A new study has found that gay men who watch porn where condoms are used are more likely to practice safe sex in real life.

 

Researchers surveyed 265 gay men who had watched porn within 3 months, asking about the type of porn they watched, how much anal sex they've had, and how often they used a condom during these encounters.

 

"Men who viewed more pornography containing condom use engaged in fewer condomless anal sex encounters," said co-author of the study Eric Schrimshaw, from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. "Even those who took part in compulsive pornography viewing were not more likely to engage in condomless anal sex."

 

A whopping 48% of the men said watching condomless porn had "contributed" to their subsequent decisions to engage in unprotected sex themselves. Meanwhile, 70% of respondents said that "viewing the explicit material led to acting out the things they saw."

 

“This lends support to the argument for greater availability of sexually explicit media that contains anal sex in which condoms are clearly used by actors,” Schrimshaw added. “The potentially negative consequences on behavior, therefore, has policy implications for pornography directors, producers, distributors, performers, and viewers.”

 

The main issue? Bareback porn sells. With few exceptions, major porn studios have shifted to include bareback sex in their productions, sometimes exclusively.

 

And in 2012, Measure B -- which made condom use mandatory in porn shoots in LA County -- was passed. Porn companies simply stopped getting permits for their shoots or moved to a different jurisdiction. (A California-wide initiative, similar to Measure B, will be voted on in November 2016.)

 

It's always good to remember that the raw fantasies portrayed on screens are not real life, where condoms are still the best way to reduce the risk of STDs.

 

Gay men more likely to use condoms if they see them in porn [Gay Times]

 

This makes people more likely to practice safe sex [Bustle]