Playboy.com recently sat down with with Karen Tynan, “an attorney who specializes in defending California employers in occupational safety and health proceedings,” to discuss what’s going on with the LA County condom mandate (Measure B), how she became involved with the counter movement, what she does for her clients, her role as a “female attorney” in the adult industry, common misconceptions of the adult film business, her stance on the industry, how working with the industry has impacted her life, and TIM’s entry into the Pot business.
Within the article, Tynan details her “never-ending battle” against health lobbyists and their encroaching regulations and how “2015 is an important year for the industry.” Tynan states, “Every year AIDS Healthcare Foundation [AHF] makes new efforts in Sacramento with some lame condom bill, and the industry has to rally to fend off [AHF’s proposed] overreaching government regulations – things that would require latex gloves and dental dams in porn.”
Besides practicing employment and regulatory law for porn studios, Tynan defends “sexual harassment lawsuits, wrongful termination claims and breach-of-contract type actions,” as well as defend compliance citations from Cal/OSHA and lobby for her clients against “statewide condom mandates and proposed regulations against the adult film industry.”
Tynan acknowledges that she is in a male dominated industry, but doesn’t allow that to affect her. She is adamant that her gender actual helps her when it comes to representing her clients in the court room. She states, “I come across in the courtroom or in Sacramento as an ordinary volleyball-mom type. When I talk about sex or BDSM or squirting or whatever, I make it sound like buttercups and daisies. That’s pretty darn helpful.”
When asked about her moral stance on working in the adult industry, Tynan firmly states, “Look, some of the adult content I defend may not be my ‘cup of tea,’ but it’s somebody’s. Who am I to be critical of someone wants to watch ‘Electrosluts’ or if a guy enjoys cuckold porn. They are consenting adults enjoying legally-protected content, and it’s my job to help my clients be compliant and follow laws and be good employers while they create content desired by the consumer.” She goes on further to discuss how it has impacted her personal life, to which she simply replies, “if my dad’s fine with it, that’s what matters.”
At the end of the article, Tynan discusses how she got into licensing and marketing weed strains for her clients: “One of my gay porn clients, Treasure Island Media, asked if I could help them get a strain of weed for cross-branding. I made that call and set up the business deal.” She discusses how this union of weed and porn companies/performers, from a branding standpoint, is genius especially as more states are legalizing marijuana. These companies and performers have strong cult-like followings, so why not?! She ends the interview with saying, “somebody should have thought of this years ago.”
Tynan’s work in helping circumvent these regulatory infringements are invaluable to our industry and for that, we thank her! You can read the rest of the article HERE.
Karen Tynan with General Manager Matt Mason
Information on the Author of the Playboy Article: Chauntelle Tibbals, PhD, is a sociologist living in Los Angeles. Her book Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society, and Adult Entertainment comes out in July. Follow her on Twitter at @drchauntelle.
