Wait, What? “Magic Condom” Use on Bareback Sets? (YNOT)

Read the full article by Miss Lagsalot at YNOT.com

It’s a well-known fact that, historically, gay porn has been more likely to use condoms on set than straight porn. But, with the advent of PrEP, advances in STI testing techniques, and better understanding around HIV transmission, that is beginning to change. There’s more demand now for “bareback” gay content these days, and gay porn studios are responding with more “raw” content…on paper, anyway. Slate’s Matthew Terrell reported in a recent article, many gay studios “Are tossing condoms entirely… Or at least it looks like they are.”

Enter what gay porn industry insiders are calling “the magic condom”—using a condom in penetrative sex scenes, but pretending not to, then selling the scene as “bareback.”

Terrell described a so-called “bareback” scene filmed with a magic condom: “The camera zooms in on the condomless dick slapping against the bottom’s ass. The scene then cuts to a medium shot from another angle, where the top fully penetrates the bottom. But if you look closely, the top is now wearing a condom. However, that condom will be incredibly hard to spot.” Using appropriate lighting, lots of lube, and low-profile, skin-tone condoms, Terrell wrote, “If the maneuver is executed successfully, most viewers will think they are watching an instance of real, and preternaturally effortless, bareback sex.” 

It may seem like a lot of extra work to use condoms and then hide them from viewers. But sometimes, wrote Terrell, “It’s just easier just to grab condoms” than work around condom laws, actors’ testing windows, or performer discomfort. 

Miss Lagsalot is an adult industry hanger-on who's been writing about her obsession with porn for over a decade.