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New research in the online journal AIDS shows that more than 50% of HIV transmissions among gay men are from main (as compared to casual) sexual partners and 46% of infections were from partners who thought that they were HIV-negative. That’s pretty scary- lots of people out there are telling their partners that they’re HIV-negative in good faith, without actually realizing that they’re not. This is why you need to get tested regularly, dammit!

Bottoming accounted for 69% of infections, while topping was responsible for an estimated 28% of infections, and oral sex was responsible for 3% of transmissions. Remember- risk reduction doesn’t mean risk-free. Use condoms. Use lube. Get tested.

First, according to MSNBC.com, 3% of Washington DC residents are living with HIV or AIDS. As if that weren’t appalling enough, “almost 1 in 10 residents between ages 40 and 49 are living with HIV, and black men had the highest infection rate at almost 7 percent.”  Another MSNBC.com article reports that older folks (50+) are increasingly at risk for HIV, both because erectile dysfunction drugs increase the numbers of people having intercourse and because there’s a lower rate of safer sex practices. To make matters even worse, older women are especially susceptible since the vaginal lining gets thinner with age, and older HIV-positive people have a shorter time from diagnosis to the onset of AIDS, probably due to less resilient immune systems.

The question of safer sex information for older people has been something I’ve been aware of for a while. When I was working in the store, I would regularly talk with people who were back on the dating scene for the first time in decades, whether because of divorce or death of a partner. And they consistently reported that most or all of the safer sex information they could find was written for the 16-25 year old crowd, making it less accessible or relevant for them. For example, lots of safer sex education for young adults focuses on decision making skills or communication & negotiation. But by the time you’re 50, either you have those skills or a website/pamphlet isn’t likely to be a lot of help.

Meanwhile, the pope has said that condoms are not the way to stop AIDS in Africa- abstinence is the way to go. Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that condoms do, in fact, work well and that they are the most effective way to reduce HIV transmission.

But some good news, finally. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) are about to introduce a bill that will authorize federal funding for comprehensive sex education. The Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act will “provide federal money to support responsible sex education in schools. This education would include science-based, medically accurate, and age appropriate public health information about both abstinence and contraception.” Here’s some more info about the proposed bill (taken from the Advocates for Youth website).

The REAL Act would fund programs with important characteristics, including:

• Being age-appropriate and medically accurate;
• Not teaching or promoting religion;
• Teaching that abstinence is the only certain way to avoid pregnancy or sexual transmission of diseases;
• Stressing the value of abstinence while not ignoring young people who have had or are having sex;
• Providing accurate information about the health benefits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier methods as a means to prevent pregnancy;
• Providing information about the health benefits of condoms and other barrier methods as a means to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV;
• Encouraging family communication about sexuality;
• Teaching skills for making responsible decisions about sex, including how to avoid unwanted verbal, physical, and sexual advances and how not to make unwanted verbal, physical, and sexual advances; and
• Teaching that alcohol and drug use can affect the ability to make responsible decisions.

How about that? A sex education program that’s based on actual research instead of ideology, offers comprehensive information about risk reduction AND abstinence, helps youth develop the decision making and communication skills they need, and makes it easier to communicate with family members about sexuality.

Clearly, there’s a long way to go in the work to end HIV, and this is a big step in the right direction. If you feel moved to send an email to your congresspeople about this bill, you can go to the Advocates for Youth website. There’s a link at the bottom of the page.

Until now, sex educators and researchers have been assuming that in order to transmit HIV, there needed to be some sort of break in the skin. That made a lot of sense given that HIV is a blood-borne disease and that it can be transmitted through blood contact.

There’s now research that shows that HIV can enter through the lining of the vagina, even if it’s intact. The virus seems to target skin that has recently shed the outer layer, which would then be less resistant to attack.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the virus can’t also be transmitted through breaks in the skin. One explanation for why HIV is can be transmitted through anal sex is that the lining of the rectum is more delicate than the lining of the vagina, so it’s more likely to have microscopic tears that the virus can pass through. And they haven’t done the same research on rectal tissue yet, although I’m pretty sure that someone will.

Fortunately, condoms still work to reduce the risk of HIV infection. Make sure you use lube with them- that makes condoms less likely to break and more comfortable, too. Not all condoms are the same, so check out our helpful article on choosing a condom and this one on making safer sex fun.

Times they have a’changed, however, many parents still have difficulties talking to kids about sex, either because they are afraid to say the wrong thing, say too much, say too little, or because perhaps they just don’t know how to deliver the information. Personally, I would be stumped. One time my friend’s kid asked me a question about a body part and I froze. Later I asked my friend what the right response would be and she said, “oh, we talk about body parts all the time, you could have just said________________.” She is a very informed parent, and I am constantly amazed at the awesome relationship she has with her child.

When it comes time to talk to your kids about a healthy relationship with sex, body parts, safe sex, pregnancy prevention, masturbation and sexuality, there is good news! There are people out there that specialize in helping parents communicate with their kids. We collected some web sites that may help you when it comes time to have “the talk”…or “many talks” as it may be. Kids need their parents to talk to them about everything they are curious about….it’s up to you to make sure they get the facts they need in order to make informed, smart decisions.

Talking to Kids about Sex: Web Resources

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/rocky-mountains/
talking-to-your-kids-about-sex.htm
Planned Parenthood recognizes the difficulty some parents have in talking with their teens about sex. To assist you in this discussion we have included a few helpful tips and resources that can help promote an open dialogue between you and your teen. As you read through this brochure, know that it is never too late to improve and nurture a relationship with your teen. Do not under-estimate the great need teen’s feel for a close relationship with their parents and for their parents’ guidance, approval and support.

http://www.kff.org/youthhivstds/1460-index.cfm
Kaiser Family Foundation
Talking with Kids about Tough Issues: A National Survey of Parents and Kids
A new survey of parents and kids ages 10-15 on topics such as sex, AIDS, violence, alcohol and drugs. The survey was conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation and ChildrenNow, as part of a national initiative called Talking With Kids About Tough Issues. More information on the campaign is available at www.talkingwithkids.org or by calling (800) CHILD-44.

http://www.talkingwithkids.org/sex.html
Children Now
Excerpt: Most parents want to do their best in talking with their kids about sex and sexuality, but we’re often not sure how to begin. Here’s our advice:

Explore your own attitudes
Studies show that kids who feel they can talk with their parents about sex — because their moms and dads speak openly and listen carefully to them — are less likely to engage in high-risk behavior as teens than kids who do not feel they can talk with their parents about the subject. So explore your feelings about sex. If you are very uncomfortable with the subject, read some books (see Readings for Parents) and discuss your feelings with a trusted friend, relative, physician, or clergy member. The more you examine the subject, the more confident you’ll feel discussing it.

Talking to Kids about Sex: Books

When Benjamin Wants To Know: Family Conversations about the “Facts of Life.”
Caine, Dona.

How to Talk to Your Child about Sex
Eyre, Linda and Richard.
New York: GoldenBooks, 1998.

It’s So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families
Harris, Robie H. Illustrated by Michael Emberley.
Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1999. (All ages)

It’s Perfectly Normal: Growing Up, Changing Bodies, Sex and Sexual Health
Harris, Robie H.
Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1994. (Ages 10 and up)

Sex Is More Than a Plumbing Lesson: A Parent’s Guide to Sexuality Education for Infants Through the Teen Years
Stark, Patty.
Dallas, TX: Preston Hollow Enterprises, 1990.

General Sexual Health Information for and about Young People:

www.plannedparenthood.org/
Founded in 1916, Planned Parenthood is the world’s largest and oldest voluntary family planning organization.

www.gurl.com/topics/sex/0,,,00.html
Information, advice columns, quizzes, polls and other resources for young women.

www.teenpregnancy.org/
The mission of the National Campaign is to promote values, behavior, and policies that reduce both teen pregnancy and unwanted pregnancy among young adults. By increasing the proportion of children born into welcoming, intact families who are prepared to take on the demanding task of raising the next generation, our efforts will improve the well-being of children and strengthen the nation.

www.advocatesforyouth.org/
This site is designed to serve both AACAP Members, and Parents and Families. You will find information on child and adolescent psychiatry, fact sheets for parents and caregivers, AACAP membership, current
research, practice guidelines, managed care information, awards and fellowship descriptions, meeting information and much more.

www.aasect.org/
The American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists is devoted to the promotion of sexual health by the development and advancement of the fields of sex therapy, counseling and education. The
Association’s mission is to provide professional education and certification of sex educators, counselors and therapists, as well as individuals who supervise sex therapists in training.

www.etr.org/about.html
Our mission at ETR Associates is to enhance the well-being of individuals, families and communities by providing leadership, educational resources, training and research in health promotion with an emphasis on sexuality and health education.

www.mtv.com/onair/ffyr/protect/lifeguide/
MTV’s guide answers a number of general questions about sex. Targeting teens, this site focuses on communication between sexual partners, birth control basics and sexually transmitted diseases.

www.siecus.org/
Incorporated in 1964, SIECUS develops, collects and disseminates information, promotes comprehensive education about sexuality and advocates the right of individuals to make responsible sexual choices.

www.teenwire.com
Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s website provides sexual health information, links to local clinics, opportunities for activism and other resources specifically for teens.

www.sxetc.org
A website by teens for teens; this site helps youth become sexually healthy people and avoid pregnancy and disease during their teenage years.

www.advocatesforyouth.org/teens
Advocates for Youth Teen Scene provides information on sexual health, opportunities for activism, online communities for people of color and LGBTQ youth, and links to local clinics.

www.goaskalice.columbia.edu
Produced by Columbia University’s Health Education Program, Go Ask Alice has loads of questions and answers on all kinds of relationship, sexuality, and sexual health issues.

www.TeenSource.org
A website designed for teens and young-adults providing sexual health information and resources. Site includes celebrity video clips, condom art contest, STD information, local clinic search and much more.

www.nrscrisisline.org
National Runaway Switchboard’s website provides resources and crisis intervention advice for teens.

www.rainn.org
The website of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network can help you find a rape crisis center near you.

www.prochoice.org
The National Abortion Federation’s website offers information about abortion, including referrals to clinics that perform the procedure.

www.not-2-late.com
Run by the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, this website provides information about emergency contraception, and gives the names and phone numbers of places where you can get it.

Sexually Transmitted Disease and HIV/AIDS:

www.iwannaknow.org
Sponsored by the American Social Health Association, this website provides answers to your questions about sexual health and sexually transmitted diseases, symptoms, tests and treatment.

www.hivtest.org
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website connects you with HIV testing resources in your local community.

www.whatudo.org
University of California, San Francisco’s HIV InSite new site for youth provides information about HIV/AIDS to young people, including the facts about HIV/AIDS, treatment and resources, national news and updates on research, as well as a guide to safer sex.

www.aidsaction.org
AIDS Action
Founded in 1984, AIDS Action is the only organization solely dedicated to responsible federal policy for improved HIV/AIDS care and services, vigorous medical research and effective prevention.

www.aac.org
AIDS Action Committee
AIDS Action Committee’s mission is threefold: to provide support services to people living with AIDS and HIV, as well as the people who love and care for them; to educate the general public, health care
professionals and individuals whose behavior could put them at high risk for HIV infection; and to advocate at the local, state and federal levels for fair and effective AIDS public policy and funding.

www.amfar.org/cgi-bin/iowa/index.html
American Foundation of AIDS Research
amfAR’s mission is to prevent HIV infection and the disease and death associated with it and to protect the human rights of all people threatened by the epidemic of HIV/AIDS.

www.redcross.org
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers,
guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of
the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of
disasters and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to
emergencies.

www.liaac.org
Long Island Association for AIDS Care, Inc. (LIAAC)

www.pedaids.org
Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Our mission is to identify, fund and conduct critical pediatric research
that will lead to better treatments and prevention of HIV infection in
infants and children, to reduce and prevent HIV transmission from mother
to child and to accelerate the discovery of new treatments for other
serious and life-threatening pediatric diseases.

www.bet.com/flexpackage/0,,p346,00.html
Rap It Up
BET’s Rap It Up is a grassroots campaign designed to address the
HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African American community. Rap It Up seeks to
help African American children and families protect themselves against
and diminish incidences of HIV/AIDS, especially in areas most ravaged by
the disease.

www.lifebeat.org
Learn what your favorite recording artists are doing to fight AIDS.

AIDS: Books

And the Band Played On: Politics, People And the AIDS Epidemic
Shilts, Randy.
Viking Penguin, 1987.

The Eighteenth Emergency
Byars, Betsy.
New York: Viking, 1973. (Ages 9-12)

What’s a Virus Anyway? The Kids’ Book About AIDS
Fassler, David, and Kelly McQueen
Burlington, VT: Waterfront Books, 1990. (Ages 5-10)

Alex, the Kid with AIDS
Girard, Lina Walvoord
Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whiteman & Co., 1991. (Ages 8-11)

Other Resources:

National HIV and AIDS Hotline:
1.800.342.2437

Now Darren James is at the center of the adult business’s latest HIV scandal, making it likely the gentleman will not work in the industry again. James tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS after a working trip he took to Brazil in March. Porn companies shoot outside the U.S. for various reasons: lower costs, new faces, more exotic locations.

But testing standards may not be as exacting in other places as they are at home in the Valley. The 12 women who did scenes with James between his Brazil trip and his positive test have become the first generation of a possible porn industry outbreak. One of these women, Lara Roxx, tested positive shortly after James’ status became public knowledge. Several others have tested positive in the weeks since.

HIV tests in the porn industry are conducted by the AIM Clinic, founded by former porn star Sharon Mitchell after she’d been at risk during one of the HIV scares in the late 1990s. Now armed with a Ph.D. in sexology, Mitchell has spent a lot of time this week talking to the press — and to the terrified porn performers she tracked down because they had had sex with James, or with someone who had. “The AIM system is set up to detect and prevent HIV in this industry, and it worked the way it’s supposed to” in the James case, says Mitchell.

The adult industry seeks to police itself largely so it does not have to make condoms mandatory, which industry spokesmen say will turn off the fans. Only two companies making heterosexual porn (about 1% of the industry) require condoms; others leave it up to the performers; while most count on negative test results from AIM and a largely closed pool of talent to stop the spread of disease, a sort of huge-scale monogamy among the 1200 or so performers in the business.

This number doesn’t count talent from Brazil and elsewhere, however, nor performers’ partners. As James’ case shows, HIV can enter the supposedly closed system at a variety of points, and then, instead of everyone being safer than a randomly chosen sexually active group, everyone is put at some degree of risk.

Many have criticized this strategy. Voices were raised as early as the mid-1980s that recommended porn performers use condoms. Most of the industry has agreed to a 60-day moratorium until exposed performers’ test results are in. But many charge that the conditions that allowed James to seroconvert won’t change unless porn producers take safer sex more seriously.

San Franciscan Peter Rogers of Cybernet doesn’t see a problem with that; he advocates condom use at all levels and requires they be used in his sex shoots by everyone but couples. “Companies in LA will pay more if you don’t use them, or won’t hire you at all if you insist on them,” he says. “In this country there’s not very good sex education, so people learn about sex from porn.” Rogers is concerned they’re getting an unhealthy message.

But many LA producers see an outside problem that can somehow be avoided. “Many make offensive and dangerously wrongheaded statements about HIV being a ‘gay’ disease,” says Violet Blue, author of The Ultimate Guide to Adult Videos. “In the realm of portraying healthy and safe sex porn often fails, because pornographers want to give viewers fantasy sex they demand.” Blue’s book and website, tinynibbles.com, includes a chart that shows the STD risks associated with many common porn sex practices.

The industry may not be given leeway to self-police for much longer. The LA County Department of Health Services has called in state work site safety regulators California Occupational Health and Safety Administration; reportedly, government intervention might be around the corner. “As in most American employment sectors, sex work involves some occupational risks, which one learns how to control,” says worker injury expert Peter Rousmaniere. But some outbreak watchers worry that because porn and other forms of sex work are considered non-mainstream, OSHA might urge restrictions that would adversely affect the industry’s ability to function at all.

Mitchell is complying with legal requirements, but with a great sense of concern. “We fear government intervention at this time because we feel self-regulation is the best way to go. We agree with Cal-OSHA standards but don’t believe government seizure of records is the best way to get cooperation from this community.” Her concern — that this may drive the industry underground and make performers afraid to be tested — is echoed by others.

Industry insiders Ernest Greene and Nina Hartley point out that porn’s HIV transmission rate has been zero for the past seven years: “AIM has administered literally thousands of tests to adult performers, who have gone on to engage in tens of thousands of on-camera sex acts without a single instance of HIV transmission as a result. This is one of the rare and great public health success stories in the tragic history of the HIV epidemic.”

But this strategy relies on a certain amount of faith. As Hartley and Levine note, it’s far better than doing nothing. But its very success breeds a kind of complacency, even naivete. “I thought porn people were the cleanest people in the world,” Lara Roxx told avn.com’s Mark Kernes.

The effect the outbreak will have on the adult industry remains to be seen, but two angles are especially interesting. First, testing and tracking done by the AIM Clinic make this a true in vivo research project. Perhaps at no other time has it been so clear under what conditions heterosexuals might pass HIV to one another, so this outbreak may have implications for education and testing far outside the borders of the insular porn business.

Second, after 20 years of enormous struggles within the HIV community, the Los Angeles Health Department may have just dealt a blow to the principle of confidentiality in testing. The lives of Darren James and Lara Roxx and the other newly infected performers have just been changed forever, and it’s worth wondering how much more change may lie ahead.

The church made its claims on a BBC program, Sex and the Holy City. The president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo said: “The AIDS virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon can easily pass through the ‘net’ that is formed by the condom.”

The World Health Organization responded immediately that the Vatican’s claims that condoms have holes that the virus can pass through are untrue, senior spokesmen from the church continued to stand by their view.

“These margins of uncertainty… should represent an obligation on the part of the health ministries and all these campaigns to act in the same way as they do with regard to cigarettes, which they state to be a danger.”

The church’s recommendation for stopping the spread of AIDS? No surprise: It’s chastity, chastity, chastity. That not having sex will certainly keep one from getting a sexually transmitted disease, unfortunately, it’s not a real-world solution.

Where to begin? In these times when all one needs to criticize the Catholic church is a fish, a gun and a barrel, response to the church’s latest proclamation has been the equivalent of a heavy, deep sigh. AIDS awareness groups have issued immediate statements denying the church’s claims that condoms are permeable, and most reports on the proclamation (such as the one in The Guardian above) skewed heavily in a tone of pure disbelief. For those of us who’ve watched the church turn a blind eye on priests who engage in criminal behavior and admit they were wrong about Galileo multiple centuries too late, this latest sex tip from Rome, while outrageous, is hardly surprising. In fact, we imagine what might come next:

VATICAN CLAIMS UMBRELLAS DO NOT PROTECT FROM RAIN
ROME –The Vatican issued a statement today that the wide-held belief that umbrellas help in keeping one dry from rain is deeply false, and that in fact using an umbrella is an “affront to God”.

Cardinal Guillermo Posedo announced yesterday that “umbrellas for years may give the illusion of keeping one dry, but as it turns out, tiny holes in the umbrella allow water through. Therefore, there is no point in using an umbrella — in fact, one should become drenched in the rain, develop a sickness which keeps them at home, allowing more time for procreation.”

The Cardinal added, “Of course, during such procreation couples shall not use a condom. Don’t even get me started with the holes in those things.”

Part of the reason response to the Vatican’s anti-condom proclamation is that as Americans, their effect on our psyches and habits seems relatively minor. Despite the sad state of sex education in our schools, Americans in general are more aware and savvy about condom use than developing countries (at least, I hope). Furthermore, the Vatican’s impact on American Catholics isn’t what it is in, for example, Africa and South America. According to The Guardian article, however, the church’s proclamation has had immediate effect. For example, in Kenya, where an estimated 20% of people have HIV, the church condemns condom use, noting that they promote promiscuity. According to the archbishop of Nairobi, “AIDS… has grown so fast because of the availability of condoms.”

In Lwak, near Lake Victoria, the director of an AIDS testing center says he cannot distribute condoms because of church opposition. Gordon Wambi told Sex and the Holy City: “Some priests have even been saying that condoms are laced with HIV/AIDS.”

While the media widely reported the Vatican’s statement, once again we fall victim to the typical short-attention-span media coverage things like this and so many other hot topics get. Why worry about what erroneous, dangerous proclamations the Vatican makes, because tomorrow our awareness of it will all go away? And look at who the victims are: Africa, which, if the average American looked at it on the map (provided he or she could find it), he or she might also notice that it’s pretty darn far away.

At the same time, criticizing the media and American public is just as easy as the aforementioned fish-in-barrel Catholic Church. Most people I know who heard about the Church’s proclamation expressed opinions that ranged from deep frustration to outrage — but at the same time felt like they had a plate full of things about which to be flummoxed. Take your pick — the war in Iraq, Bush’s judicial nominations, Schwartzenegger’s gubernatorial tenure, partial-birth abortion bans, same sex marriage — shall we go on? Oh, look — here’s another potential press release from the Vatican that’s made its way to the wires:

CHURCH BRINGS INTO QUESTION EARTH’S ROTATION
ROME — Vatican leaders today brought into question the existence of the earth’s rotation, challenging centuries of scientific evidence that proves unequivocally that every 24 hours the earth makes a complete rotation.

Cardinal Jean-Luc Valliere noted that while “scientific evidence may suggest that a rotation is involved, we know that, according to Genesis, God created day. Therefore, we cannot explain how it is done. All we know is that it is a great mystery, never to be known to man how God creates days.”

Valliere added, “It is also true that God created night, during which time one must be fruitful and multiply, as long as one is Catholic, married, heterosexual, engaging in the missionary position and not using birth control.”

While the easiest response to the Church’s stance on condoms and HIV transmission may be to simply ignore it, not dignifying their remarks with a response; at the same time the implications of the church’s statements are terrifyingly dangerous. The “Silence = Death” slogan popularized in the 1980s may feel retro now, but in this case it rings particularly apt. While we can only hope that the influence of the church’s statement isn’t as widespread, particularly over the countries particularly ravaged by AIDS and HIV, simply hoping can leave one with a helpless feeling.

One good response to the Vatican’s message is to support a charity, such as Doctors Without Borders, that works with AIDS victims and educates the rest of the populace in developing nations. Beyond that, however, the resignation and helplessness one feels upon hearing such a proclamation, considering it is made by an authority that has so much influence over the populace in the nations that need immediate help.

Perhaps the answer is a press release of our own?

EVERYONE IN WORLD WANTS CHURCH TO JUST SHUT UP
(WORLD) — In response to the Catholic Church’s recent proclamation that condoms have holes through which HIV can pass, everyone in the world collectively shouted for the Church to just shut up, before you cause any more misery.

Eliza Rogers, spokeswoman for everyone, told the wires: “Only the Catholic Church could not think it’s bad enough that there’s a global pandemic of AIDS and HIV transmission — they have to make it worse by condemning the most effective barrier against spreading the disease sexually.”

“We, the citizens of the world, have heard enough from the Vatican. Until they’re ready to help, we ask that they keep their dangerous opinions to themselves.”

The Vatican, to everyone’s delight, declined to comment.

But Wallice’s case is different; allegedly he tested positive a year ago and falsified his results. He continued to work — that is, to have unprotected sex — and reportedly several of his on-screen partners have now tested positive also.

Time will tell whether this situation will become the full-blown scandal we’ve recently seen in upstate New York, where an HIV-infected man transmitted the virus to several young women. (The case is the subject of a thoughtful cover story in this month’s Harper’s.) In New York, the women were “innocent” — more innocent, anyway, than most people would be willing to describe the women in porn. But in or out of pornography, “promiscuous” or not, sex educators and AIDS educators have been warning people for years that every act of intercourse ought to be accessorized with a condom. That the young women in New York didn’t insist on safe sex is a social tragedy that implicates gender roles and the difficulty of getting good sex ed and AIDS information into the schools, along with the young man who didn’t disclose his serostatus before hopping into bed. That a man whose job is fucking could lie about his HIV status and infect others (whose job is also fucking) goes well beyond tragedy.

Most of the people who infect others with sexually transmitted conditions don’t mean to do it; mostly they’re in denial or they simply don’t know they have a disease that can be passed. When politicians pass laws to criminalize such people, they conflate the few — the sociopaths, the vengeful — with the many who are unaware, uneducated, and confused. At the same time, they often neglect to fund programs that will help root out and deal with this ignorance and confusion. These sorts of laws are about as compassionate (and useful) as the ones which sent people to the poorhouse for the “crime” of poverty — and on top of that, the prison system in the US is doing a miserable job handling inmates who have AIDS.

But what are we to think of someone like Wallice, a central player in an industry that has had to take HIV seriously — enough, at least, that it requires all performers to have regular tests? It’s hard not to think of his actions as at the very least criminally negligent. What interests me more than long-distance mind reading, though, is the way the porn industry has conceptualized AIDS — for this background actually facilitated Wallice’s actions.

By the late 1980s, when I began studying sexology, gay and bi porn producers, directors, and performers had seen the writing on the wall. More and more movie sets were equipped with condoms. Safe sex wasn’t universal, but it was definitely an issue; for over a decade it’s been far easier to find gay and bi porn with condoms. Not so with the heterosexual side of the business. At first AIDS wasn’t an issue at all (except to those performers who smelled the coffee early on and quit). Then John Holmes, the King, died of AIDS. As rumors of his illness spread within the industry it became clear that no matter how Holmes (and other infected performers) got the virus, it could be spread on the set. Hence the practice of regular testing, a dubious condom indeed.

Wallice is the first performer to really show the industry how full of holes that condom is — not by testing positive, but by lying about it. What if the industry had, instead of making testing mandatory, made condom use mandatory? Several of Wallice’s co-stars might still be healthy, and more than that, people who watch porn would have had a decade of erotic safe sex images to view and internalize. Gay Men’s Health Crisis, an AIDS service organization in New York City, is no longer very aptly named, since women are now becoming infected at a higher rate than men. It has conducted research which showed that safe sex information that includes explicit visual images is far more effective than any other kind. You can read about it, you can hear about it, but nothing gets the message across (short of doing it yourself) like seeing it. More heterosexuals have access to, and consume, porn as part of their loosely-defined sex education than have received good AIDS education. So the adult industry, through denial, dropped the ball when it could have spent the last fifteen years doing a lot of good by normalizing the idea of sex with condoms.

According to Nina, they’ll all be normalizing it now. “Every major porn producer is going all-condom, all the time,” she told me in late May. My first thought is a cynical “I’ll believe it when I see it,” but if it’s true, it’s about the only silver lining in what is otherwise a pretty despicable situation.

“Consumers don’t want to see condoms,” the industry moguls have said. “It turns them off. Porn is supposed to be fantasy.” Too damned bad — and frankly, fellas, consumers want to see sex. If you can’t make condom use sexy, maybe you guys ought to be putting your filmmaking talents elsewhere. Consumers who want unclad fantasy material can rent those super-hot Japanese adult animation videos. The fact is, porn is made by real people, and they aren’t getting paid enough to risk HIV. The real fantasy here — on the part of consumers, producers, and even many actors — is that HIV would never intrude into this small community. The current wake-up call is too late, but better late than never. Let’s hope the porn business doesn’t just hit the snooze alarm.