Safe Sex (in MY porn!?)

[solar_cat]

Because Twitter was not the ideal environment for this sort of discussion topic...

Safe Sex & Porn

Readers, what is YOUR take on the topic of safe-sex practices in porn? (Fic porn, filmed porn, whatever.) Does it turn you on/off? What about a distinct LACK of safe-sex practices in your porn? Do you sit there thinking, No condom?? >:( or UNF. I

Comments

[meepalicious]

On the (relatively) rare occasion that I read porn in the first place, I definitely like to see safe(r) sex practices. Maybe it's silly, but I feel that especially if the penetrative partner is like "oh hey condoms," there's a lot of respect for the penetrated partner,* and, I'll be honest, I like consent and respect

[solar_cat]

I feel that especially if the penetrative partner is like "oh hey condoms," there's a lot of respect for the penetrated partner

This is interesting, because I actually used it that way in an almost-PWP/completely-self-indulgent homeless!AU ficlet; the one partner used a condom when he didn't have to, the other partner wouldn't have put up a fight about it (it had some dub-con-y shades to it), and when I was writing it that was, to me, about respect and also the desire to take care of/care for the penetrated partner. So I totally agree with the viewpoint that it can be used as a rather understated show of respect. (And is a lovely detail, used in that capacity!)

[elipie]

Honestly I am neither turned on nor off by whether or not they're using protection. IRL I feel like it's definitely important, but in fic I don't really care. I agree with you, though-- if the author makes it a point to show that they're having safe sex, great, but pleeeease for the love of god don't spend five paragraphs on it. Not only does it take me out of it, but it reads more like a sex ed class than porn.

[allyndra]

YMMV, and all that. I have lots of thoughts about this.

1. I get irrationally irritated when it is a modern day setting and not an established relationship, and there is barebacking. Like, I start worrying about the characters. Is this how they always are? OMG, have they been sleeping around with no condoms for years! D: IDEK. I once read, like, five Adam Lambert/Kris Allen firt-time fics in a row with no condoms, and it started really getting to me

[allyndra]

Also, in my head your subject line comes with a Monty Python accent. "Mock frog?! In MY chocolate?"

[solar_cat]

That is TOTALLY the right way to read the subject line. XDDD

[midnightbex]

You have a really good point with #2. That annoys me, because why are they bringing it up in the first place? Did the author have a word count to hit or do they not understand biology and how STDs spread? If you're going to bring it up and have them not use condoms, don't use a throw away line about it, have them actually mention testing for STDs or something.

[midnightbex]

There are times reading fic where safe-sex really can be a turn off. Sometimes I think authors get so caught up in ideas about social responsibility and proselytizing about safe-sex practices that it ends up detracting from the story and pulling me out of that fic completely. Sometimes it has even made me SKIM THE PORN BITS. That is such a D-Face thing for me to have to do in fic. When I am trying to read porn I would like to read it and not get a heaping of social responsibility on top

[allyndra]

When it's a kink (and written well) ... yeah, super hot. I don't even know why, because I don't feel that way about real life sex, but GUH.

[midnightbex]

Me too! It's not a kink at all for me in real life sex, but super hot in fiction.

[xrysomou]

Hum. I've honestly never thought about it in detail before, ngl. I tend to get irrationally annoyed if there's barebacking outside a relationship - even more so if it's a one-night stand. But maybe that's just me having a difficult time disassociating fic and RL?

I also find it a struggle pretending that everything is shiny and that STDs don't exist, so it makes more sense to me that characters should use protection, even if they've been in a relationship a while, and if they've not been tested. I'm completely on board with the decision NOT to use protection, but (I think someone has already mentioned this) I'd rather they didn't dismiss it completely out of hand.

On the other hand, barebacking? Yum.