Money, Morals, and Condom Use: The Politics of Health in the Adult Film Industry

• In Event: 161 - Regular Session. Sociology of Culture 2: The Micro-Dynamics of Creating and Using Meanings

Abstract

This paper compares condom use between the gay and straight California adult film industries and the decision making process that goes into the use of condoms, or lack thereof, in adult films. Using in-depth interviews with individuals in the California adult film industry, I argue the gay and straight adult film industries utilize condoms and HIV testing as strategic actions to navigate two separate institutional logics within each industry. I find the straight industry operates with a logic of profit maximization relying on HIV testing to identify and quarantine HIV positive individuals, and the gay industry operates with a logic of civil rights and moral reasoning relying on condoms to implicitly avoid identifying and stigmatizing HIV positive individuals. These findings highlight the process by which different cultural schemas can translate into differing health policies and practices in an organizational context.

Author

• David Schieber, University of California-Los Angeles