Repeal sexist anti-porn laws in the UK

  • by: Beth Granter and Charlotte Rose
  • recipient: British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, The Authority for Television On Demand (ATVOD)

A recent change to UK law has banned activities such as female ejaculation and face-sitting, amongst other things, when filmed and sold by porn producers in the UK. It does not ban male ejaculation. The law was not discussed in parliament, meaning it was passed undemocratically.

This sexist and heteronormative new law promotes the damaging concept that female enjoyment of sexual activity is harmful or obscene, and that only a narrow representation of sex can be considered safe or normal.

The stated reason for this is that the list of activities being banned apparently puts people at risk of harm, and because officials can't tell whether a woman is urinating or ejaculating, and urination (water-sports) in UK produced and sold pornography is also now banned. This is without any evidence being presented to suggest a risk of harm to participants or viewers.

These activities can still be viewed by the UK public via the internet as long as they're not filmed and produced by UK pornography producers. This puts the UK pornography industry at a great disadvantage in a competitive space, and therefore puts people's livelihoods at risk.

We believe that when all participants are consenting adults these activities should not be banned in UK porn. This amendment to the law should be repealed.

Sources and quotes:

"British digital media producers are now subject to some of the most severe content restrictions in Europe. The regulations will shut down websites and criminalise producers of content that remains legal to produce throughout the European Union. This will have a chilling effect on freedom of sexual expression in the UK. ...

The regulations will have a disproportionate impact on producers of content for sexual minorities. For example, ...[some] activities [which] are popular and practised safely within the LGBT community. Bondage and sado-masochistic scenarios, commonly practiced by people of all sexual orientations, will also be censored.

...The regulations have been introduced under the aegis of “child protection”, without any evidence that the regulation will contribute to child welfare. It will, however, have an adverse impact on the sexual choices of consenting adults and on the British media industry."- BackLash

"The change to existing regulations was made by means of a parliamentary device known as a statutory instrument, amending the existing Communications Act 2003, signed by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey and subsequently deposited in the library of the House of Commons." - Erotic Review

Update #18 years ago
Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.