A sanctuary for supporters of sexual free expression and the adult sexual media.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
HIV Porn Panic Returneth: The Latest HIV Gay Porn Scare, And The AHF/CalOSHA Attempt To Stoke Peak BS For Their Condom Mandate
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Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Sigh....Another Month, Another HIV Porn Scare, And Another False Flag
I know....the blog has been kinda sparse of late, because of both a lack of news and my night job interfering with my ability to post on issues. My sincere apologies for that.
This past week, though, was more than enough to break out of the mothballs with yet another potential HIV scare delivered at the adult media industry. Fortunately, like most of the previous scares, it has a somewhat happy ending, but not without its controversy.
On this last Wednesday, the Free Speech Coalition stunned the industry with a rushed announcement that a "precautionary hold" on porn production would be imposed for three days, pending the outcome of testing for a possible HIV infection that may have took place outside of California. The semi-moratorium, shall we call it, was precipitated on an alert by an unidentified state health care official that a perfomer (probably ex-performer, though that status was unclear) that had been confirmed with HIV who didn't use the protocols of the PASS system of testing, might have had sexual contact off set with another performer who did regularly use the protocols. This triggered the usual procedure of testing both the current performer and all his first-generation contacts, as well as this "precautionary" moratorium as a stopgap.
Keep in mind, this is different from the usual procedure regarding FSCPASS protocols, where a full moratorium is declared whenever there is a positive or reactive HIV test, pending the results of confirmatory and first-gen tests. In this case, the semi-moratorium was declared as a precaution, so that testing of the individual performer and his recent contacts could commence. Since the Aptima tests that FSCPASS uses generally posts results in 48-72 hours, it was thought that 3 days would be enough of a period to perform the testing...hence, the brief length rather than the full 2-week moratorium.
The only fly in the ointment, figuratively speaking, was that one of the first-gen contacts of the performer was not originally available for testing due to being out of the state/country....so everything had to pushed forward through the weekend. Hence, FSCPASS on Saturday announced that the "semi-moratorium" had to be extended through Monday to tie up the loose ends. Michael Whiteacre of The Real Porn Wikileaks gives a thorough explanation of the reasons for the delay here, in response to critics.
Thankfully, everything seems to have turned out OK, because yesterday afternoon, FSCPASS announced that everyone had been cleared, the performer pool had not been contaminated, and that the moratorium was officially lifted; allowing production to resume.
Nevertheless, there has been some grumbling from the usual sources that: either FSCPASS acted too soon to lift the moratorium before the risk could be fully accessed, because people can lie to officials about their sexual contacts; or all this was a ruse to fill FSC's coffers.
Personally, I have my own druthers that this was all a false flag campaign by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's usual groupies to contaminate the adult performer pool, and use the resulting fear to once again sell the condom mandate. The fact that AHF shill Isadore Hall used the brohaha to announce his intentions to run for a California State Senate seat (Hall is term-limited out of his current Assembly seat), is just a bit too coincidental. Also, Shelley Lubben has briefly diverted from her crusade miming Belle Knox to pass a comment about another "scare".
In any case, all's well that ends well....I'm guessing, though, this won't be the last attempt to game the system by far.
This past week, though, was more than enough to break out of the mothballs with yet another potential HIV scare delivered at the adult media industry. Fortunately, like most of the previous scares, it has a somewhat happy ending, but not without its controversy.
On this last Wednesday, the Free Speech Coalition stunned the industry with a rushed announcement that a "precautionary hold" on porn production would be imposed for three days, pending the outcome of testing for a possible HIV infection that may have took place outside of California. The semi-moratorium, shall we call it, was precipitated on an alert by an unidentified state health care official that a perfomer (probably ex-performer, though that status was unclear) that had been confirmed with HIV who didn't use the protocols of the PASS system of testing, might have had sexual contact off set with another performer who did regularly use the protocols. This triggered the usual procedure of testing both the current performer and all his first-generation contacts, as well as this "precautionary" moratorium as a stopgap.
Keep in mind, this is different from the usual procedure regarding FSCPASS protocols, where a full moratorium is declared whenever there is a positive or reactive HIV test, pending the results of confirmatory and first-gen tests. In this case, the semi-moratorium was declared as a precaution, so that testing of the individual performer and his recent contacts could commence. Since the Aptima tests that FSCPASS uses generally posts results in 48-72 hours, it was thought that 3 days would be enough of a period to perform the testing...hence, the brief length rather than the full 2-week moratorium.
The only fly in the ointment, figuratively speaking, was that one of the first-gen contacts of the performer was not originally available for testing due to being out of the state/country....so everything had to pushed forward through the weekend. Hence, FSCPASS on Saturday announced that the "semi-moratorium" had to be extended through Monday to tie up the loose ends. Michael Whiteacre of The Real Porn Wikileaks gives a thorough explanation of the reasons for the delay here, in response to critics.
Thankfully, everything seems to have turned out OK, because yesterday afternoon, FSCPASS announced that everyone had been cleared, the performer pool had not been contaminated, and that the moratorium was officially lifted; allowing production to resume.
Nevertheless, there has been some grumbling from the usual sources that: either FSCPASS acted too soon to lift the moratorium before the risk could be fully accessed, because people can lie to officials about their sexual contacts; or all this was a ruse to fill FSC's coffers.
Personally, I have my own druthers that this was all a false flag campaign by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's usual groupies to contaminate the adult performer pool, and use the resulting fear to once again sell the condom mandate. The fact that AHF shill Isadore Hall used the brohaha to announce his intentions to run for a California State Senate seat (Hall is term-limited out of his current Assembly seat), is just a bit too coincidental. Also, Shelley Lubben has briefly diverted from her crusade miming Belle Knox to pass a comment about another "scare".
In any case, all's well that ends well....I'm guessing, though, this won't be the last attempt to game the system by far.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Ahhhhh....OOPS!! (And Hallelujah!!!) Latest Performer Test Was False Positive; Moratorium Lifted
For those of you who were just itching to write more of your panic screeds about the latest HIV panic in porn due to a initial "reactive" test of a performer last Wednesday? Fire up your shredders, please.
The confirmatory tests came in today for the affected performer....and it all turned out to be...a false positive.
The original sample that produced the tainted results was retested; as well as a fresh sample. Both came up negative for HIV (and I suppose, the rest of the panel).
Also, all the 1st generation contacts of the performer who were tested came up negative as well.
With that, FSCPASS has closed the book on this "scare", and lifted the moratorium on production imposed on Wednesday.
Here's FSC's full announement:
Either way, we can now exhale and celebrate.
The confirmatory tests came in today for the affected performer....and it all turned out to be...a false positive.
The original sample that produced the tainted results was retested; as well as a fresh sample. Both came up negative for HIV (and I suppose, the rest of the panel).
Also, all the 1st generation contacts of the performer who were tested came up negative as well.
With that, FSCPASS has closed the book on this "scare", and lifted the moratorium on production imposed on Wednesday.
Here's FSC's full announement:
Yesterday’s potentially positive HIV test by adult performer was a false positive. The performer does not have HIV. Additionally, the first generation performers who were tested proactively have also come back negative. Production on adult film can resume safely.So, once again, the FSCPASS system is proven to work. And, once again, certain town criers hoping for another crisis to push their agenda are wiping the egg off their face. AGAIN.
We understand that a moratorium is nerve-wracking for performers and difficult for producers. However, it’s essential that when it comes to performer safety, we err on the side of caution. We thank the producers, performers, agents and doctors who worked together during this difficult time for maintaining the moratorium, and for quickly helping establish a list of first generation contacts. While this was a false positive, it is always essential that we remain vigilant in concern to performer health.
The moratorium and testing system has enabled us to prevent any transmission of HIV on an adult film set for over ten years. While opponents of the industry often use our periodic moratoriums as evidence that adult sets are not safe, quite the opposite is true. Moratoriums have and continue to enable us to prevent HIV from being transmitted between adult performers.
Again, we thank everyone who worked so diligently and concertedly to protect performers during this current moratorium.
Either way, we can now exhale and celebrate.
And Away We Go Again: Another Potential HIV Scare, Another Moratorium...Another Nail In The Coffin For Condomless Porn??
Here. We. Go. AGAIN.
1) The initial reactive test results were preliminary; confirmatory testing has been done on the affected performer and all her 1st-generation on-screen partners, with results due to be released later today at the earliest.
2) At least four major performers have been verified to be part of the 1st gen quarantine list, and have been tested. That does NOT mean that they are indeed infected, just that they have engaged with the performer most directly isolated. Since 2004, it should be noted, there has not been one case of any performer getting infected with HIV on set.
3) According to Michael Whiteacre over at TRPWL, the affected performer is in her 30's, has performed for around a year in adult, has maintained a regular two-week testing regimen with FSCPASS (including a full panel of testing at the beginning of the month), and is romanticaly involved with another performer.
(Per BPPA policy, we do not and will NOT ever reveal the name of any potentially infected performer or 1st gen partner without direct permission or until they themselves feel fit to reveal themselves publically. Any attempt to reveal such info via comments or linkage on this blog will be immediately deleted and/or redacted.)
Not surprisingly, all the usual peanut gallery rogues are at their loudest squawking tones about how this latest "infection" proves once and for all that only condoms can protect performers from HIV; and that the FSCPASS protocols are an abject failure for HIV prevention. Then again, they were pitching the same BS for the last two or three "outbreaks", and they were proven so wrong.
At least this time, there are sane voices out there calling for calm and solidarity.....the newly formed performers' group Adult Performers' Advocacy Committee (APAC) released a timely and well structured statement on the latest scare that deserves reprinting in its entirity for its depth of common sense and reason in the face of the fear and psycho terror that must be affecting a lot of LA performers.
But, that's not important right now. The real thing at the moment is to remain calm and await the results of the testing, and then act accordingly as to what the legitimate level of threat really is. This could be bigger than what took place in 2004 with Darren James; it could also be a false positive. Or, it could be just like many of the other "outbreaks" we've seen these last two years: an isolated off-the-clock event that was caught before anyone else got harmed. What we will see, we will see.
(August 28, 2014) – Free Speech Coalition (FSC), the adult industry trade association, called for a production moratorium today after one of the testing facilities in its PASS testing system reported a possible positive HIV test for an adult performer.As this only broke yesterday afternoon, speculation is running rife about the identity of the affected performer, how or if she got infected (or whether or not this may be a false positive), and whether or not the impact of this new moratorium will be enough to undercut performer solidarity in favor of mandatory condoms. However, the following is known information, based on actual verifiable sources (and documented over at The Real Porn Wikileaks blog):
“There was a positive test at one of our testing centers. Confirmatory tests are not yet back but we are taking every precaution to protect performers and to determine if there’s been any threat to the performer pool,” said FSC CEO Diane Duke.
“We take the health of our performers very seriously and felt that it was better to err on the side of caution while we determine whether anyone else may have been exposed.”
The next steps will be to perform additional tests, determine a timeline, and identify any first generation partners.
“We want to make sure all performers are protected. The performers’ health and safety is the most important thing,” Duke added.
As of this notice, FSC calls for all production to halt immediately, until further notice.
1) The initial reactive test results were preliminary; confirmatory testing has been done on the affected performer and all her 1st-generation on-screen partners, with results due to be released later today at the earliest.
2) At least four major performers have been verified to be part of the 1st gen quarantine list, and have been tested. That does NOT mean that they are indeed infected, just that they have engaged with the performer most directly isolated. Since 2004, it should be noted, there has not been one case of any performer getting infected with HIV on set.
3) According to Michael Whiteacre over at TRPWL, the affected performer is in her 30's, has performed for around a year in adult, has maintained a regular two-week testing regimen with FSCPASS (including a full panel of testing at the beginning of the month), and is romanticaly involved with another performer.
(Per BPPA policy, we do not and will NOT ever reveal the name of any potentially infected performer or 1st gen partner without direct permission or until they themselves feel fit to reveal themselves publically. Any attempt to reveal such info via comments or linkage on this blog will be immediately deleted and/or redacted.)
Not surprisingly, all the usual peanut gallery rogues are at their loudest squawking tones about how this latest "infection" proves once and for all that only condoms can protect performers from HIV; and that the FSCPASS protocols are an abject failure for HIV prevention. Then again, they were pitching the same BS for the last two or three "outbreaks", and they were proven so wrong.
At least this time, there are sane voices out there calling for calm and solidarity.....the newly formed performers' group Adult Performers' Advocacy Committee (APAC) released a timely and well structured statement on the latest scare that deserves reprinting in its entirity for its depth of common sense and reason in the face of the fear and psycho terror that must be affecting a lot of LA performers.
APAC is requesting that all adult performers honor PASS’s call for a moratorium and treat each other with compassion and respect during this time.
When an industry moratorium, especially one related to HIV, occurs, performers are often concerned about their health, the health of their co-workers, their financial security, and public perception of the porn industry. Fear and mistrust are understandable reactions. Desire for facts and belief in rumors when no facts are available are also understandable reactions.Personally, I think that this is the direct effect of laws like Measure B coming back to bite some asses hard by driving performers underground into less safe ventures. A part of me that's more into conspiracies might see the hand of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in all this, paying and supporting "moles" to infect performers "off-the-clock", or introduce HIV+ "crossover" performers into the adult performer pool in order to poison it, and use the insuing panic and terror based on the fear of an outbreak and the loss of livelihood during the moratoria period to push their "condoms only" agenda. (That's solely MY opinion, not reflective of anybody else here at BPPA.)
The only facts available at this time are that a positive HIV result has been reported to the FSC and that a call has been made to stop all production while a confirmatory test is done.
The Adult Performer Advocacy Committee’s mission is to support the safety, happiness, and well-being of individual performers, and our community. Therefore we stand against blaming specific performers for contracting HIV, and we encourage them to take steps to ensure HIV- negative scene partners are not exposed. We also firmly stand against any homophobia (ie blaming “crossover” performers or gay studios) in a time of industry moratorium.
APAC is asking all performers to refrain from exchanging body fluids during this moratorium. This includes girl-girl only performers, trans performers, “gay” performers, queer performers, and “straight” performers, and includes performers based out of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, and anywhere else adult productions are shot in the United States or with performers who have recently been here. This also includes trade shoots and recreational activities.
The blending of gay and straight performers; transgender and cisgender performers; queer, homo- and heterosexual sexualities; is an increasing reality in our industry. There is no “gay” or straight” industry, even if there are straight and gay audiences.
HIV is not transmitted by gay people to straight people, it is transmitted from a positive partner to a negative partner by very specific sexual acts that are not specific to sexual orientation.
This request to honor the current moratorium is made for the safety of our community as a whole and for your safety. Regardless of your feelings towards the FSC or any other entity in the adult film industry, we believe this is the right thing to do.
APAC is also asking fellow performers to show compassion towards each other and to our unnamed peer who is currently waiting for the results of their confirmatory test. Their entire life has just been turned upside down and shaken. Any one of us could be in that person’s shoes. Think about what it might be like to be in those shoes before you point fingers, throw accusations around, or tweet about who you might guess they are.
As performers, it is our responsibility to understand how HIV is transmitted and to show care for other performers. At APAC, we offer resources on HIV and STI education and a private, performer only platform for performers to support and discuss concerns about moratoriums with each other.
Moratoriums are an opportunity for performers to be a voice of reason and stability about sexual health, to educate ourselves, and to show care for each other.
When moratorium-related concerns turn into anxious blame or trying to figure out whose “fault” it is, performers are pitted against one another.
When these concerns are instead played out as care for one another, our industry and the community of performers becomes stronger.
APAC encourages performers to reach out to their existing support systems, and to remember we’re all in this together and should be able to lean on each other.
But, that's not important right now. The real thing at the moment is to remain calm and await the results of the testing, and then act accordingly as to what the legitimate level of threat really is. This could be bigger than what took place in 2004 with Darren James; it could also be a false positive. Or, it could be just like many of the other "outbreaks" we've seen these last two years: an isolated off-the-clock event that was caught before anyone else got harmed. What we will see, we will see.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
AHF's Latest Diversionary Bedazzle of BS: Attack Kink.com Oral/Toy Shoot In Nevada For....What Now???
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Because Porn Women Are People Too...BPPA Supports Christy Mack
This blog would not even exist were it not for the labor and beauty of its female performers.
Yes, the male performers have more than just a bit to do with the success of porn, too....but it's the females who are out there, naked in more ways than you can imagine, taking all the risks to sell the belief that sex isn't a horrible thing after all.
The fundamental principle that BPPA was founded on from the very beginning up to today is that performers who do explicit adult sexual entertainment are as human as anyone else in any other profession, worthy of equal rights and responsibilities and respect for what they offer.
It is in that fundamental principle that we rise in support of performer Christy Mack in the wake of the absolutely horrific violent assault and battery and even attempted murder she suffered recently at the alleged hands of her former boyfriend Johnathan Koppenhaver, aka MMA fighter "War Machine".
I could go off for paragraphs on what this says about the misplaced hyperaggression of violent sports, or on how the media and sex-negative culture tends to dismiss violence against sexually assertive women or women involved in one form of another of sex work/sexual entertainment because "sluts/whores/tramps get what they deserve"...but that's not really important right now.
The most important thing is that Christy get the chance to fully recover and heal from both the physical and psychological injuries to both her body and her soul. Her own personal strength will do a lot to get her through, but it's not so bad to give her some boost through our own.
A fundraising drive is currently ongoing for Christy's mounting medical bills through GiveForward.com (which, hopefully, has learned their lesson from the Eden Alexander debacle not to dismiss porn women so lightly). I've added a special widget/gadget (please, Blogger, get with the program!!!) in the blog sidebar for those who want to donate generously.
You don't have to sell your house, or your car, or anything drastic...just collect some pennies or dimes or quarters and help an awesome porn woman heal, recover, and reload.
Yes, the male performers have more than just a bit to do with the success of porn, too....but it's the females who are out there, naked in more ways than you can imagine, taking all the risks to sell the belief that sex isn't a horrible thing after all.
The fundamental principle that BPPA was founded on from the very beginning up to today is that performers who do explicit adult sexual entertainment are as human as anyone else in any other profession, worthy of equal rights and responsibilities and respect for what they offer.
Christy Mack, posing for her Inked Magazine cover (via her Twitter page)
It is in that fundamental principle that we rise in support of performer Christy Mack in the wake of the absolutely horrific violent assault and battery and even attempted murder she suffered recently at the alleged hands of her former boyfriend Johnathan Koppenhaver, aka MMA fighter "War Machine".
I could go off for paragraphs on what this says about the misplaced hyperaggression of violent sports, or on how the media and sex-negative culture tends to dismiss violence against sexually assertive women or women involved in one form of another of sex work/sexual entertainment because "sluts/whores/tramps get what they deserve"...but that's not really important right now.
The most important thing is that Christy get the chance to fully recover and heal from both the physical and psychological injuries to both her body and her soul. Her own personal strength will do a lot to get her through, but it's not so bad to give her some boost through our own.
A fundraising drive is currently ongoing for Christy's mounting medical bills through GiveForward.com (which, hopefully, has learned their lesson from the Eden Alexander debacle not to dismiss porn women so lightly). I've added a special widget/gadget (please, Blogger, get with the program!!!) in the blog sidebar for those who want to donate generously.
You don't have to sell your house, or your car, or anything drastic...just collect some pennies or dimes or quarters and help an awesome porn woman heal, recover, and reload.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Too Close For Comfort, But #BAHLOCKED Again!!! For Realz, Too!!! Condom Mandate Bill AB 1576 Finally Whacked By California Senate For 2014 Year
It may have gone on a bit longer for some people's comfort, but the battle over #AB 1576, Isadore Hall's proposed condom mandate/testing/documentation for porn bill finally ended last Wednesday, when the California State Senate Appropriations Committee tabled the bill without a vote, or even bringing it up.
Last week, after testimonials both for and against the bill, which would have mandated both condom usage and testing for all shoots performed within 14 days, that committee placed the bill "in suspense" without a vote, essentially preparing the bill for ultimate closure.
The main sticking point was more than likely that the bill would have violated the fiscal threshhold limit of $150,000 for costs of enforcement, which is the standard used for rendering a bill fiscally responsible enough. However, the fact that the industry rallied hard, and was able to actually turn some favorite press with some powerful mainstream institutions (including this powerful editorial from the Los Angeles Times), combined with the universal opposition ofporn production companies including Kink.com, and performers, led admirably by Lorelei Lee, to name just one of many, was as much a factor as any.
Considering the pessimism that existed when AB 1576 was able to pass the California Assembly generally with little discussion or debate, the quick turnaround was indeed surprising, yet most certainly welcomed, in the midst of this bad lawmaking.
Both Assemblyman Hall (who will be term-limited out of his seat after this year, but is comtemplating a run for the Cali Senate), and his backers at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, issued the usual press releases expressing such sorrow that the Senate decided to place "profit" over "worker protection", and AHF announced that they would try again next year with similar legislation.
So...that's one less stumbing block for the LA- and California-based adult entertainment industry to endure. There's still the ongoing court cases over both Measure B (the original referendum which imposed the condom mandate on most of Los Angeles County), as well as the original ordinance passed in the City of Los Angeles. Plus, there is the continuing attempt by CalOSHA, assisted by AHF, to rewrite the workplace codes to impose mandatory "barrier" protection for adult performers, via proposed CCR 5193.1, and expand that nationally through the federal branch of OSHA.
But, at least for now, the threat to porn production in California is significantly less than it was even one week ago. Props to the good guys for winning one, and may this be only the end of the beginning.
More info via TRPWL, XBiz.com, and AVN.
Last week, after testimonials both for and against the bill, which would have mandated both condom usage and testing for all shoots performed within 14 days, that committee placed the bill "in suspense" without a vote, essentially preparing the bill for ultimate closure.
The main sticking point was more than likely that the bill would have violated the fiscal threshhold limit of $150,000 for costs of enforcement, which is the standard used for rendering a bill fiscally responsible enough. However, the fact that the industry rallied hard, and was able to actually turn some favorite press with some powerful mainstream institutions (including this powerful editorial from the Los Angeles Times), combined with the universal opposition ofporn production companies including Kink.com, and performers, led admirably by Lorelei Lee, to name just one of many, was as much a factor as any.
Considering the pessimism that existed when AB 1576 was able to pass the California Assembly generally with little discussion or debate, the quick turnaround was indeed surprising, yet most certainly welcomed, in the midst of this bad lawmaking.
Both Assemblyman Hall (who will be term-limited out of his seat after this year, but is comtemplating a run for the Cali Senate), and his backers at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, issued the usual press releases expressing such sorrow that the Senate decided to place "profit" over "worker protection", and AHF announced that they would try again next year with similar legislation.
So...that's one less stumbing block for the LA- and California-based adult entertainment industry to endure. There's still the ongoing court cases over both Measure B (the original referendum which imposed the condom mandate on most of Los Angeles County), as well as the original ordinance passed in the City of Los Angeles. Plus, there is the continuing attempt by CalOSHA, assisted by AHF, to rewrite the workplace codes to impose mandatory "barrier" protection for adult performers, via proposed CCR 5193.1, and expand that nationally through the federal branch of OSHA.
But, at least for now, the threat to porn production in California is significantly less than it was even one week ago. Props to the good guys for winning one, and may this be only the end of the beginning.
More info via TRPWL, XBiz.com, and AVN.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
AVN's Mark Kernes Chases The #AB1576 "Crapnado"; Survives To Tell The Story
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Monday, August 4, 2014
"Curses....BAHLOCKED AGAIN!!!" AB 1576 (AHF/Isadore Hall Sponsored Condom Mandate Bill) Placed "In Suspense" By California Senate Committee (BREAKING STORY)
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Friday, August 1, 2014
Presente, Christian Mann: A Decent Man In A Dirty World Passes On (Updated By Michael Whiteacre)
[I might not be an insider to the porn world, but I was nevertheless shaken by the announcement on Wednesday night that long time Video Team owner/producer Christian Mann had lost his earthly battle with cancer. Before his more recent activism against the condom mandate and his refuting of the "arguments" of Peanut Factory criers like Mike South, Mann was first known by me as one of the first porn producers to attempt to humanize Black men through consensual interracial porn. He was also one of the first producers/distributors to face the full wrath of the government's attempts to criminalize sexual speech, having even faced jail for tweaking the noses of racists and prudes everywhere.
I probably am not qualified to post a worthy tribute to Mr. Mann's legacy...but thankfully, someone far more worthy than me has. My friend Michael Whiteacre just posted over at The Real Porn Wikileaks a touching eulogy to properly celebrate Christian's life and work....and he and Sean Tompkins has allowed me permission to repost their tribute in full here.
All I will say is that it is criminal that warriors like Christian Mann are taken from us before their time.
Anthony]
Link to the original TRPWL post is embedded in the title.
“He was the best of us.” ~ From James Dickey’s Deliverance, 1972
With love and respect from Michael Whiteacre –
Christian Mann was a friend, mentor, and inspiration to me. He was a decent man in a dirty world. I won’t even attempt describing the anguish I feel today…
In 1996, I started covering the adult business after answering an ad posted by an international news syndication company looking for someone familiar and comfortable with the world of adult. They needed someone to cover the Video Software Dealers association (VSDA) show in Las Vegas, and since I was already heading out there to cover the mainstream side of the event, I got the job. By chance, one of the first people I met at VSDA was Christian Mann.
As my friend Gram Ponante writes this morning, Christian “was one of those people you meet in this business who reaffirms your need to believe that it’s OK, that there are good people here, that you’re not going to Hell.”
I knew him back then as the owner of Video Team, a highly successful “boutique” operation that, as Jules Jordan recalls, “was like the ethnic company. It really brought the ethnic genres to a more mainstream light.”
Because Christian was friendly and eloquent, whenever I needed a quote — any quote — while covering an adult event, I sought him out. Looking back, I don’t think I ended up printing very much of what we talked about — Christian possessed a massive “bank” of knowledge on so many subjects, from music to American presidential elections, and it was easy for the two of us to go off on tangents completely unrelated to the event at hand. I guess that’s how our friendship began.
Back then, as Christian would tell me years later, “the [adult] business was mostly good guys, and we all got along.” What Christian, and the other giants I met back in “the old days”, managed to instill in me was a sense of history regarding the adult business, as well as an appreciation of legacy.
As Christian later recalled to AVN:
Although we had done some business together during the 8 years I was a content distributor to TV and hotels, we didn’t really socialize. I would sometimes run into him — usually with Steven Hirsch — at various concerts around town. Elvis Costello at the Wiltern stands out in my mind.
Christian ran Video Team for 12 years. Out of conscience, Christian and many other producers went all-condom in the wake of the 2004 Darren James HIV infections. The market did not want all-condom titles, however, and those companies either folded or dropped the condom requirement. Video Team took a hard hit, and Christian eventually sold the library to Metro in 2006.
After Video Team folded, the next time I saw him was November 2009, about a year into his position of general manager at Evil Angel. Larry Flynt, John Stagliano, and others were to be honored at an FSC-sponsored gala at the Skirball Center in L.A., and I was asked to put together Flynt’s video tribute. I ended up directing the evening’s presentation, which involved running down all the various cues between the speakers and presenters on stage, and the audio-video team behind the board. Christian was set to introduce Stagliano, and he was worried about being “left hanging there” onstage if there was a flub. I remember us bonding all over again as we worked out his cues with great precision — and it came off perfectly.
In 2011, he surprised me by coming up to me at an expo in Los Angeles, and singing my praises in front of a group of adult industry “players”.
“Here’s a guy who is out there every day making the case for us,” he said as he patted me on the back. I was amazed, as I had no idea Christian was even reading my stuff. He was, he assured me, and I later learned that he would share my work with many in the adult business, particularly during the campaign against Measure B during the fall of 2012.
Our friend Glenn King recalls,
During this time, Christian wed his beautiful wife Melissa. Theirs is a pure and genuine love story, the details of which I will leave to Melissa to share. She has called Christian the love of her life, and Christian left absolutely no doubt with me that he felt the same about her.
By the late summer of 2013, Christian was convinced he had beaten the
cancer. Lunch or dinner at Hop Louie’s in Chinatown became our thing,
and those were wonderful times that I will cherish forever.
His level of wisdom and candor was breathtaking. He was an intellectual with a tremendous sense of humor, and could easily summon the perfect anecdote or analogy to illustrate his point. Christian was a great person to go to for advice because never lectured; he was direct — often “ruthlessly honest”, in John Stagliano’s words — but he helped you reach your own conclusions. And then he’d offer to help.
As our mutual friend Glenn King notes, “Christian was never satisfied with being the best he could be. He wanted to help others improve their lives. He was always willing to take others’ burdens upon himself. That’s the kind of guy he was.”
Christian worked hard as point man for the Free Speech Coalition’s PASS testing/test verification system for adult performers — a system he vigorously defended, as in this 2013 letter which we were proud to post on TRPWL.
He wrote, in part:
Christian was an extremely rational diplomat with a well-deserved reputation for being a peacemaker — “he was so good at getting people to come together,” as director Kevin Moore says. Christian once described himself to me as a very political man; just as he valued human decency, he understood the importance of allies in this business. He didn’t suffer fools lightly (as that 2013 letter also demonstrates), but he always had tact and grace.
If Christian liked someone, and trusted them, he helped get ahead. He was great at matching people up, and lobbying for them, ether behind the scenes or in their presence. Steve Javors credits Christian with getting him his job at AVN: “He called me on Paul [Fishbein]‘s behalf to see if I was interested, and set up a meeting of the three of us.” He would later make similar introductions for me, usually over lunch in the Valley.
In March of this year, when I received word of Jake Malone’s passing, I rang Christian. He wanted me to do justice to his friend’s story, and provided some moving reminiscences. I was struck by his insight and eloquence under stress, but what I remember most was the way his voice cracked as he spoke of his departed friend. I’ll never forget the sound of it.
“Up until March of this year he thought he was going to beat this whole thing,” says Stagliano, but by May, Christian’s cancer had returned with a vengeance, and had gotten to his spine. Melissa never left his side, day and night. When I visited, I learned that Christian was no longer able to hold food down. The chemo had become too much for his body to take, and he and Melissa opted to suspend treatment. On July 7, he was started on comfort medications to ease his pain, but no artificial IV hydration or nutrition.
In these last few weeks, it fell to Melissa, and a few others such as Christian’s old friend Luc Wylder, to keep people informed of Christian’s status via social media. On July 10, Melissa reported:
Christian was a tenacious fighter, as is reflected in the cartoon Melissa texted me on July 21:
Our dear Christian could not let go until last night, July 30.
I love you brother. I’ll see you again.
Read tributes to Christian from those who knew and loved him here
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Also...read AVN's official eulogy to Christian Mann here, updated as tributes roll in.]
[UPDATE 8-2-14: Michael Whiteacre has updated the original post over at TRPWL to reflect his personal tribute to Christian Mann; and this repost has thusly been updated as a reflection.]
I probably am not qualified to post a worthy tribute to Mr. Mann's legacy...but thankfully, someone far more worthy than me has. My friend Michael Whiteacre just posted over at The Real Porn Wikileaks a touching eulogy to properly celebrate Christian's life and work....and he and Sean Tompkins has allowed me permission to repost their tribute in full here.
All I will say is that it is criminal that warriors like Christian Mann are taken from us before their time.
Anthony]
Link to the original TRPWL post is embedded in the title.
Presente Christian Mann: The Passing Of A Decent Man In A Dirty World
“He was the best of us.” ~ From James Dickey’s Deliverance, 1972
With love and respect from Michael Whiteacre –
Christian Mann was a friend, mentor, and inspiration to me. He was a decent man in a dirty world. I won’t even attempt describing the anguish I feel today…
In 1996, I started covering the adult business after answering an ad posted by an international news syndication company looking for someone familiar and comfortable with the world of adult. They needed someone to cover the Video Software Dealers association (VSDA) show in Las Vegas, and since I was already heading out there to cover the mainstream side of the event, I got the job. By chance, one of the first people I met at VSDA was Christian Mann.
As my friend Gram Ponante writes this morning, Christian “was one of those people you meet in this business who reaffirms your need to believe that it’s OK, that there are good people here, that you’re not going to Hell.”
I knew him back then as the owner of Video Team, a highly successful “boutique” operation that, as Jules Jordan recalls, “was like the ethnic company. It really brought the ethnic genres to a more mainstream light.”
Because Christian was friendly and eloquent, whenever I needed a quote — any quote — while covering an adult event, I sought him out. Looking back, I don’t think I ended up printing very much of what we talked about — Christian possessed a massive “bank” of knowledge on so many subjects, from music to American presidential elections, and it was easy for the two of us to go off on tangents completely unrelated to the event at hand. I guess that’s how our friendship began.
Christian in the 1980s
Back then, as Christian would tell me years later, “the [adult] business was mostly good guys, and we all got along.” What Christian, and the other giants I met back in “the old days”, managed to instill in me was a sense of history regarding the adult business, as well as an appreciation of legacy.
As Christian later recalled to AVN:
I officially started in the business in the summer of 1979 when I was 18 years old. My job was packing magazines in my dad’s warehouse and delivering them to our local customers in the beat-up company van. Seven months into my job, on Valentine’s Day 1980, I was delivering a van full of How to Enlarge Your Penis magazines to CPLC in Central L.A. As I turned the corner, I saw the entire block swarming with news media trucks … and the CPLC parking lot was filled with big guys wearing FBI windbreakers. I knew enough to not stop and instead made my way to the nearest phone booth to call my dad who had been worried because he knew raids were going down all over the country … and he couldn’t reach me in the days before cell phones. This wasn’t my first day on the job, but it remains one of my earliest and most vivid memories from my freshman year in our business.One of my main takeaways from knowing Christian was that attacks on free speech and sexual freedom are a bipartisan affair. That Valentine’s Day raid occurred under a Democratic president, while in 1989, when Christian was brought up on federal obscenity charges in Texas (and prevailed in his trial there), the political winds were blowing from another direction.
Although we had done some business together during the 8 years I was a content distributor to TV and hotels, we didn’t really socialize. I would sometimes run into him — usually with Steven Hirsch — at various concerts around town. Elvis Costello at the Wiltern stands out in my mind.
Christian ran Video Team for 12 years. Out of conscience, Christian and many other producers went all-condom in the wake of the 2004 Darren James HIV infections. The market did not want all-condom titles, however, and those companies either folded or dropped the condom requirement. Video Team took a hard hit, and Christian eventually sold the library to Metro in 2006.
Christian and John Stagliano – Amsterdam, 2010
After Video Team folded, the next time I saw him was November 2009, about a year into his position of general manager at Evil Angel. Larry Flynt, John Stagliano, and others were to be honored at an FSC-sponsored gala at the Skirball Center in L.A., and I was asked to put together Flynt’s video tribute. I ended up directing the evening’s presentation, which involved running down all the various cues between the speakers and presenters on stage, and the audio-video team behind the board. Christian was set to introduce Stagliano, and he was worried about being “left hanging there” onstage if there was a flub. I remember us bonding all over again as we worked out his cues with great precision — and it came off perfectly.
Christian at the Nov 2009 FSC gala
In 2011, he surprised me by coming up to me at an expo in Los Angeles, and singing my praises in front of a group of adult industry “players”.
“Here’s a guy who is out there every day making the case for us,” he said as he patted me on the back. I was amazed, as I had no idea Christian was even reading my stuff. He was, he assured me, and I later learned that he would share my work with many in the adult business, particularly during the campaign against Measure B during the fall of 2012.
Our friend Glenn King recalls,
On December 30, 2012, Christian canceled our golf outing because of a stomach ache. I laughed at him and said “Seriously? A tummy ache? Be a man and play golf, ya pussy”. We agreed to play the next day instead. On December 31, he said his stomach ache had gotten worse and he was going to go to the emergency room. I told him he was being a baby. I said “You have heartburn because of all the terrible crap you eat. They are going to give you some Prilosec and send you home”. He said “My family has a history of cancer. That might be what it is”. I laughed and said “You are a hypochondriac. You don’t have cancer. You have an ulcer maybe, but most likely you ate something bad”. To my credit, the doctors gave him an antacid and sent him home. They referred him to a specialist. A few days later, he found out he had pancreatic cancer, one of the worst kinds. The doctors estimated he had 5 months to live.Christian wrote about his cancer diagnosis in a January 2013 open letter, which was published in AVN. He also created a blog where he wrote updates about his medical condition at ChristianMann.com. Christian made it very clear that he was not simply going to curl up into a ball. The outpouring of love he received from the adult community was both immense and mutual.
During this time, Christian wed his beautiful wife Melissa. Theirs is a pure and genuine love story, the details of which I will leave to Melissa to share. She has called Christian the love of her life, and Christian left absolutely no doubt with me that he felt the same about her.
Melissa and Christian Mann helping me celebrate my birthday, with director Anna Arrowsmith (right)
Siri (left) with Melissa, Christian, and his ubiquitous cell phone –September 2013
His level of wisdom and candor was breathtaking. He was an intellectual with a tremendous sense of humor, and could easily summon the perfect anecdote or analogy to illustrate his point. Christian was a great person to go to for advice because never lectured; he was direct — often “ruthlessly honest”, in John Stagliano’s words — but he helped you reach your own conclusions. And then he’d offer to help.
As our mutual friend Glenn King notes, “Christian was never satisfied with being the best he could be. He wanted to help others improve their lives. He was always willing to take others’ burdens upon himself. That’s the kind of guy he was.”
Christian worked hard as point man for the Free Speech Coalition’s PASS testing/test verification system for adult performers — a system he vigorously defended, as in this 2013 letter which we were proud to post on TRPWL.
He wrote, in part:
I have devoted a lot of time and effort as the FSC Board Member chairing the PASS initiative. I have received no recompense and I have no ulterior motive other than to be of service to my industry. The scores of performers and agents who have encountered me over the last thirty years would likely vouch for my integrity and genuine care for them as people and as a vital component of the business. I’ve never viewed the performers in an “us and them” paradigm. A simple collective “us” has always been my approach.As John Stagliano reminded me today, “Christian was a unique, very intelligent, very morally aware executive in the porn business. He cared about the talent, he cared about all his employees.”
Christian was an extremely rational diplomat with a well-deserved reputation for being a peacemaker — “he was so good at getting people to come together,” as director Kevin Moore says. Christian once described himself to me as a very political man; just as he valued human decency, he understood the importance of allies in this business. He didn’t suffer fools lightly (as that 2013 letter also demonstrates), but he always had tact and grace.
If Christian liked someone, and trusted them, he helped get ahead. He was great at matching people up, and lobbying for them, ether behind the scenes or in their presence. Steve Javors credits Christian with getting him his job at AVN: “He called me on Paul [Fishbein]‘s behalf to see if I was interested, and set up a meeting of the three of us.” He would later make similar introductions for me, usually over lunch in the Valley.
Julia Ann with Christian at the 2013 Vivid Holiday party
In March of this year, when I received word of Jake Malone’s passing, I rang Christian. He wanted me to do justice to his friend’s story, and provided some moving reminiscences. I was struck by his insight and eloquence under stress, but what I remember most was the way his voice cracked as he spoke of his departed friend. I’ll never forget the sound of it.
“Up until March of this year he thought he was going to beat this whole thing,” says Stagliano, but by May, Christian’s cancer had returned with a vengeance, and had gotten to his spine. Melissa never left his side, day and night. When I visited, I learned that Christian was no longer able to hold food down. The chemo had become too much for his body to take, and he and Melissa opted to suspend treatment. On July 7, he was started on comfort medications to ease his pain, but no artificial IV hydration or nutrition.
In these last few weeks, it fell to Melissa, and a few others such as Christian’s old friend Luc Wylder, to keep people informed of Christian’s status via social media. On July 10, Melissa reported:
The most beautiful part of this transition has been the opportunity to surround Christian, day and night, with the love of friends and family. Since he was awake this afternoon, we read him a few of the hundreds of messages about him that have been left on Facebook. We love you, they say. You’ve made the world a better place, and we’ll miss you. So much love and support from so many friends. He lay back on the pillows with a smile on his face. “Do they know I’m not dead yet?”
The nurse offered him disposable briefs this morning. He didn’t even hesitate. “Well, it depends…”“As the second week of hospice begins,” Melissa shared on July 14, “I’m reminded of the physician’s remark that we are not in control of this process.”
Christian was a tenacious fighter, as is reflected in the cartoon Melissa texted me on July 21:
Our dear Christian could not let go until last night, July 30.
I love you brother. I’ll see you again.
Read tributes to Christian from those who knew and loved him here
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Also...read AVN's official eulogy to Christian Mann here, updated as tributes roll in.]
[UPDATE 8-2-14: Michael Whiteacre has updated the original post over at TRPWL to reflect his personal tribute to Christian Mann; and this repost has thusly been updated as a reflection.]
Monday, July 21, 2014
Etology Of An "Outbreak": The 2013 HIV Porn Timeline
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HIV Porn Panic 2014: Cameron Bay Goes Interviewing With TRPWL's Michael Whiteacre To Clear Herself, But Raises More Questions Than Answers
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