Posts by Mark .

Poppy Z Brite / Scotland's "Extreme Porn" Bill

Poppy Z Brite, author of erotic horror, would be another example - one of her short stories (His Mouth Will Taste Of Wormwood) features a bit about a dog giving oral sex to a woman. Not to mention her novel Exquisite Corpse, which features necrophilia and sex killings.

In practice, people might not be locked up for possessing physical published books, but that just shows the inconsistency if people are arrested for possessing similar writings that either they downloaded from a BDSM erotica site, or were their own personal fantasies.

Not mentioned in the article is the progress of Scotland's version of the "extreme porn" bill. This bill is already broader than England's version, and a selection of "Women's" groups are coordinating a lobbying effort against the Government to extend it even further, in particular demanding that non-photographic images be covered (they cite Second Life as an example, and this would presumably cover cartoons and drawings also). They stress that they see this law as merely being a "first step" - the end game is to see possession of all porn criminalised.

Have a read of the responses at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/justice/inquiries/CriminalJusticeandLicensing/ju-criminaljustice-evid.htm , if you fancy seeing the kind of anti-porn crusade that's going on here.

Re: Did the IWF block this site? / etc

@Fred 6 : No, they didn't. They only block "suspected child porn" (and Wikipedia articles). For everything else (including "extreme" porn, which is also now illegal to possess), their involvement is just to report it to the police, if it's either hosted in the UK, or posted by a UK citizen.

@Armus Squelprom: We're discussing his right to his liberty. If you read the article, you'll see that the trial wasn't about whether he can write porn (which he's already done), it was whether he'd go to prison (the maximum sentence being 3 years, and it's now been raised 5).

The "right to have porn" argument is something I repeatedly hear with respect to laws like the OPA, or the "extreme" porn law, but it is flawed. These laws are not about the Government providing people with porn. It's not that the policemen will come around, tell you not to possess or write that, and then leave it at that. It's about whether people have a right to their *freedom*, or whether they should be placed in prison, simply for writing or possessing something you find distasteful - even though you'd never have seen the material if it wasn't for these laws!

"there's no shred of literary or creative merit to redeem Darryn Walker's vile, jealous filth"

So now the law should concern itself with whether things have artistic merit? By that argument, we'd better prosecute the Daily Star...

@Estariel: There is perhaps some argument for a law against writing about identified people without their consent.

But the OPA is no such law. It would apply to fiction about non-identified people, yet meanwhile, non-obscene but still unpleasant fiction about an identified person would remain legal.

"Circulate the new version to your family and friends......it's not illegal, so that should be ok, right?"

I would choose not to do that, but that's my choice. If someone else did it on some random bit of the Internet, I wouldn't give a damn. If I was in the public eye, I would have even less right to care - after all, fame is what brings celebrities their fortune, and as always, it's a double-edged sword. And if the story was generating publicity for a commercial product that I was part of, if anything I would be glad of the extra sales.

And actually, I might write a kinky story and show it to my lover. Since I'm a submissive, it'd be about me. But that's my choice, and it's not up to you, or the law, to take that away.

response

@Gordon 10 :

So by that reasoning, it's okay to fire you for publishing on this page?

The problem was he didn't lose his job directly for publishing, but because of the prosecution. If he wasn't prosecuted, they'd have never known about it. It's unclear if he ever used his full name - the problem is that his details were found out as a result of an investigation by the Internet Watch Foundation and the police.

Same with the Anon poster who talked about co-workers not wanting to share space. By that reasoning, should anyone accused of a crime be dismissed? If they're not uncomfortable, then either make arrangements to work in another bit of the office, or get another job yourself.

@Estariel : You should try reading some Poppy Z Brite. These fictional depictions are not uncommon in mainstream bookstores.