Porn stars: Don't force us to wear condoms or safety goggles

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One after another, scores of people who make porn films for a living pleaded their case to California workplace safety officials: Don’t force condoms or safety goggles or other devices designed to stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases on them because those devices will simply stop people from watching porn films and soon they’ll have no jobs at all.

“All of us are here for the same reason. We want to keep California workers safe,” porn actress SiouxsieQ, who also reports on the industry for various publications, told the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s Standards Board during a public hearing Thursday.

But adopting regulations specifically requiring the use of condoms and other safety measures that audiences don’t like would only keep people from watching films and destroy a multibillion-dollar business that employs thousands, she and dozens of others told the board.

The panel, which had been poised to approve the measure, eventually voted it down when only three members gave their support. Four yes votes from the seven-member panel were required for passage. The vote was 3-2 in favor, with one member absent and one board position currently open.

The panel will now begin considering a new worker safety measure for the porn industry, said Cal/OSHA spokeswoman Julia Bernstein.