Politics. The word either terrifies you or lights a flame under your feet. Politics. That’s all anyone seems to talk about in recent weeks; churches, schools, families, they all can’t stop talking politics.
With the date to vote approaching rapidly, people have been stuffing their noses into their ballots in order to read every word of a proposition or candidate before picking a side. One proposition in particular that has people fighting is Prop 60.
Prop 60, according to BallotPedia, is the vote that, “would require adult film producers to provide condoms and ensure that performers use them during performances.” This proposition also requires filmmakers to cover any additional medical expenses that occur as a result of the workplace atmosphere. This includes: medical examinations, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) tests, vaccines and more. Prop 60 will also change the licensing of filmmakers in that they must renew them every two years.
Why all the uproar about this now? The current law in California, with this state being the leading producer in pornographic films, says that “the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) requires condom use during sex in pornographic films.” However, this demand is not enforced habitually, except in the presence of a complaint.
What does a yes vote on Prop 60 mean? VoterGuide states that “there would be additional workplace health and safety requirements placed on adult film productions in California and additional ways to enforce those requirements.”
A no vote on this proposition suggests that “adult film productions in California would continue to be subject to current state and local workplace health and safety requirements, including the rules now interpreted to require condom use in adult film productions.”
The majority of voters, as of this previous week, have been leaning towards voting Yes on what is being called the most controversial measure on the 2016 ballot. What about those who are planning to vote no?
Ela Darling, a 30 year old adult film performer and producer speaks openly to Rolling Stone about her resistance in voting no on Prop 60. "There is this infantilizing rescue rhetoric that they use to imply that we are these hurt, damaged souls that need to be protected from the big, bad producers," Darling mentions and continues with, “but nobody takes better care of ourselves than we do."
If Prop 60 passes with a majority “yes” vote, what this could mean for producers is budget cuts and major drawbacks that can affect their industry as a whole.
Upfront, the vote can seem simple if you’re advocating for the greater health of a community, but producers are rallying behind the the denial of this particular proposition.
Perhaps the most debatable component of Prop 60 states that, “any state resident could sue any adult film producer, agent, or distributor for creating films without condoms.” This can be a major issue to not only individual companies, but the industry and producers themselves.
Campaign manager for No on Prop 60 states that this measure “exposes [performers] to harassment suits, privacy violations and financial exploitation. Prop 60 has been opposed by nearly every political organization in the state, and by all seven of the state’s largest papers — and, most importantly, the performers themselves.”
As November 8, 2016 gets closer, the voices both supporting and against Prop 60 get louder and gain more traction. But at the end of the day, how will you vote?
