Ah, porn – the final frontier. Though there are few taboos left in the uni social sphere (post-Crisis hookup stories are often told in excruciating detail), the minute pornography is mentioned, people tend to turn away. It’s no secret that people are shy about this topic – but it’s also no secret that the majority of people, students included, watch porn. However, with the new Digital Economy Bill, is porn facing a problem? Or is the problem of porn just being revealed?
Pornography – in its most basic, bestial form – has been around for as long as humans have been able to use ink, however with the introduction of photographic pornography and later, video pornography in the 20th century, porn became more than just a visual representation of sexual acts: it became a sort of guidebook for how sex should – or could – be had. With the rise of the Internet and the billions of free pornographic videos it contains – able to be uploaded by literally anybody – porn became a problem.
No longer just addictive, degrading, unrealistic; even more than immoral, borderline prostitution, and carrying an ability to brainwash. Porn became a problem because unregulated Internet users began uploading videos showcasing ‘unconventional’ sex acts, such as BDSM, faux-incest and many other colourful topics published under a variety of equally-as-colourful names.
Yet the problem lies not in the content itself but in its potential misuse.
“Porn has always been a way in which people can explore their own sexualities and curiosities from (ideally) the comfort of their own bedrooms”
This is not an article that seeks to either condemn or defend pornography and its uses. While there are many, many varieties of porn out there – some of which might shock or even offend the less sexually adventurous Internet user – each, generally, should be allowed their own preference (the illegal stuff – such as child pornography and forced pornography – aside). Porn has always been a way in which people can explore their own sexualities and curiosities from (ideally) the comfort of their own bedrooms, usually alone, knowing that there is no-one else there to judge or pressure them.
However, the new Digital Economy Bill seeks to restrict what kinds of pornographic content should be available in the UK. Though the Bill does not state explicitly what kinds of non-conventional sex acts will be banned from being accessible, acts such as spanking, physical and verbal abuse and role-playing as non-adults were banned from being included in UK-produced porn – so we can expect similar kinds of acts being entirely censored from UK Internet providers.
Whether or not it is immoral to show BDSM in porn will always be up for debate, as will the question of whether or not banning such acts from pornographic films is an infringement of freedom of expression – surely if adults consent to such things, there is no issue there? The arguments against displaying such acts are equally as understandable – they may set up unrealistic expectations for sex, encourage violence, porn-watchers may use physical and verbal abuse either outside a sexual setting or inside a sexual setting without consent from their partner…
Yet the issue is that is isn’t just potentially harmful sexual acts which may be banned. The list also bans the British portrayal of female ejaculation, facesitting and fisting, among other things – ‘unconventional’, to be sure… For all the Victorians out there.
“Banning the portrayal of female ejaculation will simply extend this ignorance, with all the potentially sexist backlashes acting as the trimmings”
Porn has always been criticised as being an unreliable source of sexual education, though it is also where many people first learn about the female orgasm – a topic which is still completely ignored from the conventional UK school curriculum. Banning the portrayal of female ejaculation will simply extend this ignorance, with all the potentially sexist backlashes acting as the trimmings.
Yes, porn may create some problems – but unregulated banning of websites which may display explicit content the government simply doesn’t like can also lead to all sorts of problems. It is one more step in the direction of suppressing free media, and while the government may have good intentions at heart (the Bill is supposedly aimed at protecting children; it was recently reported that in the last twelve months the number of minors contacting Childline in Nottingham after watching porn has doubled), it should be up to adults to regulate what their children do online – as well as being able to choose what they want to watch themselves.
Matteo Everett
Image: Jean KOULEV via Flickr.
