Obscene?

[LindaMight]

Xbiz ran an article today stating that the UK is now gearing up to prosecute and stop obscenity in that region, and will be geared not only toward child porn but also violent depictions of sexual encounters. Makes sense to me.

What do you, and/or the government consider obscene? I've read all of the Supreme Court rulings and they are so vague that I don't even know what I am reading. With the stuff I see being touted on the net, I have my own ideas of obscenity, but I really do not know if my opinion is anywhere close to the average person/jurisdiction/country/etc.

Linda

[Linkster]

depends on whether you are talkingabout the UK or the US - the UK has a completely different set of laws than the US - the US laws are based on the "Miller test" for obscenity which was done so long ago most people doubt it applies to the internet and the few that have tested it have gone both ways depending on how farthey wanted to take it
The Uk on the other hand is seeming to take the same road as Canada did a few years back - of course when Canada outlawed BDSM and tried to prosecute based on it they lost as well in the Sweet case - I guess it depends on what test cases come out first

[tickler]

Might want to take a quick read through on the FSC EA case currently on. Looks like the FSC is kicking butt.

U.S. Attorney Buchanan takes lead in porn case appeal
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05292/590992.stm

U.S. seeks reinstatement of obscenity charges against porn-seller
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...05-557409.html

Extreme Case Is About Privacy, Not Obscenity: Attorney
http://www.avnonline.com/index.php?P...tent_ID=244184

On the flip-side apparently a man was convicted for posessing anime in Canada. Guess us people in the great white north might have to pay attention to that. Never did care for most of it anyways.

[Ms Naughty]

In Queensland (Aust) a magazine photo showing a woman's inner labia or a man's erect penis is obscene. I have a copy of Hustler where the woman's pussy has been photoshopped so it looks like Barbie.

I used to know the editor of Australian Women's Forum. She used a protractor to measure the angle of a guy's dick in photos to make sure they weren't too erect.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

I used to know the editor of Australian Women's Forum. She used a protractor to measure the angle of a guy's dick in photos to make sure they weren't too erect.

That made me laugh big time..!
...and in great part because I know some Femdommes who do this in real life.

If you haven't seen this article at the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, it may be worth a read...
http://www.ncsfreedom.org/news/2005/...cenityWave.htm

Simon

[Cleo]

I find Bush obscene and think he should be banned from going out in public

[Linkster]

Simon - that press release by the ncsf is nothing more than an attempt to extort money by causing WMs to get scared - and it is shameful!
They are posting old news and attributing it to the attny gen when it actually is a memo released to the fbi months ago and got laughed out of the fbi
They also are very confused as the two cases they list in Fla are really the same person
They are also listing 40 cases of obscenity prosecutions - they fail to mention what they are and most important - that none of them were actually prosecuted - and they get confused evidently by the difference between indictments and prosecution - no one so far has been prosecuted.

Its just another attempt to scare people and scream the sky is falling - and to back it up they have one person that closed their website

[Simon]

Damn... thanks, Linkster... I saw their mailing this morning and really thought it was new news. That really is terrible, to be dredging up an old memo and acting like it's a new one. I thought this was a whole new round, not just a rehash of same old one.

[Linkster]

Simon - seems to be a lot of this type of sensationalism going around the adult world lately - a few publications in the biz are pretty guilty of it too

[Simon]

I don't like to see the NCSF doing this stuff. They've been trying to fight the "free speech" battle for a number of years, and many in the bdsm/fetish communities do take their mailings and press releases seriously, as if they are today's news. I'm sure they do need to raise more funding, but sensationalism is not the way to build a lasting, sustainable base of contributors.

[LindaMight]

[quote=tickler]Might want to take a quick read through on the FSC EA case currently on. Looks like the FSC is kicking butt.
QUOTE]

I have been reading about the Extreme case. Speaking of the FSC kicking butt, they are asking for donations to help defray costs for their second round. Excerpt from their newsletter as follows:

"2257 DEFENSE FUNDRAISER DRIVE UNDER WAY
CANOGA PARK, CA -- FSC has announced a second round of fundraising to compensate the First Amendment attorneys representing the adult industry in FSC’s challenge to the 2257 federal record-keeping law: Louis Sirkin, Paul Cambria, Arthur Schwartz, Jennifer Kinsley, Roger Wilcox, Michael Gross, Gregory Piccionelli and David Fisher.
The group, which is working for discounted rates, has already accomplished much on behalf of virtually the entire adult industry, says FSC Board Chair Jeffrey Douglas, bringing the United States Government “to its knees.”
But much more lies ahead in the fight against the unfair and punitive 2257 law. The case itself has barely reached the halfway mark, and there is still a full trial to prepare for.
The initial 2257 fundraising effort, which began before FSC filed its original complaint in Denver federal court in June, succeeded in reaching the target goal of $200,000, all of which went exclusively to the legal team. The new goal is to raise $250,000 by the end of January, every penny of which will again be earmarked for the 2257 Legal Defense Fund."

I, for one, am sending them another sizable donation and I hope that the nay-sayers who feel they are a rip off will reconsider.

Canada has decided animation is illegal? Cartoons? Geez.

Linda

[frankthetank]

That´s why obscenity is used as a term to censor free speech.

You can´t define it.

Obscenity depends on taste. Taste differs from person to person.

So it´s a nice term to defend censorship without any checkable reasons. For example: I think green cars are tasteless. So they are obscene for me. So get rid of all green cars.

[RawAlex]

A couple of notes:

First off, the guy in Canada convicted for "having anime" was in fact importing images that were much worse than "just anime"

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmo...70701-sun.html

Specifically: " Bilodeau said the animated child porn images seized from Chin were very disturbing. "These images are very disgusting and very violent. There are pictures of babies in diapers being raped," he said. "

Quite simply, there is no defence for having this material, be it photos, stories, or anime. This also wasn't accidental, he intentionally sought out and purchased exactly this material and imported it from Japan.

Canada has very strict laws regarding sexual material involving minors.

We do have laws on the books about "degrading to women". However, as mentioned, the Sweet Entertainment Group stuff was looked at by authorities and they walked away from the prosecution. You still cannot have someone tied up having sex (insertion, be it oral, anal, or vaginal) as this image would be considered a portrayal of non-consentual sex acts.

Before anyone goes off on the tangent, let me kill this now: Cinematic movies are also subject to the same rules, however there is a common sense and good judgement exemption to the telling of a story and portraying many of the acts that are considered illegal in porn. You will note that none of these acceptable movies will actually show penetration or a "completed" sex act. Making a movie about a rape victim that shows a couple of minutes of the violent act without ever truly showing the sex act is different than a 45 minute movies that shows a girl being raped in great detail without any other context or narrative. It is an issue of judgement and some movies have come close to or run afoul of this because they straddle the lines of good taste.

Common sense isn't very common, is it?

Alex

[LindaMight]

The description of that toon porn is just plain disgusting....I didn't know it was child related. And I also understand the rape and violence and anything that is against one's will.

It is interesting to learn of the different attitudes from various regions......and it appears to be different yet the same.

Linda

[mrMagoo]

Originally Posted by Cleo

I find Bush obscene and think he should be banned from going out in public

Exactly