A British university is offering to pay young couples £400 to be filmed having sex in a bid to promote the notion that using a condom does not “kill the mood.”
Coventry University is looking for three couples aged between 18 and 25 to have sex on camera. They will be filmed in “natural settings” such as student accommodation and a car.
It will be “tastefully shot” and use “real couples in loving, consensual relationships,” according to the academics behind the project.
Project lead Dr. Katie Newby said the videos aim to show that sex can still be fun and sexy even when stopping to put on a condom.
“The videos… are designed to be available to over-18s at the point at which they are requesting free STI self-testing kits from a website.
“Other aspects of the intervention include allowing users to test out a range of different condoms to identify their preferred one, a condom ordering service, providing a free product for carrying condoms in, and other videos featuring young people talking about condom use,” she said.
The move is part of the “Chance 2 Change” project at the university, which encourages the use of condoms among people aged 15 to 24.
The project is being financially backed by the government-funded Medical Research Council.
Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, says he “struggles to understand why Coventry University feels the need to delve into territory like this.
“The internet is awash with sex films which could be used to preach its message, without paying couples to film pornographic videos of their own,” McGovern told the Daily Mail.
Margaret Morrissey, the chairman of the Parents Outloud group, said students who sign up to appear in the videos risk “jeopardizing” their future careers.
“They are offending the intelligence of their students by thinking they need educational videos such as this.
“With the nature of the internet, these videos could stay in circulation for years. Any students taking part in them could jeopardize future employment prospects,” she warned.