reached a level of detachment that borders on autism. I've met Dawson (yeah, that one) several times and he kind of scares me. He barely speaks though maybe I was just in the wrong type of setting for him to be himself. However, the most important thing is that a lot of people don't consider that some of these sex pig bottom stars are already positive and they have chosen - consciously or not - that they've already lost the game so they're just going to have fun playing it with others who have already lost the game too."

Condoms, Hetero Porn and Double Standards

While the bareback debate rages among the gay porn community, straight America continues to screw with relative impunity and very little of the moral rage that man-on-man sex invites. Blue: "Condoms have all but disappeared in hetero porn (for the most part), the girls are all cum hungry (swallowing cum etc) and the world pretty much turns a blind eye to all of this. Even now, when ass fucking has become mainstream-ordinary to straight porn. Has anyone been lobbying to boycott straight porn because of this?"

Morris: "I very recently read a statement from one of the many producers of stilted and artificial commercial porn who actually said that the single most important thing that pornography should do is to show men using condoms. This is precisely the equivalent of saying that life as a gay man is about fear, about the fear of behaving incorrectly, the fear of sex ... Fear is a consuming and contagious thing, and our contemporary gay culture or community has been decimated by it as surely as it has been decimated by either a bloodborn virus ... watch any of the absurd scenarios of mainstream gay porn, rife with men ridiculously wearing little strap-on angel wings or pretending to be soldiers or explorers or jail inmates and wardens ... rather than looking beneath the surface of these horrible pieces of tripe and seeing the truly damaging political vision that's being promulgated, gay men are taught - no, the word is hounded - to excuse and emulate it all so long as the men on-screen wear condoms."

Add to that mix the whole question of oral sex and its risk. Shouldn't the same folks who look towards barebacking with such righteous scorn be equally passionate opponents of sucking dick without protection? Blue: "I don't remember ever seeing a porn where condoms are used in oral sex scenes - and especially in gay porn where oral sex is half the sex scene anyway. We don't seem to care that even in Titan porn where they supposedly blacklist anyone who has ever worked for a bareback porn company; but they're okay with never showing oral sex with a condom. We kind of create this double standard of calculated risk."

The Bottom Line

When we purchase and watch pornography, are we buying into all of the collateral damage visited upon men who are selling their bodies to help get our own bodies off? Granted, some of those men are eager and willing participants who are just fine with the manner in which they've chosen to live their lives and pay the bills; and with that in mind, we should be able to sleep at night as well.

Sechrest: "Each company and performer should be allowed to do as they see fit and be left alone. I will never, ever believe anyone who looks me in the eye and says, "Our way is the only way and if you don't do it our way, we're not going to embrace you as part of this community." That's hatred. And the hypocrisy is that it's hatred from people who supposedly preach tolerance of other people's opinions and lifestyles. It's not right. They know it's not right. They're jealous and they're greedy. If you're worried about keeping boys healthy, go work in a fucking doctor's office, not in an industry that, as AIM HealthCare will tell you, is, and I'll quote Sharon Mitchell, 'up to its elbows in chlamydia and syphilis.' You're here to make hot movies. Make them however you see fit but don't tell everyone else how to do it or how to live their lives."