When AIDS became the new epidemic of death that most of us would die from (at least according to my sex ed class), the porn industry took quite a bit of heat. And then AIDS was no big deal. And then Magic Johnson was cured of it. And then it wasn’t such a big deal. And then it was kind of a big deal. And then it was a really big deal in financially destitute countries. And then …

Well, you get what I’m saying. One thing that has never really faltered, though, is the impression that AIDS will lead to terrible repercussions for …

… porn stars, who make their living from engaging in prophylactic-less sexual activity.

And it looks like it’s actually come to pass.

Derrick Burts, who has worked in both gay and straight pornos, has “come out” as Patient Zeta, or “the porn star who tested HIV-positive in October.”

From L.A. Times:

Burts, who performed in straight films as “Cameron Reid” and gay films as “Derek Chambers,” said he was tested at the clinic Oct. 8, then received a panicked call from clinic staff the following afternoon, summoning him to the office.

When he got there, he said, clinic staff told him that he had tested HIV-positive. They wanted to perform a follow-up test and begin notifying performers he had worked with since his last negative test result Sept. 3. Those performers, he was told, would be placed on a quarantine list while they, too, were tested.

Burts said he gave clinic staff the names of about a dozen performers he had worked with in California and Florida in both gay and straight productions.

Burts is coming out strong against the porn world, allegedly after going through strong-armed secrecy requirements by the industry’s STI clinic, AIM … and then getting pretty much blown off by them.

Burts said AIM staff had warned him not to contact the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, whose officials have been among the clinic’s chief critics. In frustration, Burts said he went to an AIDS Healthcare Foundation center in Los Angeles on Nov. 24 and saw a doctor, never identifying himself as Patient Zeta.

Pleased with the care he received at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Burts contacted the group’s leaders last week, identified himself as Patient Zeta and said he wanted to speak out on their behalf and in favor of enforcing mandatory condom use in porn productions. Foundation officials have scheduled a news conference with Burts for 10 a.m. Wednesday.

“AIM likes to state that testing is enough. That’s completely false,” he said, noting that in the months before he tested positive for HIV, he had also contracted chlamydia, gonorrhea and herpes.

“It’s very dangerous,” he said of adult film work. “It should be required that you wear a condom on the set.”

While it’s pretty horrible that AIM tried to both keep Burts silent and drag their feet regarding his medical care, there’s another can of worms that’s impossible to ignore here—the fact that Burts reportedly acquired AIDS through making a gay porno movie.

According to Burts, gay porns are both more lucrative—he receives up to $2,000 for gay scenes while straight scenes top out at $800—and more dangerous. The STI history of straight film actors are regularly updated and perused by producers to keep the performers as safe as possible, but the same can’t be said for the gay porn industry. In fact, actors in straight porn are required to prove their HIV-negative status prior to filming.

Burts, who suspects that he contracted HIV during a Florida porn shoot with another man (they used a condom during anal but not oral), is adamant that the only sex he has in his personal life is with his girlfriend. The other performers on Burts’ “been there, done them” list, including his girlfriend (also an adult film performer), all tested negative.

The way I see it, there are two possible outcomes here.

1. The gay porn industry mandates condom use across the board, for any sort of sexual activity.

2. The gay porn industry will be further stigmatized, adding to the foolish impression by some that homosexuality is a deviant, dangerous, and sinful lifestyle.

Personally, my hope is that the creators of gay porn change their policies. I’m neither gay nor into porn of any type, but I think the dichotomy over performer safety in two parts of the same industry is bordering on discrimination. Paying an extra thousand bucks or so isn’t worth a human life.

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