AIBU to be horrified by the new Porn Law?

[PlayNice]

AIBU to be really disturbed by the new porn law? If anyone hasn't seen it, they've banned a whole load of relatively common sexual practices from being shown in porn filmed in the UK.

There's a really good list/explanation here:www.aftmagazine.com/learn/porn-laws-illegal-fantasy/

AIBU to think that there's nothing wrong with showing a bit of spanking in a porn film? I feel like the UK government should be focussing on improving public transport and fixing the economy, not trying to nose into what we're doing in our bedrooms?!

And what on earth is wrong with squirting? I notice there's no ban on sperm flying around the place!

I feel like this rather unfairly boosts the stereotype of us Brits being all sexually repressive. Maybe they'll end up banning boinking entirely! Although that'd admittedly save a lot of awkwardness and do away with having to change the sheets so often.

"Daddy"

For every Male Dom, there is a Female Sub (in the Hetro world), women generally watch less often, but when it comes to Fetishes, there is equal interest.

The point is that this new ruling was rushed through and won't achieve anything positive.

We are missing chance after chance to have full sensible debates on what is needed to make Porn less risky and profitable for those staring in it.

And also missing put on how we can have some of the material that is available or linked to removed/banned.

I have seen what is definitely real rapes and injuries. All that seems to happen is that servers become unavailable, but the same co-ordinaries pop up elsewhere, obviously not investigated etc.

I don't think any kind of commercial sex can be truly consensual, so I guess we'll have to disagree on this one.

Come now, let's not infantalize these women. It's pretty insulting to tell a full grown woman, who is getting paid good money btw, that she doesn't truly know what she's doing or have power over her own career. It's very patronizing.

They wanted easy money, so they got easy money. There are tons of other options out there that don't involve selling your body. You may not agree with their choice, but they went in knowing what they were doing. Obviously this bars illegal activities, but at least here in the US these women sign contracts and it works basically the same as any other contract or freelance job.

The majority of women I've known in any type of sex work (including stripping) have some real issues, sexual or otherwise, though.

I'm not implying that this is the case for everyone. Probably fully mentally stable women do go into sexwork. It's just the ones I've known haven't been. So it's hard for me to think of what they've done as fully consensual, I guess.

you seem to think that your desire to see fetish porn outweighs the safety of the actresses and actors involved?

do a lot of actors get injured in any of those ways? Spanking leaves bruises, but they are not injuries. I sincerely doubt safety of actors is the primary concern.

How are we to know if any of the porn in this genre involves performers who are doing it of their own free will? I personally think that the economic motivation alone makes all porn non-consensual (how can you freely consent to anything if you might go hungry or lose your house if you don't do it?).

that argument applies to 90% of the people in the workforce (that we work only out of economic necessity).

I can't fathom what the motivation behind this motley list is, but the target is clearly not straight men with standard tastes (for otherwise there would be other stuff on that list). as usual, it's the niche activities that are getting the attention of this list. I also abhor censorship. it always claims to be protecting people, but it almost always misses the target.

Yeah, most people I know have serious self image and self esteem problems. I know people with shitty self esteem in min-wage jobs too. The problem with that is that at what point does mental illness take away the ability to consent or make a decision? If a mentally ill person can't consent to sex, can they consent to work, sign a contract?

It just seems like a dangerous statement to say mentally ill people can't truly be held accountable for themselves.

there's a big difference between "self esteem problems" and being mentally unfit to consent.

I think we should take people's word as is unless we have serious doubts they are unfit or are being coerced.

I agree that forcing porn stars to perform dangerous acts would be horrible, but many of these acts just don't seem unsafe to me. There's another really good article here www.aftmagazine.com/engage/debate-new-porn-laws-too-far/ that makes the point that vaginal fisting can hardly be called unsafe when vaginas are designed to push out babies? And yeah, I totally agree with bloodyteenagers that spanking is nothing compared to huge dildos up arses. It just seems stupid to ban some things and not others, especially when some totally valid, enjoyable acts performed in awesome, feminist porn are also penalised. Especially when it's the independent porn producer who'll suffer.

That being said, there's a great article here that talks about porn demeaning women and the effect that might have on young teenagers, and it does make me feel a bit uneasy. womanassubject.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/the-problem-with-porn/

I just think banning these particular acts will make no difference. It's the general culture that has to change.

YANBU. We have a shit 3rd rate Govt. that governs by soundbite and values appearance over substance. Use your vote wisely at the next election is my advice.

YANBU. A good friend of mine is a pro domme and her online streaming business will really be affected by this.

Yes, exactly, the independent performers will suffer - the big companies will just move elsewhere.

""YANBU. A good friend of mine is a pro domme and her online streaming business will really be affected by this.""

As has happened to lots of people in some states across the US. Even amateur couples doing live shows, are being told what they can and can't do.

So the most damaged, desperate, forced, coerced/trafficked women, will just be filmed outside the UK and US, where they had a level of protection.

The women (and myself) that I know who have worked in the sex industry in some way, are embarrassed to admit it, because there is the assumption that you have Self Esteem/MH issues. I see that statement all the time on the Feminist Board and it's bloody insulting.

The same is said about women who have multiple partners/ out of the ordinary sex.

It's already been said on here that we shouldn't pander to male fantasy, get rid of the blinkered misinformed views, these are apeoples fantasies (even lesbians, no men involved).

Such a well-considered, well-informed post, Birdsgottafly. Women have the right to do as we wish with our bodies, and it frustrates me that so much of culture works to suppress and restrict that. If these Porn Laws were generally working to help women in vulnerable positjons, then I'd support it, but it just seems to be poorly informed and likely to harm these vulnerable women it claims to defend.

YABVU the porn industry is vile as is porn and these acts in particular.

Babies every 9 months is fine. Fisting every other day is going to fuck up you fanny. And if you can do it in porn then the actresses will be asked to do it every other day.
"Squirting" is piss, well in porn it's definitely piss. That's why that is not allowed.

Yabu

I also wish they'd go more to restrict easy access to porn more generally.

Women have the right to do as we wish with our bodies

I suggest you do some research into the porn industry before making ridiculous statements.

The point is that you can do it in the most unregulated porn, just not in the UK, where we could be putting safeguards in place, not banning it.

The young Women in fetish unregulated Porn are damaged permanently and sometimes die, this is what we can now only see in the UK.

What we can't see is acts which are consensual and don't leave permanent physical damage.

When we outright banned Rape Fantasy, we missed out on a chance to open up discussions on Setting and respecting boundaries and gaining consent without doubt.

It hasn't stopped the material being available, or much worse, in a simple search.

I suggest you do some research into the porn industry before making ridiculous statements.

does that somehow counter the statement that women should be allowed to do what they want with their bodies?

That isn't what this is about though? It is about porn being dominated by men, driven by men.

Anyone who thinks that porn is primarily about women willingly doing x/y/z to their bodies is naïve. Yes you do get that but predominantly it isn't.

There was outrage on the Feminist Board because a former Hardcore Porn Actress had been accepted to read to children on a US reading scheme, there seemed to be a lot of ill feeling towards her because she was Mentally Well and showed she was just like other people in society.

Some Women do choose to work in the Industry, like it or not and many others would, if it actually paid what it should do and the stigma wasn't there.

The only way Women will be treated better within the Industry, is with Regulation.

We need the market to stop being flooded by the amount of free Porn.

These are the discussions that should of been taking place, not a rubber stamped nonsensical ban.

I grew up around strong women, all prostitutes (my GM was a Brothel keeper), when I looked at their lives and the lives of housewives during the 70's, I could see who was the ones not consenting to the life that they were living and who was being abused/exploited.

Are all these "damaged" women who aren't capable of deciding their working lives also going to be banned from Relationships and children? I'd put money on that these are the same issues that put women in a cycle of DA.

How far go we go to protect them from themselves?

""That isn't what this is about though? It is about porn being dominated by men, driven by men. ""

But in the UK and US, there was a shift, small but happening. All this will do, is halt that and leave what is abuse available.

Is there any such thing as pornography that is not the result of exploitation, degradation or coercion?

To be clear, I'm not expressing an opinion here, I'm trying to clarify the positions of others, as most of those objecting to, or explaining the need for regulation, are saying it is done to deter/remove the exploitation and coercion of those some filmed doing such things.

That argument either presupposes that that is always the case, or sets the precedent that all such consensual acts should be legislated against to protect the interests and well being of those who are coerced and exploited to do it without their consent.

By that rationale, we could legislate against all sorts of things on the grounds that we protect other who are coerced into doing those things. Line dancing for example. How many me are coerced or blackmailed by 'loving partners' into donning a bri-nylon shirt and a bootlaces tie and forced to humiliate themselves with their howdy doody bootslapping prance to Garth Brooks, out of fear of the silence or the spending spree his otherwise angry wife may punish him with? Yet we do not ban those who enjoy such things to protect the silent castrati amongst them who dare not say they do not wish to participate.

Maybe a poor analogy, but, of all those supporting legislation, it seems they are presuming all pornography on coerced, or that consensual sex should be legislated against in a blanket sweep in order to protect those too weak to stand up for themselves.