CASPER
THE FRIENDLY GHOST
A sexual health clinic in the San Fernando Valley - the Hollywood of pornography - has been denied a license to operate as a community clinic by California's Department of Public Health, according to the Los Angeles Times.<
The clinic, which is run by the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM), is used by straight-porn producers to test actors for sexually transmitted diseases before filming. So, why would the state want to hamper a service that helps keep HIV out of the porn community? (More on Time.com: 5 Little-Known Truths About American Sex Lives)
Many onlookers say it has to do with an October 2010 incident in which a "crossover" porn performer - who participated in both gay and straight porn - tested positive for HIV at AIM. He has since criticized the care he received at the clinic.
The actor, Derrick Burts, says AIM does not look after actors who participate in both gay and straight porn. As Healthland previously noted, the convention on gay-porn sets is to use condoms as a safeguard against HIV; straight-porn actors do not use condoms, and instead rely on routine HIV testing to ensure negative-status. (More on Time.com: Too Many One-Night Stands? Blame Your Genes)
The L.A. Times reports that Burts was led to believe the accepted rules would keep him safe:
"They fill your head with all this stuff and tell you the testing will protect you," he said Wednesday during an emotional news conference at the Hollywood headquarters of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, where he sought help after growing disappointed in AIM's care.
The L.A. Times reports further that porn producers and actors are growing increasingly concerned about health risks, especially those associated with crossover actors:
The clinic, which is run by the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM), is used by straight-porn producers to test actors for sexually transmitted diseases before filming. So, why would the state want to hamper a service that helps keep HIV out of the porn community? (More on Time.com: 5 Little-Known Truths About American Sex Lives)
Many onlookers say it has to do with an October 2010 incident in which a "crossover" porn performer - who participated in both gay and straight porn - tested positive for HIV at AIM. He has since criticized the care he received at the clinic.
The actor, Derrick Burts, says AIM does not look after actors who participate in both gay and straight porn. As Healthland previously noted, the convention on gay-porn sets is to use condoms as a safeguard against HIV; straight-porn actors do not use condoms, and instead rely on routine HIV testing to ensure negative-status. (More on Time.com: Too Many One-Night Stands? Blame Your Genes)
The L.A. Times reports that Burts was led to believe the accepted rules would keep him safe:
"They fill your head with all this stuff and tell you the testing will protect you," he said Wednesday during an emotional news conference at the Hollywood headquarters of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, where he sought help after growing disappointed in AIM's care.
The L.A. Times reports further that porn producers and actors are growing increasingly concerned about health risks, especially those associated with crossover actors: