BBFC Bans List of Sexual Activities From UK Porn

I guess seeing this pop up on my blog might be a bit of a shock, I've never covered the subject of porn before, mostly geek or lgbt related articles.  But this story grabbed my attention because something about it sits wrong with me.

You see, in a quiet move that I'm sure will slip under many people's radar British produced porn has been censored through an amendment to the 2003 Communications Act.  The Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2014 requires that video-on-demand online porn now adhere to the same gidlines laid out for DVD sex shop-type porn by the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC).

The thing about the BBFC that not everyone might know is that many of their decisions are made based on the views and opinions of the individuals involved over other factors.  It's a type of decision making that let to the video nasties scandal of the 80's and 90's.  (For those who don't know about the video nasties please find time to read up about it as it's an amazingly interesting subject).

In this case the BBFC has chosen what constitutes as a 'nice' sex act.  Using these views they have banned the following acts from British produced porn;

Spanking

Caning

Aggressive Whipping

Penetration by any object 'associated with violence'

Physical or verbal abuse, even if it is consensual

Water sports

Female ejacualtion

Strangulation

Fisting

Facesitting

As with banning films in the 80's that the members of the BBFC found to be uncomfortable it seems here like the only reasons for making these acts illegal in British porn is simply because the people who made this decision were not okay with them.  I'm not saying that I'm into the things on this list, or against them either, but what some people like and find sexual pleasure from is their own business, or at least to a certain extent.

A friend of mine has a phrase I like.  Safe, sane and consensual.  Basically she says that as long as it's not illegal, no one is getting seriously hurt or in risk of dying and all parties involved are okay with it then let them have fun.  You might not be into being tied up and spanked, but if others are who are you to say that it's wrong?

Facesitting is now considered too dangerous
by the BBFC.

Not only does this new ruling strike me as yet a further example of censorship gone amok, but that it seems to be focused against women.  I'm not the only one thinking this either, and here's why.

A lot of the things that have been banned in this new decision come into play in BDSM practices, an area of pornography where women are given the opportunity to be extremely dominant.  Some people are arguing that by banning practices such as spanking, and especially facesitting are practices that put women in these positions of power and that taking them away puts female performers back in a submissive role.

Another part of the ban that seems to have no basis other than as a blow to women is the banning of female ejaculation.  Seriously?  Banning women from ejaculating?  That's a kin to Australia banning flat chested women from doing porn.  Are you telling me that an actress can be on set, doing her thing when she has a bodily function out of her control she'd what, be fired?

Oops, guess she's out of work now.

These new rules don't make any sense, especially when people in the UK can still watch porn produced outside of the country that contains all of these things.  These rules were made by people who weren't comfortable with those sexual practices, pure and simple.

These bans are wrong.  These things should not be banned.  If the people involved are okay with what they are doing, if it's safe and they have given their consent then why prevent others from seeing it?

Amy.
xx

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