On Monday 1 December the government issued a change in the law regarding British pornography. It has been claimed that these changes have been made for many different reasons including protection for both the younger generations and women. However, these new laws have provoked a huge outcry from people of all generations and sexes, with the general consensus of the laws being deemed sexist and oppressive to women, and an unnecessary veiled attempt at censorship of the masses.
New UK porn laws are damaging, nonsenical, invasive, illogical, ill-thought out, surreal, draconian and pointless #CensoredUK #disgusted
— Stephen Daultrey (@SteveyKitten) December 3, 2014
So the new UK laws makes female ejaculation illegal in porn. But eating semen still totally acceptable. Your orgasms are vulgar ladies!
— Mags (@Maggie_Melee) December 2, 2014
Caning, spanking, face sitting, humiliation and female ejaculation are just a select few of the thirteen acts that have now been banned from being recorded in British pornography. And while they may not be your cup of tea to watch or indulge in, they are detrimental to British sex workers and women as a whole. Many Fem-Dom sex workers have stated that the main acts that have been banned are the ones that empower women, and place them in a position of control. This highlights the way in which the new laws are mainly targeted towards women and both their power when it comes to sex and their enjoyment.
Female ejaculation
One of the main new laws that have increased anger amongst the female population is that of female ejaculation. Male ejaculation is still completely 100 per cent legal to film in British pornography, however female ejaculation is now deemed as too vulgar to be legally shown. This demonisation of female sexuality creates a stigmatisation and implants the idea that women’s enjoyment of sex shouldn’t be seen. This veiling of female enjoyment creates the idea that women don’t or shouldn’t get to enjoy sex, as they are merely the vessel that is used for men to achieve their pleasure.
This is a huge step back in the cultural acceptance of equality between the sexes, and it is actually incredibly dangerous regarding societies perception of what women’s role in sex is. To reduce the elements of pornography that give women power and control over not only men but also themselves, gives the damaging impression, to all those watching this new law abiding pornography, that women are to be used for the pleasure of men and only that. Taking away the physical orgasm eradicates women’s representation of their entitlement to enjoyable sex.
Objects associated with violence
The new British porn laws are unfounded in reasoning and are both damaging and old fashioned. They do nothing but to stigmatise elements of the porn industry that actually embrace women’s control and consent. This narrow minded ideal of removing elements of sexual activity that contradict male dominated porn just creates a damaging ideal that women are men’s to do with as they please. A further law has banned ‘penetration by any object associated with violence’, however it seems that they have failed to notice that sex in itself can be a violent act – and the idea that women are only to be seen within pornography to facilitate men’s pleasure will undeniably increase women’s vulnerability to sexual violence.
The government’s sham of an attempt at ‘protection’ has certainly fallen short, and their censorship will achieve nothing in regards to women’s safety. The generation of under 18’s that the laws attempt to ‘protect’ will now receive ideologies that women and men are not equal in their enjoyment of sex. Once again women are being placed under damaging and dominating rules that are disguised as being for their benefit, and have once again been placed underneath men by distorting what is culturally acceptable for women and sex.
