Buried among the 17 initiatives on the ballot in California this year is Proposition 60, a referendum that, if passed, would mandate condom use in adult films, require that porn producers pay for performers’ sexual healthcare and require producers to obtain proper state licensing.

California voters are used to seeing bland and bureaucratic stuff on the ballot. Prop 60 is sandwiched between prop 59 (repeal corporate personhood) and prop 61 (standardize prescription-drug pricing). I don’t quite understand these propositions, but presumably they’re necessary to keep the oligarchs in check.

So prop 60 threw me for a loop. As someone who doesn’t work in porn — at least not with any consistency — I had to do some research. But the guide put out by the state of California presumes that voters are either unfamiliar with the role of smut in Western civilization or are strangers to the idea of sex itself. (“Adult films are also commonly called ‘pornography,’” as the guide explains, “in which performers actually engage in vaginal or anal penetration by a penis.”)

Nowhere in the guide could I find just why the hell my vote should hold any sway over what Karl Hungus slips on his johnson. Regardless of my own instincts on prop 60, my opinion shouldn’t matter as much as that of the parties involved.

There had to be better authorities out there. I asked four people, all of whom are involved in the adult-film industry, for their perspective.

Kitty Stryker

Performer/producer — Seven years in porn — Vote: NO

“Safer sex in porn is fine, and I have no objections to condoms as a performer or as a viewer. But focusing on Prop 60’s insistence on condoms as salvation misses [how] the prop unfairly penalizes small producers. Prop 60 mandates that producers pay for performers’ testing. The current industry standard is that performers pay. I actually agree with this part of Prop 60 because I don’t think that people should have to pay just to go to work. However, under this law, given the way it’s written right now, there’s no differentiation between big companies like Kink.com and Evil Angel — companies that can afford to pay $250 every other week for each performer’s testing — and small independent performers/producers like me, who make sci-fi porn with a staff of one other person. I’m not opposed to some of the ideas behind Prop 60, but I don’t know that having a government mandate would be an effective solution.”

Fact check: “Adult-film producers would be required to pay for the costs of performers’ work-related STI prevention, vaccines, STI tests and medical examinations.” — California General Election Official Voter Information Guide

“Prop 60 states that any private citizen could sue me for noncompliance and, as a result, get access to my legal name and home address. I’ve been stalked before, and it’s terrifying to think that anyone could get access to that information and be paid for it.”

James Darling

Performer/producer — Seven years in porn — Vote: NO

“I think the most important aspect of porn is for performers to be able to advocate for their own bodies. Framing Prop 60 as being about performer safety sounds nice but doesn’t mention how much other crap is connected to this. This would put me out of business. Even though I am a condom-only performer, I would still not be compliant with this law because if there are any fluids visible in the video, I could be sued. Prop 60 states that any private citizen could sue me for noncompliance and, as a result, get access to my legal name and home address. I’ve been stalked before, and it’s terrifying to think that anyone could get access to that information and be paid for it.”

Fact check: “Allows in some cases any California resident to bring a civil lawsuit against producers for some adult-film workplace health and safety violations.” — California General Election Official Voter Information Guide

“Sex workers are not diseased, and we don’t need condoms to show that. We can just have the performers talk about how they stay healthy at the end of each video. People say porn is where people get their sex education and that we need to model good behavior.”

Mona Wales

Performer/producer — Four years in porn — Vote: NO

“I do custom videos, direct sex work and phone sex. I produce DVDs, bi scenes, straight scenes — mostly fetish. My bread and butter is dominating people on film and in person. I can do whatever I want because I have a good customer base. Straight, trans, cover myself in slime, fart glitter — my customers will just say, ‘OK!’

But now they’re trying to regulate porn out of existence. This won’t make us any healthier. Sex workers are not diseased, and we don’t need condoms to show that. We can just have the performers talk about how they stay healthy at the end of each video. People say porn is where people get their sex education and that we need to model good behavior. Good behavior includes talking about sex habits.”

“[Prop 6o] puts us at risk when it comes to stalkers and harassment, as it allows people to learn our legal names and home addresses. As a woman and a queer woman, that’s especially scary. I literally do not know what I would do if this bill passes.”

Nikki Silver

Performer /producer — 10 years in porn — Vote: NO

“There are so many ways in which being an independent porn producer is the best job I could ever ask for. Porn is one of the only industries in which queer/trans people and women are often in positions of power and earn higher or equal wages than cis men. I am able to pay models a decent wage, offer safe and consensual working conditions, and support myself as well. I have worked hard to get where I am today.

The Bay Area has a vibrant community of independent and queer sex workers, porn producers and artists who all collaborate and help each other. I love California and have no interest in moving. Prop 60 uses unclear language to require the use of barriers during sex acts in porn and allows any California resident to sue a porn performer/producer if they see a video without a visible barrier.

This puts us at risk when it comes to stalkers and harassment, as it allows people to learn our legal names and home addresses. As a woman and a queer woman, that’s especially scary. I literally do not know what I would do if this bill passes.”

All photos by the author.