Dennis RomeroOne of the arguments heard in the porn industry's fight against mandatory condoms is that they're uncomfortable and can help create harmful friction during sex.
Nina Hartley has been the most vociferous on this issue, once saying that “condom burn is a real issue. The friction from the latex, even with lubrication, is painful and breaches the integrity of my mucosal membranes, putting me at greater risk for disease transmission.”
A new study might seem to refute her experience:
The research, published recently in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, concludes that both men and women consider condom sex to be as pleasurable as non-condom sex.
That doesn't mean that some folks might not be irritated (and, to be fair to Hartley, we can hardly imagine most Americans enduring hours of sex in the manner practiced by porn stars).
But, generally, Americans don't complain about condoms too much.
The porn industry also says consumers won't buy condom porn, another assertion that seems to be contradicted by this research.
According to a summary of 2009 data analyzed by Debby Herbenick and Michael Reece of Indiana University-Bloomington's School of Public Health, Americans aged 18 to 59 found sex indistinguishable when it comes to condoms:
Pornfolk at the AVN Awards this year.; Credit: Nate 'Igor' Smith
Results showed that men and women consistently rate sex as highly arousing and pleasurable with few differences based on condom or lubricant use.
Perhaps speaking to the porn industry, Irwin Goldstein, MD, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, says:
Understanding current condom use offers health care providers an opportunity to educate those people uncomfortable with condoms but for whom lack of use may lead to significant sexually transmitted infection health risk.
The porn business is fighting a successful voter initiative that mandates condom use for adult video shoots in most of L.A. county. It has taken the county to court, arguing that the mandate violates filmmakers freedom of speech.
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