An appeal to the adult production community
THINK ABOUT THIS ….
1. Michael Weinstein follows the Republican playbook.
AHF’s fearless leader Michael Weinstein has used a cunning strategy these past three years. Instead of frontal attacks on content, he wraps himself in the “safety” flag and has his staff of attorneys at AHF working overtime to lobby for strict and inflexible regulations of the adult industry in order to create continuous condom endorsements in every adult production.
Think about this: NOVA Women’s Healthcare, Virginia’s busiest abortion clinic, just closed because its operators said it could not afford to comply with new regulations requiring costly and unnecessary upgrades in order to meet strict, hospital-like standards. Another Virginia clinic, the Falls Church Healthcare Center, filed an administrative appeal petition in the Arlington Circuit Court in June challenging the new rules imposed by the Virginia State Board of Health. Score one for Republicans!
Here in California, proposed regulations are chilling to consider. The vast majority of production companies cannot even contemplate trying to comply with mandatory condoms in addition to testing. Don’t forget that Mr. Weinstein’s proposed Assembly bill also contained requirements that Hepatitis B tests and vaccinations be provided as well as reimbursement for all STD tests. The regulation required that all performers be categorized as “employees.”
Tell me which production companies can afford to hire “performer employees,” pay employment taxes, shoot only condom scenes, and pay for all vaccinations and testing? Like abortion clinics, adult entertainment companies will move, dissolve, or close.
2. What do performers reasonably want?
Other than anecdotal and inarticulate blog posts, I haven’t heard any articulate analysis of performer desires and preferences. From what I’ve seen on the always reliable and never misinterpreted twitter, performers want choices on condoms, performers want more frequent testing, and performers want a more viable industry.
What I haven’t heard is that performers want to dance to Mr. Weinstein’s drum beat. Based on the Assembly bill Mr. Weinstein proposes, are performers ready to have medical monitoring, be treated like employees, and lose any choice at all with regard to working with condoms?
Do performers want production companies to maintain their medical records? Which performers want to have taxes and all state and federal deductions taken out of their checks? No more tax deductions for wardrobe, pedicures, plastic surgery, travel, and other incidental expenses.
So, before performers and production companies thrown in the towel and embrace Mr. Weinstein’s propaganda and jump on the bandwagon of new regulations, think about the consequences and what the industry will look like in twelve to eighteen months if Mr. Weinstein has his way.
Karen Tynan’s Website
