February 15, 2008 | The Biz

Finally! Bareback studio tests for HIV

Bareback studio Hot Desert Knights, Inc. (HDK) has announced that all of their models will now be tested for HIV and other STDs, including gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia and hepatitis A, B and C.

HDK's previous policy was to simply ask models what their health status was before a shoot. Now they must be tested every 30 days through the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM) and present the results before they start each new project. Then, through what is known as "sero-sorting", positive porn models are paired with other positive men, while negative performers are filmed with other negative men. To protect the model's personal information, the results of the tests will only be released to the studio for which he works.

Bill Gardner, president of HDK, stated in a press release that  he made the changes because he was "alarmed and shocked at the proliferation of new bareback studios, especially those from overseas, who are using increasingly younger models without providing any counseling or information regarding STD transmission to these models. It appears as if these studios care little for the health and safety of their models."

The move was lauded by both AIM and the Free Speech Coalition (FSC), who saw this announcement as a step in the right direction to protect the health of the studio's workers.  [more]

The Executive Director of AIM said, “Myself and the AIM Healthcare Foundation are extremely proud of HDK and Mr. Bill Gardner for taking this ground breaking step in the area of HIV, STD prevention education and screening."

Diane Duke of the FSC added that they “applaud Bill and HDK's willingness to participate in this discussion and to implement policies and practices that protect performers at Hot Desert Knights. We hope to facilitate similar discussions within and among other adult entertainment businesses”.

Gardner wants other studios to follow his lead: "We urge all gay studios to consider testing all models for STDs if they truly wish to provide a safer sex work environment."

A good move? Of course, as anything that limits one's exposure to a life altering disease is a welcome change. However, positive men can't forget about the risks they still face through unprotected sex. With several strains of HIV out there, and the virus' ability to mutate, it is possible to be reinfected with a strain of HIV that is different from the one present in your body, making treatments potentially less effective.

As for negative men, any play without a condom, especially with a partner you haven't met before --- and regardless of what a piece of paper may claim -- still carries with it potential risk of contracting an STD.

That being said, if HDK spells out its new policy to its customers through a public service message at the beginning of each video it ought to help reinforce the message that fucking without a condom, especially in the non-porn world, remains a very high risk activity.