WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND — George Orwell wrote in 1984 that “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face … for ever.” In England today, any legal picture of a boot stamping on a human face must either be imagined or entirely devoid of sexual context. A group of British citizens who enjoy aggressive sex, dominant/submissive role play, and other behaviors that might scare the horses, that isn’t acceptable. Starting January 1st, 2009, any image depicting activity that might threaten a life or cause serious genital injury will be illegal. Whether that includes ball-breaking sports photos is unknown, but unlikely the case. The fact it will include cock & ball torture (CBT) and other so-called “genitorture” photos, among a variety of other high impact erotic images, is not in dispute.
According to protesters who gathered across from Parliament to express their outrage, this kind of censorship is far less acceptable than a consensual bout of BDSM or rough sex.
Wearing fetish clothing including collars, leashes, ball gags, and fishnet stockings, the protestors insisted that the impending law outlawing the possession of “extreme pornography” is an unfair invasion of their sex lives by the government.
As is often the case, officials insist that the ban is necessarily in order to alleviate what they claim are negative social effects brought on by the viewing of erotic images featuring force.
Photographer Ben Westwood, son of famed fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, led
the protest – as well as models Jade and Dolly Blowup, who portrayed BDSM slaves. The threesome walked a circuit in front of the Westminster underground station and Parliament Square while police held traffic back for the group of about 20 marchers.
Organized by the Consenting Adult Action Network, protestors held signs that read “No to thought crime,” “Penalize crime, not sex,” and “Depiction harms no-one.”
As far as Westwood is concerned, the government’s actions are insincere.
“They want to seem as though they are doing something to help society, that they must seem strong on law and order,” he explained to the BBC. “Coming from a government that lied about going into war in Iraq, that seems strange. There are more important issues to be debated than this.”
Because the Criminal Justice Act addresses foreign internet content by holding consumers responsible for owning “violent and extreme pornography,” instead of producers for creating it, Westwood opined that “people might be worrying that what they have got in their video collection might be breaking the law. People are going to get a bit nervous.”
Those found guilty under the impending law face up to three years in prison for possessing unlawful imagery, something opponents insist will turn thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals.
A representative for the Ministry of Justice indicated that the government was unmoved by the protest, insisting that “Pornographic material that depicts necrophilia, bestiality or violence that is life threatening or likely to result in serious injury to the anus, breasts and genitals has no place in a modern society and should not be tolerated.”
